An accreditation story: Advancing asset management with ISO 55001

The Challenge

Rigorous asset management is a hallmark of every high-performing organisation; it drives efficiency, reduces downtime, and builds resilience into a business. It can also boost financial performance and play a central role in ensuring outstanding customer service.

The energy provider we recently worked with fully grasps this. The group, which is a major infrastructure investor and a driving force behind Ireland’s transition to renewable energy, regards continual investment in its assets as a priority (after all, its services depend on them).

And, like all industry leaders, it continually looks to enhance and improve all aspects of its operations.

So, in 2023, it set out to fulfil a key aspiration regarding how it manages its physical assets – securing accreditation to ISO 55001, the globally recognised asset management standard.

The accreditation, it knew, would act as a beacon to its internal teams, its customers, its regulator, and other key stakeholders. It was a surefire way of providing confidence and reassurance that its operations and services are in line with international best practice. It called on Cohesive to help.

Our Solution

Our work with this 800-employee, c.€2 billion turnover organisation, followed our Cohesive Asset Management Approach framework.

This technology-agnostic approach starts with a ‘gap assessment’, includes the development of a roadmap matched precisely to a business’s needs and sees us work together to implement the plan.

An initial onsite meeting enabled us to discuss the organisation’s goals, challenges and ambitions regarding the accreditation and its asset management more widely.

Though its asset portfolio is wide – including wind farms, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants and a 50MW battery storage facility – it was seeking accreditation only initially, for one key site.

Our team reviewed and evaluated the organisation’s existing asset management system documentation, policies and procedures. We carried out onsite and virtual interviews with relevant team members and identified potential gaps and non-conformities that needed to be addressed.

The business’s existing enterprise asset management solution, IBM Maximo, had been implemented by a third party without an accompanying strategy. Consequently, it had not realised in full the benefits the organisation had hoped for.

Working closely with the organisation’s internal team, we helped them to prioritize the necessary tasks and develop a roadmap with clear implementation targets and owners.

Cohesive is a corporate member of the Institute of Asset Management, as well as an accredited endorsed assessor for ISO 55001:2014 which is a technology-agnostic accreditation.

Supporting modernized, digital, asset management is not, as sometimes assumed, an IT project. And critically, our team are not just technology experts. They also bring detailed operational knowledge from their backgrounds working across industry – whether in power, manufacturing, or marine environments.

This gives them a full understanding of the challenges of asset management and how best to overcome them.

The Client Benefits

Following an accreditation assessment by an independent third party, the plant successfully received ISO 55001 accreditation.

As an independent endorsement of the energy organisation’s asset management practices, the standard provides confidence to its group’s clients, partners and other stakeholders that it is managing its assets appropriately and effectively.

Other benefits include:

• Risk reduction through reduced chance of unplanned downtime
• Demonstrating it can be trusted by thousands of homes and businesses throughout Ireland to meet their energy needs through adherence to the highest standards – in line with its key ‘trusted’ value.

However, accreditation was not the end of this organisation’s commitment to asset management excellence. It is continuing in its efforts to unlock the benefits of its rigorous processes and systems for its internal teams and customers, and other stakeholders.  The accreditation has provided it with a framework which will help it to keep improving.

Energy organisation’s ISO 55001 aims:

• Demonstrate best practice
  The organisation’s internal teams, customers, regulator & stakeholders can all see it is committed to first-class infrastructure management.
• Gain maximum value from its assets
  The accreditation is helping the organisation to enhance its asset management – driving peak performance, ensuring improved control over its assets, and bringing out the best from them every day.
• Align asset management with business objectives
  The accreditation provides a framework that helps the company to link its asset management with its business goals and reduce risk-related costs.
• Ensure continued exceptional customer service delivery
  Through proactive maintenance of its assets and by ensuring their full ‘health’ the organisation is also ensuring an enhanced, reliable service for its customers.
• Position itself as a sector leader
  By aligning with international best practice, the company has enhanced its reputation – demonstrating it is a well-run, efficient and trustworthy organisation.