What’s a SAMP (strategic asset management plan)? Do you really need one? And what’s required to make its aims and objectives a reality?
What is a strategic asset management plan?
A strategic asset management plan (also known as a SAMP) is not a step-by-step guide to asset management implementation. Instead, it’s a statement of intent and a planning tool. It's a document that clarifies your asset management priorities and the practices you will implement to meet wider organisational goals.
Your SAMP is used to set the agenda for asset management planning - and seal internal agreement on a company-wide strategy that may govern your approach to asset management for the next 5, 10, or even 15 years.
What does the SAMP typically include?
The plan might contain a high-level strategic statement - a breakdown of the tools and approaches you will use to manage assets to meet business objectives. It may also include key actions and milestones, tables of KPIs and costings, as well as appendices detailing supporting plans and other information.
The asset management standard ISO 55001 and guidance from the IAM (Institute of Asset Management) gives companies advice on how to create and specify a strategic plan, based on your FM and business goals.
Although they can all be different, a SAMP typically includes the following:
Overview
An overview of the current extent and state of your asset portfolio.
Strategy statement
A statement of strategic intent for your assets - showing how they will be used to support your wider business aims.
These will differ from sector to sector, and company to company. But they might include - increasing ROI from Capex, meeting ESG commitments or delivering targeted and more comprehensive regulatory compliance:
- Reduce overall maintenance costs
- Improve customer experience (reduce business downtime)
- Increase asset lifecycle (to maximise ROI)
- Reduce business landfill and greenhouse emissions
- 100% record on regulatory inspections and audits
Asset lifecycle management commitments
A view of your lifecycle management commitments - plus your ability to deliver these.
- Acquisition and implementation: Plan for acquiring new assets with a focus on long-term value and alignment with strategic needs.
- Maintenance and operation: Develop strategies for maintaining assets to ensure they are kept in optimal working condition, minimising downtime and extending their useful life.
- Disposal and renewal: Establish processes for retiring assets efficiently and sustainably when they reach the end of their useful life, including replacing them as needed.
Risk management overview
An overview of the risks your assets may pose - and how you intend to mitigate them:
- Identify risks: Recognise potential risks associated with asset failure, including operational, financial, and reputational risks.
- Mitigate risks: The strategies you will implement to mitigate these risks, such as regular maintenance, diversification of assets, and contingency planning.
Performance monitoring and improvement
An overview of strategic KPIs and how you intend to measure and monitor your performance against these goals.
- Measure performance: How you will monitor and report on asset performance, ensuring assets meet expected service levels and contribute to strategic objectives.
- Continuous improvement: How you intend performance data to identify opportunities for improvement, whether through better asset utilisation, maintenance practices, or investment in new assets.
Financial management
- Budgeting and financial planning: Outline plans to ensure that the costs of asset acquisition, maintenance, and disposal are accounted for in the organisation’s financial planning.
- Cost optimisation: Show how you will optimise the cost-effectiveness of assets throughout their lifecycle, including energy efficiency measures and renegotiating contracts.
Stakeholder engagement
An outline of the businesses approach to cross department and external engagement:
- Internal alignment: Ensure that all parts of the organisation understand the strategic importance of assets and their role in managing them.
- External collaboration: Work with suppliers, contractors, and other partners to align asset management practices and leverage their expertise.
The pillars of strategic asset management
But you can’t create a convincing strategy without a complete 360 view of your assets. And you can’t implement the strategy unless you have the right focus, plans and digital tools to measure, control and optimise your asset management over time.
1. Asset register
The start of every strategic asset management planning process must be to compile your asset register to understand the value, condition location of your assets right now. If you haven’t already done it, the best way to achieve this is to ‘walk the floor’, logging and labelling each piece of equipment as you go. This ensures each asset can asset be linked back to an individual record in the register. You may work with consultants to compile this definitive list, but you should make sure they are building a dynamic, digital register that can be maintained in real time, so you can control every element of their their lifecycle.
2. Asset prioritisation
In the complex web of assets you manage, not all are equal. Some are critical to your core operations and your long term strategy, while others may not warrant the same level of attention. You need to understand the risks associated with each asset, you can prioritize your efforts effectively, focusing your resources on areas with the most significant impact on safety, compliance, and operational continuity.
3. Asset strategy framework
When you’ve got an overview of the current extent and condition of your asset inventory, you can begin to really see where your tactical and strategic priorities should lie. Where are you exposed to significant risk of asset failure? Which area of your business requires most Capex?
Combine this understanding with your overall business objectives, your available budget, your ESG commitments and growth plans, then you can build the right digital framework for strategic control and oversight of assets with a view to optimising their performance over time.
4. Asset lifecycle management tools
Ensure you have the tools in place to create maintenance and lifecycle plans for each of your assets and groups of assets in line with industry best practice and your strategy. With a digital asset register you can develop maintenance and review schedules for every asset your business owns, recording:
- Current value
- Depreciation
- Total cost of ownership
- Warranty details
- Service history
The right CAFM system, will allow:
- Asset users to raise work requests
- FM team to request quotes
- Contractors and engineers to record time and attendance
- Maintenance and performance data to be collected
All this micro and macro data will help you plan for acquisitions, operations, maintenance, disposal, funding, and risk management for each asset that you own.
5. Asset performance and budget monitoring tools
ISO 55000, the international asset management standard, requires you to report on asset performance and the effectiveness of the asset management system. These performance and financial reporting systems are integral to your ability to set KPIs, including budgetary and commercial targets.
With the right asset management software in place, you can look at data surrounding the assets and groups of assets to understand;
- Trends in performance and condition
- Total cost of ownership
- Cost of replacement
These analytics will help you decide when and how to dispose of assets, as well as how to spend your budget to maximise ROI. For more information, read our blog about the three killer reports that every FM team should have access to.
Conclusion
As the IAM says:
Asset Management is more than ‘doing things’ to assets - it is about using assets to deliver value and achieve the organisation’s business objectives.
The SAMP is a clear and costed statement of intent that shows your business the objectives of your asset management strategy - and an overview of the plans and targets by which your success will be judged.
But you can’t create a realistic, workable SAMP without access to the data and tools that can unlock the secrets of your assets and give you control over them in the future.
