But it is hard to make the practical connections between ‘big issue’ agendas (such as climate change, energy transition, sustainability and social responsibility) and our day-to-day actions, priorities and habits. This applies both in the workplace and in our personal lives. Deciding what, and how much, to sacrifice in the short term, for the benefit of the long term – and perhaps a multi-generational long term – is very difficult. And this is especially so if every day is already being spent in trying to keep multiple interests happy, with resource and time constraints. The problems have several manifestations:
In tackling such challenges, SALVO research has shown how the good disciplines and processes can force the right questions to be asked, more consistently, and how we can put a quantified value on risk, sustainability and intangibles. The research also revealed better ways to handle trade-offs and compromise, how to deal with uncertainty in a safe and transparent manner, and how to build consensus between stakeholders.
Sustainability, environmental and social responsibilities are essentially ‘business drivers’ like cost, risk and performance. They can be incorporated into a Value Framework, with scales of significance, and they can be included in cost/benefit evaluations and justifications. But, like risk, they are ‘fuzzy’ when compared to hard cash or performance metrics. The potential long-term impacts are inherently uncertain, both in degree and in significance. They are also extremely difficult to measure, even indirectly with presumed ‘predictive indicators’. Success or failure will not be evident until it is too late.
These issues make it imperative that our decision-making skills are given a boost. And I don’t mean just the ‘big decisions’ about strategy and capital investment. The most profound global effects are likely to come from groundswell adjustments in the many small decisions that are being made daily by everyone. In all levels of decision-making, we can learn and practice
An example of the learning that is needed lies in a common conceptual mistake when handling trade-offs and compromise. Just think how often you hear the term ‘balancing’ costs/ risks/ performance etc. Yet this is NOT what we should be trying to do. Balancing seeks a point of equality, where the pain equals the gain, or the costs/risks are the same as the benefits. The optimal decision is quite different: it is a maximum degree of imbalance of benefits to costs and risks. In other words, it is the highest ‘gain to pain’ ratio, where all stakeholder impacts, positive and negative, have been included, and over a time horizon in which they will occur. This is what we need to call ‘best value’.
Of course, future impacts are already considered in many evaluation and decision-making processes. We use discounted cashflow to convert future costs and benefits into today’s equivalent value. But can we do this also for existential threats or sustainability concerns? The effect of such discounting will tend to undermine our motives for long-termism, by creating an inherent bias towards the concrete and immediate. A pound/dollar/euro in the hand today is worth more than one we might receive in 10 years’ time. But what if the benefits of waiting are disproportionately important? Should we be considering, perhaps, a form of ‘negative discounting’ to force a positive long-termism bias into our evaluations and justifications?
These and other questions need to be addressed in our decision-making frameworks, both formally, in our organisations, and informally, in our personal choices, values and habits. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that our decision-making will be in the spotlight during the decisive decade, along with the efforts and commitment needed to implement the resulting changes.
As Project Director for the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), John Woodhouse, and colleagues, has been building on the existing IAM knowledge base on how to assess Asset Management Maturity, beyond the level of competence.
Watch our contribution in The Institute of Asset Management (IAM) and ITN Productions Industry News programme Planning for the Long Term, exploring the vital role of whole life management of physical assets and how to increase the value they provide to society and the economy.
José Luis cuenta con una experiencia exitosa en multi-industrias públicas y privadas, donde desempeñó cargos gerenciales, líder de aplicación técnica especializada, puestos operativos y en mantenimiento, así como en áreas de consultoría sustentando nivel operativo, táctico y estratégico.
Ha formado parte de proyectos de mejoramiento de gestión de activos, confiabilidad operacional, integridad y mantenimiento en Latinoamérica en diferentes empresas creando valor al negocio con resultados técnicos y económicos importantes.
Facilitador e instructor acreditado en temas relacionados con la gestión de activos, mejores prácticas, metodologías de administración gerencial y técnicas especializadas.
