Asset manager

Asset manager practitioners work in a range of industries that manage physical assets. This includes energy and utilities, manufacturing, mining, petrochemical, buildings and transport. They may be employed by asset owning companies, outsourced services companies or asset management consultants. Companies may range in size from small to large.

Physical assets are defined as an item, thing or entity that has value to a business or service. Examples include buildings, bridges, digital hardware, flood defences, gas fiscal metering, pipelines, plant , rail track, reservoirs, roads, retail space, runways and wind turbines. ISO 55000 defines asset management as ‘the co-ordinated activity of an organisation to realise value from assets'.

Asset manager practitioners contribute to the asset management function within an organisation. They help to ensure physical assets are managed in a way to achieve the organisation’s objectives and provide an appropriate level of service. They assess the performance, condition, root cause of failure, consequence of failure and risk of physical assets, asset systems and the service they provide. They identify asset investment needs, interventions and mitigations for asset failure, and produce business cases to address asset investment needs. They participate in the management of asset data, supplier selection and management, and support stakeholder engagement. They also promote and champion asset management within the organisation. They will work both in the office and at asset locations. They do not conduct physical ‘hands on’ operation or maintenance of assets.

In their daily work, they interact with the wider business and senior managers in the organisation to whom they will report. In order to support their work, they will liaise with internal stakeholders. These could include maintenance and operations personnel, investment groups, policy teams and capital delivery. Plus customer services to ensure the asset management function aligns with customer, stakeholder and organisational requirements. They may also come into contact with representatives from other organisations or external bodies such as clients, funding agencies, regulators and suppliers.

They are responsible for ensuring asset management complies with legal frameworks and legislation, including public health, health and safety, economic and environmental. They need to keep up to date with asset management requirements and best practice. They typically work to deadlines with minimal supervision, operating within a set framework and budget. They may be responsible for leading a project team but are not usually responsible for line management.