The consolidation of the wind power industry in the last years requires companies to optimize their performance of the delivery of the wind energy asset’s lifecycle they cover in order to stay in the market. The Asset Management Standard ISO 55000 is a general framework applicable for companies which work with infrastructure assets. As the delivery of wind energy assets is very specific in all aspects of its lifecycle delivery, the Thesis identifies that there is a need for an Asset Management framework which is specific for the wind power industry.This Thesis uses the ISO 55000 and PAS 55 as a base for the development of a wind power industry specific Asset Management framework. The focus is on the lifecycle delivery of the wind energy assets which it traces back to the other Asset Management (AM) aspects. The different wind energy asset’s lifecycle phases Pre-Study, Planning, Construction, Operation and Maintenance and Decommissioning are explained and appended with related working tasks as well as their relation to the overall AM framework. The other AM groups AM Strategy & Objectives, AM Decision Making, Organization & People, Asset Information and Risk & Review are given an introduction to the specific topics.Asset Management is found to be a useful instrument to improve overall company performance and should be considered to be implemented by companies in the wind power industry to bring down the Levelized Cost of Energy of wind power and gain competitive advantage also against fossil fuels as sources of energy production to replace them in a near as possible future.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Business-to-business services relating to physical asset management are playing an increasingly important role in industry. This is in the midst of the current pressures which asset owning organisations are experiencing in realising optimal value from their assets. The pursuit of understanding and complying with asset management standards such as ISO 55000 as well as the potential value to be gained from successful and sustainable business relationships contributes towards the importance of these services. The problem is that there is little or no evidence regarding the critical success factors for collaborating successfully in asset management services. The study identi es these critical success factors and demonstrates how the factors can di er between role players, industries, global regions and service types. A decision support model is developed providing the asset management community with access to the critical success factors for decision-making purposes. Based on the synthesis from internationally conducted Delphi- and survey studies it is found that the continued and sustained commitment from the asset owning organisation's senior management in support of the asset management service is the most critical factor for a successful asset management service partnership. Open and e ective communication is also highlighted as being critical, while it is important to have a process in place to improve the service continuously. Laboratory and eld testing con rm the validity of the decision support model for facilitating the decision-making process to improve asset management services, and in addition it also formalises the commercial and contracting processes relating to these services. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Besigheid-tot-besigheidsdienste met betrekking tot siese batebestuur speel 'n toenemende belangrike rol in die industrie. Dit is te midde van die druk wat batebesittende organisasies tans ondervind om optimale waarde uit hul siese bates te verkry. Die strewe na beter begrip en om te voldoen aan batebestuurstandaarde soos ISO 55000, asook die potensiële waarde wat verkry kan word uit suksesvolle en volhoubare besigheidheidsvennootskappe, dra by tot die belangrikheid van hierdie dienste. Die probleem is daar bestaan min of geen bewyse rakende die kritiese suksesfaktore vir suksesvolle samewerking in batebestuurdienste. Die studie identi seer die kritiese suksesfaktore en toon aan hoe hierdie faktore kan verskil tussen rolspelers, industrieë, wêreldstreke en dienstipes. 'n Besluitnemingsmodel is ontwikkel wat die batebestuurgemeenskap toegang gee tot die kritiese suksesfaktore vir besluitnemingsdoeleindes. Gebaseeer op die sintese van internasionale Delphi- en opnamestudies is daar bevind dat die mees kritieke faktor vir 'n suksesvolle vennootskap in batebestuurdienste die voortgesette en volgehoue toewyding deur die bate-besittende organisasie se senior bestuur, ter ondersteuning van die batebestuurdiens, is. Doeltre ende en openhartige kommunikasie is ook uitgewys as krities, terwyl dit belangrik is om 'n proses te volg om die diens voortdurend te verbeter. Laboratorium- en praktyk toetsing het bevestig dat die besluitnemingsmodel geldig is vir die fasilitering van die besluitnemingsproses om batebestuursdienste te verbeter asook vir die formalisering van die kommersiële en kontraktuele prosesse wat verband hou met hierdie dienste.

Vital societal functions are upheld by public infrastructure. For some time, normative theories describing asset management have disseminated in research and in business. Public infrastructure companies are increasingly required to adhere to management standards under regulatory pressure, however, the research area is in need of more empirical contributions on which challenges companies face when implementing management systems standards in their organization. For asset management systems and the ISO 55000 series in particular, the empirical data is lacking. This thesis addresses the challenges public utility companies face when implementing asset management principles. A qualitative case study was conducted during a five-month period at Sweden's largest water utility company, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall AB (SVOA). Fourteen interviews were conducted and compared with company documents to provide triangulation. The findings suggest that the main challenges a public utility company has to overcome to implement an asset management model are: 1) Lack of strategic and long-term planning responsibility. 2) Unclear division of asset responsibilities. 3) Lack of top management commitment towards asset management systems. 4) No standardized risk management. 5) Lack of information sharing between departments. The implications of this study are twofold: In a practical sense the thesis argues for top management of public infrastructure firms to commit to principles of asset management theory, provide a clear division of asset responsibility, introduce systematic risk management principles and policies, as well as promote cross-divisional exchanges of experiences. Academically, this investigation contributes to the literature by providing a better understanding of the ISO 55000 series, and the implementation process of standards similar to it, in the context of companies managed by the public sector. / Kritiska samhällsfunktioner möjliggörs av offentlig infrastruktur. Sen ett antal år tillbaka finns flertalet normativa teorier publicerade som beskriver hur tillgångshantering (asset management) ska gå till. Under krav från lagstiftning och tillsynsmyndigheter måste offentliga verksamheter i allt högre grad införa standardiserande arbetssätt. Det finns en brist på forskning kring utmaningarna att bygga upp och införa ledningssystem i verksamheten. Särskilt ledningssystem för tillgångshantering som till exempel ISO 55000 saknar empiriska data. Detta examensarbete behandlar de utmaningar offentliga infrastrukturbolag står inför för att implementera tillgångshanteringsprinciper. En kvalitativ fallstudie gjordes över fem månader på Sverige största leverantör av vattentjänster, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall AB (SVOA). Totalt fjorton intervjuer gjordes och jämfördes mot interna företagsdokument för att uppnå triangulering. Resultaten pekar på att de största utmaningarna ett offentligt infrastrukturbolag måste övervinna är: 1) Brist på strategisk och långtidsplanering. 2) Otydlig fördelning av tillgångsansvar. 3) Brist på ledningsengagemang för tillgångshanteringssystem. 4) Avsaknad av standardiserad riskhantering. 5) Brist på informationsutbyte. Konsekvenserna av examensarbetet är tvåfaldig: På ett praktiskt plan argumenterar examensarbetet för att ledningen av offentliga infrastrukturbolag bör förpliktiga sig åt tillgångshanteringsprinciper. De bör även införa en tydlig uppdelning av tillgångsansvar, introducera standardiserade riskhanteringsmodeller och policy, samt bidra till tvärfunktionella erfarenhetsutbyten. På ett akademiskt plan bidrar examensarbetet till att utöka förståelsen för ISO 55000 standarden och implementeringsprocessen för liknande standarder i kontexten av offentligt styrda företag.