Mechanical Engineer with 31 years of experience. Specialist in implementation processes of activities
associated with Asset Management under the ISO 55001 approach, Implementation of diagnostic
programs and audits of management systems, Specialist in applying reliability methodologies such as
Reliability-Centered Maintenance, risk-based inspection, Cause Analysis Root, Life Cycle Cost Analysis,
Condition Based Maintenance, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, Mechanical Integrity among others.
He has been an Equipment Mechanical Integrity Engineer, an experienced user of traditional NonDestructive Testing such as Ultrasound, Infrared Thermography, Superficial Techniques, Industrial
Radiography.
He has led and participated in countless applications in the field of reliability and condition monitoring,
with special emphasis on the generation and execution of policies and maintenance plans aimed at
achieving the “minimum total business impact” guaranteeing Safety, Hygiene and Environment
standards.
Over his 28 plus year span in the industrial sectors with working technical backgrounds in Project & Construction Management, Asset Operations and Maintenance Reliability Management, and being certified in various courses of study; Damien has gained the knowledge and experience and has had proven successes throughout his tenure in the Oil, Gas, Petro-Chemical and Construction sectors. Establishing his-self in the various sectors, Damien’s first experience and success started in the Construction Sector in estimating engineering. This was the stepping stone for Damien and has paved the way for his passion and continued success in supporting People, Process, and Systems in an organization.
Damien has held positions in local, international and multi-national corporations and comes from a working background in the fields of environmental, operations, project and construction management, operations maintenance and reliability management, planning, supervisory management, and has proven his abilities to succeed in each field.
Rich was an Engineer and Project Manager professional at the New York Power Authority for over 30-years. In addition to being the first Project Manager for the Niagara Project Upgrade, Rich rose to be the Vice President of Engineering having started in Operations Engineering decades earlier. Rich went on to be Vice President, Transmission and Substation at AECOM responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in design and construction. Rich joined Woodhouse Partnership, North America and participates in aligning organization towards ISO 55000 and many reliability studies supporting DST.
with
Our Asset Management Academy is pleased to announce 2023 dates for our Masterclass – the benchmark for personal development and competency recognition for Asset Management Professionals
Executive in Operational Excellence, Asset Management and Best Practices in Projects, Operations and Maintenance in the Energy and Industrial Sector.
Consultant, Instructor and International Lecturer on issues related to project management (risk management), operational reliability, strategic management of operations, maintenance, Asset Management in the energy sector (ISO 55001) and Applied Data Analytics.
PMP, CMRP, IAM and CAMA certifications, being recognized by the SMRP in 2019 as CMRP of the Year https://smrp.org/2019-CMRP-Winners.
George has over twenty-five years of experience as a consulting engineer providing design, planning, program and project management, and strategic asset management services for asset-intensive organizations in the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. His primary focus has been in the public infrastructure sector; as a result, he has intimate knowledge of the assets, processes, and resources necessary to deliver and sustain safe, reliable services to the customers of public asset-owning organizations.
George has assisted organizations with the development of PAS 55, ISO 55000, and GFMAM AM Landscape aligned asset management systems (AMS), has performed gap analyses of their AMS against industry standards and best practices, and has guided them through the creation of strategic asset management plans (SAMPs), asset management plans (AMPs), AM policy and supporting documents. He has undertaken asset risk modelling to ascertain organizations’ capability to sustain their desired levels of service. George has performed asset health-informed lifecycle cost modelling and forecasting capital and operational expenditures over near and long-term planning horizons.
With 30 years’ experience in utilities, oil & gas, transport and other sectors, John is one of the most widely known experts in integrated asset management projects for some of the largest companies in the world.
John is a Founder and Life Fellow of the IAM; he has written 4 books, chaired the development of BSI PAS55 and represents the UK on the ISO55000 committee.
He also led the international MACRO and SALVO collaboration projects in optimised asset management decision-making.
