MRI507

Unit Description and General Aims

This Unit considers the Chartered/ Professional Engineer’s role in Asset Management, the provision of assets for use by third-parties, and how the full cycle of asset life should be managed.

The Chartered/ Professional Engineer’s role includes the need for communication with stakeholders during the development of an Asset Management Plan and the plans that support this plan such as a Maintenance Plan, Capital Expenditure Plan, and Procurement Plan.

In addition, the role includes communicating these plans to and with the stakeholders to achieve commitment in their implementation.

Throughout the Asset Management process, the Chartered/ Professional Engineer is required to maintain the highest levels of ethical behaviour whilst using critical thinking and problem solving in an ongoing path of professional development.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this Unit, students are expected to be able to:

1. Critically judge problems and propose solutions, and coordinate effectively when providing leadership and guidance on the Management of Assets.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
2. Check and judge the Asset Management process to optimise asset costs and functionality for use by others.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
3. Hypothesise the obligations of managing an asset and the impact it has on parties that use the asset, including financial, functional, safety, and legal impacts.
   • Bloom’s Level 6
4. Validate the Engineering Asset Life-Cycle and the critical need for judgement evaluations within the life-cycle.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
5. Plan, generate, and construct appropriate engineering and/or management elements within a major case study incorporating the management of railway assets.
   • Bloom’s Level 6

Student assessment

Prescribed and Recommended readings

Required Textbook(s)

• ISO 55000, PAS 55, an International Standard available at libraries and from Standards Australia at SAI Global (their sales arm) for $167.68 pdf, to $186.31 hardcopy or $265.49 for both (April 2016)
• Asset Management Council Framework Book, available from the Asset Management Council (Australia). The Asset Management Council is a Technical Society of Engineers Australia.

Reference Materials

A number of books, peer-reviewed journals, and websites as advised below (and during lectures):

• Wallsgrove Ruth. (2007). Rail Asset Management – how hard can it be? Railways Strategies, http://www.railwaystrategies.co.uk/article-page.php?contentid=1671&issueid=80
• The Asset Journal, Asset Management Council
• Total Asset Management (NSW Treasury), http://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/tam/tam-intro
• Books which may be accessed at the Knovel Library: https://app.knovel.com

Unit Content

One topic is delivered per contact week, with the exception of part-time 24-week units, where one topic is delivered every two weeks.

Topic 1

Introduction

1. What is Asset Management?
2. Some definitions used in Asset Management
3. Introduction to the standard ISO 55000
4. An Asset Management Plan template
5. When is asset management successful?

Topic 2

Pre-Requisites for Asset Management

1. The organisation’s Strategic Plan
2. Expectations of stakeholders, owners, users, external parties
3. What values will be brought to bear on the Asset Managers
4. The role of safety in asset management

Topic 3

Contextual Understanding of Asset Function

1. Understanding the usage needs of the asset and the life-cycle of use
2. Understanding the physical environment in which the asset has to operate
3. Understanding the safety requirements of the asset
4. Consideration of options for future maintenance and renewal, introduction
5. The total life-cycle cost, introduction

Topic 4

Data Requirements

1. An assets register – documenting the assets
2. Life expectancy and life-cycle stages
3. Condition of the assets
4. Physical and legal extent of the asset

Topic 5

Acquisition of New Assets

1. User requirements and expectations
2. Owner requirements and expectations
3. Third-party requirements and expectations
4. Legal and financial aspects
5. Balancing the requirements from different stakeholders

Topic 6

Maintenance and Operation of Existing Assets

1. The difference between managing new assets and used assets
2. Understanding what assets exist in an operating railway
3. Projections of asset life and plans for renewal
4. Projections of maintenance requirements

Topic 7

Contents of Asset Management Plan (AMP)

1. Who will compile an Asset Management Plan?
2. Who is the audience for the AMP?
3. How is the AMP expected to be used?
4. Presentation options for the plan
5. Detail within the AMP and outside of the AMP
6. Example of Asset Management Plan

Topic 8

Creating an Asset Management Plan

1. Main message of the Plan
2. Collection and presentation of environment scan and context
3. Collection and Presentation of Asset Data
4. Maintenance, renewal and disposal options
5. Funding of maintenance and renewal
6. Maintenance Plan and costs
7. Capital expenditure Plan and costs
8. Total life-cycle costs for the asset

Topic 9

Using and Updating the Asset Management Plan

1. The AMP is a dynamic document
2. Why would an AMP need a complete rewrite?
3. What information would be used to update an AMP?
4. Achieving a successful outcome to Asset Management

Topic 10

Information Technology Systems for Asset Management

1. How big is the dataset and how complicated is the task for your assets?
2. What output do you want to create from an IT system?
3. The range of off-the-shelf applications
4. Choosing the right IT application for your circumstances

Topic 11

Communication of the Asset Management Plan

1. Who compiled the AMP?
2. Who didn’t assist with the AMP?
3. What can be presented and what shouldn’t be presented?
4. Various means of presentation to different audiences
5. How to engender real buy-in
6. Reasons for failure of the Asset Management Planning process

Topic 12

Project and Unit Review

In the final week students will have an opportunity to review the contents covered so far.  Opportunity will be provided for a review of student work and to clarify any outstanding issues.  Instructors/facilitators may choose to cover a specialised topic if applicable to that cohort.

Engineers Australia

The Australian Engineering Stage 1 Competency Standards for the Professional Engineer, approved as of 2013. This table is referenced in the mapping of graduate attributes to learning outcomes and via the learning outcomes to student assessment.

Software/Hardware Used

Software

• Software: N/A

• Version: N/A

•  Instructions: N/A

•  Additional resources or files: N/A

Hardware

• Hardware: N/A

Unit Changes Based on Student Feedback