Taking care of a facility and managing a number of important pieces of equipment is a big job with a lot of responsibility. After all, the company is largely dependent upon all of those things continuing to work and be maintained. Strategically figuring out the best time to make new investments and upgrades is a skill in and of itself.
Fortunately, there are a number of new, efficiency-building tools that can be used alongside practical knowledge to help determine the best times to make key investments in company assets. Making these key investments can be a critical component of keeping everything moving along and increasing company profits. Building a strong asset management plan is the first step.
Building a More Efficient Operation
It is easy to forget how important asset management is until something goes wrong. Without asset managers, critical infrastructure is at risk of complete failure which would ultimately make or break a company. Creating a well-run asset management strategy isn’t nearly as simple as it might appear on the surface.
To develop a strong strategy, asset managers should first take a hard look at what should be considered assets in the first place. Assets are defined as any material or immaterial resource that provides economic value. This can range from intangible things like patents or licenses to tangible items like land, equipment, machines, or even major office supplies.
One of the most important first steps in designing any asset management plan is to identify any critical assets. These are the ones that the business is dependent upon and, therefore, the most important assets to prioritize. For instance, if maintaining a license is key to running the business, a high focus should be placed on completing reviews and paperwork required to keep the license current and within legal standards. Likewise, if the company is dependent upon one or two pieces of heavy equipment, maintenance should be a top priority, and developing a backup plan should be in the works.
Leveraging Cloud Computing Software
The goal of an asset management strategy is to develop a process for evaluating when certain assets need to be managed, maintained, upgraded, or disposed of. Each asset may have a life-cycle of anywhere from 10 to 50 or more years with varying maintenance needs along the way, making a well-developed budget an important aspect of good asset management. This is where some of the new and exciting pieces of technology can make a profound difference.
Tools like cloud asset management can help large companies keep track of numerous assets all in one space. The management software can provide alerts for when certain maintenance tasks or necessary upgrades are coming due and help keep asset managers organized. Cloud computing security is essential if your business opts for this route, so encouraging your employees to use multi-factor authentication and ensuring they know how to avoid common scams like phishing attacks is necessary in order to keep any data that you have on the cloud safe. When done correctly, cloud computing and asset management may even help to keep certain pieces of data safer than if they were to remain locked in a file cabinet on site.
Advanced cloud asset management users may also be able to tap into functions that build even greater efficiency and cost savings into their operations. For instance, cloud computing can help manage inventory or be used to automatically order parts that are known to be needed for upcoming maintenance. This can save the business a lot of time because necessary parts will be on hand on maintenance day, limiting the amount of time important equipment must spend offline.
Diving into Artificial Intelligence
Even newer and more advanced applications are on the horizon as well. Tools like artificial intelligence (AI) are set to completely change the way we function as a society and will most certainly come to play a key role in asset management in the future. AI is transforming the workplace and job market as we know it, by creating opportunities for businesses to become more productive by improving workflows and closing skills gaps.
Tools like AI could also help asset managers attain other, more complex goals. For instance, technology could play a key role in helping to determine strategies for maintaining the value and efficiency of certain assets while becoming more environmentally sustainable. AI could, for example, analyze buildings and determine where the most cost-effective energy savings could be made. It could also help to develop a task list for slowly making these improvements without breaking the budget.
Even when it comes to things like reporting, new technologies can make a big difference. AI-driven software could play a role by producing reports, yes, but it could also be designed to produce reports that flag potential problems with equipment or in the budget. Likewise, it can be used to project into the future and determine how certain decisions could impact the company going forward.
Conclusion
Asset management is an important aspect of running a successful business. Developing a plan for asset maintenance, upgrades, and replacement and working it into the company budget may be the difference between long-term success or failure. Incorporating new technologies as a means of optimizing asset management strategies is a powerful way to stay ahead and build even greater efficiencies.
Miles Oliver is an independent writer with a background in business and a passion for tech, news, and simply helping people live happy and fulfilled lives. He has lived and traveled all over the United States and continues to expand his awareness and experiences. When he is not writing, he is most likely mountain biking or kicking back with a cup of tea.