COMPREHENSIVE TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT – THE IMQS SYSTEMS APPROACH

COMPREHENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT

---

Organisational readiness relies on the systems and processes put in place to achieve strategic, tactical, operational, and maintenance excellence. Risks associated with performance goals, aging infrastructure, and the environment must furthermore be managed in order to ensure sustainable service delivery. The following key variables are of common concern in a complex infrastructure asset management landscape:

As a result, traditional asset management activities need to evolve into a comprehensive, standards-driven management approach across all facets of an organisation.

A TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN SYSTEMS APPROACH

---

IMQS utilises an end-to-end value led approach that looks at the core industry needs from a people, process and system view. All these elements are critical in changing an organisation into a top performer.

The approach takes cognisance of the notion that technology is an enabler or catalyst as opposed to the complete solution.

IMQS recognises five levers of change:

The previous BSI’s Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 55 and now ISO55000, helps organisations apply structured, good practice-based disciplines to their asset management capabilities. The IMQS systems approach aims to leverage ‘fit for purpose’ software solutions integrated to enable all aspects of the organisation and ensure:

This approach provides a truly integrated view of the full asset life-cycle management process - from planning through to asset creation and ultimately disposal. With the strategic deployment of technological solutions, smarter systems can be constructed that assist in ensuring every cent is correctly and optimally utilised to reach strategic objectives.

THE BUSINESS RELEVANCE

---

Investment forecasting is crucial when analysing and determining criticality and project optimisation of physical asset needs. Given the diversity and large amount of data involved (master planning, replacement prioritisation, IDP), this endeavour requires due diligence. By applying the principles of this methodology, organisations should be able to improve Opex and Capex assignment with a view on long-term sustainability.

The IMQS integrated platform allows multiple data sources to be interrogated to determine the probable, technical, and operational risks versus the benefits of such a capital investment. Together with strategic future planning, this analysis improves the organisation’s ability to prioritise portfolio items and projects. The organisation is ultimately able to effectively use available resources to improve return on assets.

As critical assets are operated, it is essential to monitor their condition and their utilisation in order to mitigate any risk to their effective use. Statistical analysis of historical data can deliver remarkably precise projections of the possible future performance or failure of an asset. This assists in preparing proactive plans to operate and maintain the asset.

When life-cycle tracking and integrated analytical applications are used, a holistic view of the performance of an asset starts to take shape. This allows for asset benchmarking of key indices to optimise the use of assets with insightful intelligence. In order to monitor key indicators of asset behaviour such as condition, utilisation, performance, cost-of-operation, the indices must be configured per asset-class and underpinned by criticality and data confidence grades.

THE WAY FORWARD

---

In unpredictable management environments, access to and interrogation of information are integral. Quality information is turned into the intelligence that informs critical decision-making.

The IMQS system establishes a solid planning baseline that informs the long term quantification of asset needs and impacts. It opens up the possibility to project future costs and options to offset future asset failures. It offers a comprehensive view of the entire infrastructure asset landscape. With an improved understanding of maintenance frequency or the analysis of the probability and consequence of the likely failure modes, more reliable upgrade and renewal plans can, for example, be determined.

A more scientific approach such as this one helps to ultimately shift the discipline of infrastructure asset management towards a new paradigm where recommendations directed at a sustainable, prosperous future are informed by the interrogation and analysis of data. This is a future of enhanced service management and customer satisfaction, improved risk management, financial efficiency, governance and the formulation of sustainable solutions.

IMQS’s approach to business and software development is underpinned by our culture of innovation. To find out more about IMQS’s culture of innovation check out our blog Innovation at IMQS – Taking African Innovation Global or learn about our agile approach to software development in Software Development Away from the Factory Floor – Exploring the White Space.