News

SPM Assets was pleased to be a major sponsor and participant at this year's Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA) Strategic Asset Management Workshop. The common theme coming through, was that sound Asset Management is becoming increasingly critical in delivering a sustainable and modern tertiary education product.

Kees Beentjes, Asset Management Specialist, shares his thoughts on why some clients struggle with the concept of Levels of Service (LoS), and with the resource requirements to develop these. When working with smaller organisations with few asset management resources, we are often asked the question, “Where is the value to the organisation?”

Will larger corporate software eventually do everything for everyone? Or will specialist smart innovative connected applications win? Can a corporate ERP write an AMP, generate a real works-programme and lead you to do the right thing and make good decisions? Our technology choices today will dictate our future – is your organisation providing you the right tools?

The 2017 Conference had particular relevance in Houston given the city’s resilience and recovery following the recent hurricane and citywide flooding. Education sessions covered topics from global technology trends in facility management, application of artificial intelligence, and information as-built to optimising space utilisation and much more.

Continuous improvement of Otago Polytechnic’s asset planning approach covers strategic asset management planning, lifecycle forecasts, and evidence-based business cases for capital spending decisions. Their key goals were to: inform its strategic planning solutions, create improved management reporting and understand the cost to maintain the built environment.

Wellington City Council has recently published a case study that demonstrates how they use Building Information Modelling (BIM) to cost effectively manage its property portfolio, specifically focusing on a small social housing complex – Bracken Road Flats. It shows the value of BIM with benefits including the ability to forecast ongoing operating costs and plan maintenance.

Thinking long term means that we need to think well beyond the scheduled maintenance and servicing tasks. We need to think beyond reactive maintenance. We need to think beyond 5 years or even 10 years, and realise that to ensure properties are managed in a sustainable way, we need to think 30 years out. This is where NAMS in NZ and IPWEA in AU have stepped in.

Asset Planning Specialist Kerrie Warwick takes time out to explain the difference between 'condition' and 'defects' - terms which are often confused and misused. Asset Managers who treat condition and defects separately will make better informed planning decisions and get more from their lifecycle and maintenance funding sources.