What is an asset management policy?

An asset management policy is an essential component of having a solid and comprehensive asset management strategy. It’s one of the core requirements of ISO 55001:2014 certification, providing a set of guiding principles, intentions, goals, and methods for asset management.

The policy acts as a template for good decision-making. A great asset management policy for production-heavy facilities contains the following elements:

  • They are general and contain broad principles.
  • They identify roles and responsibilities, including policy implementation.
  • They outline how asset management is integrated within the organization.
  • They establish defined goals, service levels, inventory management best practices, and maintenance standards.

Why is an asset management policy important?

An asset management policy is important to have in place because it enables your company to meet the stakeholder, business, and legal requirements of the ISO 5500 standard for asset management. Other benefits include enabling your operations to align with international standards and saving money and time by allocating resources more efficiently. By managing your assets better, you’ll be able to utilize them more effectively and sustainably while delivering added value to the business.

It’s also important to develop an asset management policy because it signifies to internal and external stakeholders that your organization is committed to implementing asset management as a business model and promoting asset improvement. It also communicates how your organization defines good practices of asset management and sets strong direction and clear expectations for continual business improvement activities.

Want to try a CMMS today?

Get started for free

How to create an asset management policy

An asset management policy typically includes four main sections: Intent, scope, principles, and responsibilities. The most successful policy documents are straightforward, concise, and easy to understand by any reader.

Intent is the first section of the policy and clearly communicates the intended purpose and outcomes. It sets the tone for the rest of the document by grounding asset management in the overarching goals of the organization. Use the company’s mission statement or core values as your starting point.

Scope means that the policy document should describe the assets, services, and business units or roles the policy applies to. Consider all assets, services, and people that could be affected by this policy. This section is critically important as it eliminates ambiguity, begins to establish expectations, and reinforces accountability.

The statement of principles provides direction on best practices, principles, and general rules for applying asset management within the organization. It serves as a blueprint for decision-making and provides direction on how to put the asset management policy into practice. It should also provide some general examples of how the principles should be applied. For example, the delivery of resources and reporting standards.

Responsibilities identify who is accountable for approving the asset management policy, providing resources to implement the policy, setting priorities, and leading the implementation of the asset management policy.

To learn more about what to include in each section of an asset management policy and see an example, download this template.

3D Fiix logo

Empower your maintenance team

Leverage the cloud to work together, better in the new connected age of maintenance and asset management.