Asset Management And ISO Standards In Downer Group And Melbourne Cricket Club Essay.

This assignment is a high level review of your company / plant operation.

1.  Identify your employer, the type of industry, and your position contact numbers and email address at work.

2.  Discuss the function of asset management to the overall business.

3.  Explain the operation and performance requirements for the plant/assets.

4.  Identify the key physical assets and their operation and performance requirements for the overall production / availability of the operation / plant.

5.  Review ISO55000, ISO55001, ISO55002

6.  Provide a brief comment on each Major Headings (starting from Requirement 4. Contextof the Organisation) as compare to your business. i.e.

1.  Context of the Organisation

2.  Leadership

3. Planning

4.  Support

5.  Opertions

6.  Performance evaluation

7. Improvement

7.  Identify 1 Major Requirement (or a specific sub-requirement), and comment on where you see improvement can be made

8.  Develop an action plan to address the improvement you identified in point 7

Identifying relevant details of work place

Downer Group is a public engineering and infrastructure company situated in Sydney, Australia. Grant Fenn, the Managing Director and CEO of Downer Group own the company. The company is reputed to provide services for mining, communications, technologies and transport services. In order to establish contact with the company, people need to visit the official website and drop emails as per requirements.

Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a reputed stadium in Australia that hosts cricket, Australian Rules football, baseball, golf, and hockey and so on. Committee members associated with different sports are the primary owners of the stadium. The stadium can be visited by every people and can be accessed online from its website. During the organising of any sports event, the stadium witnesses people from all around the country and the world.

Asset management refers to maintaining and monitoring valuable things for an organisation. These include tangible and intangible assets of an organisation. The application of this term is broadly done to indicate the financial level of an organisation. The joint collaboration undertaken by Downer and MCC requires proper managing of assets. This includes financial, infrastructure, enterprise and public management of assets in order to succeed in the business. The functions of an asset manager are to ensure the steady flow of funds in an organisation. They undertake the duty of investing in a particular project. The asset manager maintains the financial intermediation in a company. This is required in order to understand the flow of assets in a company. In the case of Downer and the MCC, the function of the asset manager can help in providing an excellent rating in the operations. This includes a sustainable approach to maintain the sectors.

Figure: Flow chart of financial intermediation

(Source: )

In order to make a business successful, it is required that every organisation assess the operations undertaken and the performance required to complete the operations. This is important in order to identify the potential strengths of the company. In the case of Downer and MCC, the performance requirements of these sectors need to be such that the employees provide their best in order to achieve the goals. For example, the grounds men at the MCC need to ensure that the playing area is well maintained for the successful completion of a game. On the other hand, Downer also needs to maintain the operations of the company so that innovative technologies can be adopted for the improvement of the company.

In order to remain consistent after achieving the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Operations rating, the sectors need to ensure that the sustainability vision that they have is applied properly. The fact that the two sectors received an excellent IS rating is indicative of the fact both sectors maintain the standards set about in the ISO series. However, to maintain the consistency, the sectors need to provide employment to more employees so that the work can be carried on at a smooth level. The performance of the ground stuff at the MCC need to be such that the games can be played without causing any harm to the players. The sustainability theory can be applied even to Downer. Since the company is engaged in engineering and infrastructure, the performance and the aim of the employees need to be aimed at reducing pollution from the environment.  

Discussing asset management function

The ISO55000 is one of the ISO series that helps in providing an overview of asset management. It provides the terms and definitions required to understand the standard as a whole. This particular standard is aimed at providing certain improvements that are required for the success of an organisation. The application of asset management assures that objectives can be achieved after being consistent and sustainable with time. The primary intention of the standard is to improve the value of an organisation based on the assets. It also aims to remain involved in the establishment, implementation and improvement of an asset. The involvement of planning and designing is also undertaken by the monitoring of the assets of a company. With time, the application of this standard has evolved and new standards have been formulated. This includes the application and evaluation of the standards of the same series.  

For a manager involved in dealing with the assets of a company, the ISO55001 specifies the requirements that involve an integration of the management system for a proper management of assets. The ISO technical committee developed this theory in January 2014. This ISO standard provides specifications about the establishment and improvement of a managerial system for the improvement of assets in an organisation. The objective of this standard is to involve maintenance and improve current asset management system of a company. The standard also helps to deliver activities related to managing of assets and provides services to the organisations. The ability of an organisation to meet the legal and regulatory bodies keeping in mind the requirements of an organisation and its contract need to be assessed by the company. ISO55001 helps in achieving this task and ensures that an organisation follows legal protocols.   

ISO55002 helps by providing proper guidance as to the use of the management systems. This includes providing information, evaluating the workflow and implementing recommended changes in the organisational context. With the help of such implementation techniques, every company can maintain benefits that can be useful for the success of a business. The development of these standards has helped in the up gradation of technologies in businesses. The aim of the standard is to clarify the processes and requirements that were set in ISO55001. Like the predecessors, these sections also help in the implementation and maintenance of asset management system. Furthermore, the delivering of assets is also required in order to manage activities and implement the services that are being provided. Thus, it can be said that the implementation of these standards has benefited Downer and MCC to gain global recognition as excellent sustainable sectors in the field of business.

