The premise for this thesis is that successful management of physical assets must consider not only the infrastructure, but also the wider system within which it is located. Only through 'systems thinking' can the performance of a complex asset be managed to meet the demand being placed on it by its stakeholders, which may include customers; shareholders: staff; regulators and suppliers. In order to balance the competing demands of the various stakeholders, an organisation must be able to link the work that is carried out in maintaining. improving and replacing assets, to the service demands. This can only be done through understanding the processes occurring within and between the assets being managed. Current best practice in Asset Management revolves around principles of risk management, lifecycle planning and prioritisation. This requires a good understanding of interactions within the system. which could be gained from a process-based view of performance. A review of existing process models reveals a need for a generic methodology for building process models that could support improved Asset Management for organisations whose main asset base includes complex infrastructure elements. This should ultimately result in improved condition monitoring, management and performance of existing assets, and point out any need for further investment in new assets or data collection. An enhanced Asset Management methodology is developed through the course of this research and is demonstrated on a simplified case study based on part of the business of Scottish and Southern Energy pIc. The study reveals the importance of process modelling in allowing an organisation to overcome the dangers of silo-organisation, as represented in the traditional organigram. The enhanced methodology encourages greater communication along cross-functional lines rather than through a department-by-department approach and could therefore support the implementation of quality systems such as ISO 9001.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:289544 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Baker-Langman, E. J. |
| Contributors | Taylor, Colin |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1983/d5280cd9-7819-42df-864c-3af3cd4236b0 |
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