The internal and external factors need to be taken into consideration when setting of strategies or establishing a business. These factors provide a hindrance to the functioning of an organisation. The external factors include the political, economic, social and technological factors while the internal factors include the resources of an organisation. Stakeholders also play an effective role in the success of an organisation. Thus, based on this the asset management system of the sectors can also be influenced. The basic goals and objectives of an organisation are set up after the analysis of these factors. In the context of Downer and MCC, the stakeholders that show a considerable amount of interest in the sectors influence the setting up of Yarra Park Recycled Water Treatment Facility (RWTF). The factors that hinder the construction of the park has been significantly less as the facility provided by the park is beneficial for every people.

Explaining the operation and performance requirements for the plant/assets

The top-level managers do the development of the asset management tasks. The decisions regarding the well-being of the organisations are taken based on the organisational objectives and aims. The head of every department in an enterprise provide opinions about the strategies that are required for the success of an organisation. The managers are also responsible for providing the correct resources and motivation for the employees to shine. In this regard, it can be said that the management of the two sectors mentioned needs to lead by example. So far, the two sectors have provided excellent leadership skills in order to achieve the objectives necessary for success. The implementation of a sustainable approach to the protection of a national treasure has provided an advantage for the sectors and helped the people of Australia. This has been possible due to a proper leadership technique adopted by the managers.   

Planning is an important part of the success of any organisation. Without a proper plan of action, no organisation can benefit in a business market. Thus, planning is necessary for the effective conduct of business. Planning can occur in every department of an organisation. The strategic asset management planning (SAMP) helps an organisation to access the resources that currently exist in the company. In the case of the development of Yarra Park Recycled Water Treatment Facility (RWTF), the managers of both the sectors had implemented effective plans in order to make the project a success. SAMP can be used as a guide to managing assets and put together specific objectives for an organisation to achieve. In this context, it can be said that the aligning of the SAMP with the organisational plans can have a positive impact on the success of an organisation.

In order to formulate a positive asset management system, the coordination of every member of an organisation is required. The promotion of awareness of an organisation is done by keeping in mind the objectives of an organisation. The asset management system provides useful information for the support and development of an organisation. In this context, the set up of the RWTF has received considerable support from reputed sectors. The fact that the park is situated in a nationally recognised place in Australia suggests the amount of support that is provided by the people. Competency requirements of personnel and its implementation are also carried forward with the help of a proper support system. Thus, the importance of support is required for every sector and organisation.

In order to implement a proper management system, organisations require planning of operations. This is done in order to manage the resources and identify potential risks that can be involved in managing the organisations. The risk management factor is important for the successful conducting of activities. The outsourcing of activities needs to be done keeping in mind the required assets for the company. The replacement of the assets needs to be done in such a way so that the operations of the existing company can be maintained. In the case of the construction of the park, it has been seen that the operations and assets of Downer and MCC have resulted in the successful completion of the project. This is in accordance with the requirements that are needed for a successful conduction of business.  

Identifying the key physical assets, operation and performance requirements

Evaluation of assets is required in order to understand the effectiveness of the assets. The performance given by the employees and other machines in the organisations need to be accessed every time in order to maintain a complete dominance in the competitive market. This is an important part of the success of an organisation. The performance evaluation needs to be based on the overall success of an employee and the organisation. Any biases that exist need to be eliminated before evaluating performances of every employee. The evaluation also needs to consider the objectives that have been set and the extent to which the employees have met it. The results derived from the management needs to be considered for further improvement in the organisation. This can help in the proper future planning and assemble of assets for the success.  

The management of an organisation needs to ensure that the company is always at an improvement stage. This is required, as with the change in policies of the internal and external factors the policies also need to change. The changes need to be made in terms of product, quality of the job and the ways by which the work is being carried on. These provide opportunities for improvement in the enterprise and ensure that the business is conducted in an efficient manner. The scope of improvement exists in every aspect of an organisation. The improvements need to be risk-free and need to have a perfect analysis of the problems that are faced by the employees and the organisation. Even in the case of the construction of the park, a scope of improvement exists that help in the beautification of the park as a whole.

One of the major areas that need improvement is the evaluation of performance. This is required in order to understand the level of performance that is being given by the employees. Improvements in this sector require proper training of the employees and scrutinising the performance based on the amount of work done by them. This can also help in eliminating any weak link in the workplace and provide opportunities to recruit further people. Thus, this can be considered as a major improvement area for Downer and MCC. The performance evaluation and likewise appreciation can also help in motivating employees in the sectors. Thus, the park constructed by the sectors can add to further improvements in the future.

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