First, can you summarise what’s meant by Asset Information Services?
Essentially the Asset Information Services (AIS) team help clients leverage the best from their buildings and assets. Using a range of techniques and tools, the process captures and records accurate and useful information about an asset throughout the project lifecycle, enabling informed decisions at the strategic, handover and operational stages. Using digital technology, such as BIM and 3D modelling software, we’re able to fully embed this information into the models, providing a digital record that’s easy to access, view and keep updated.
A lot of our work involves supporting clients when their operations are already up and running. We help them to holistically review their working practices, asset management frameworks, compliance checks and a lot more to develop robust asset management plans. The skill lies in knowing what expertise is needed, understanding when it should be applied and ensuring access to it at the most crucial times.
Ultimately, AIS means asset managers, facilities managers and estates teams, can better manage their estate and plan ahead.
What benefits does it offer?
AIS services smooth the transition process from construction to operation. This reduces re-work and operational expenditure post project, and the facilities and estate management teams are handed over an asset or building with the information they need to successfully maintain and operate.
The service enables clients to build a truly in-depth understanding of how their assets or buildings work and how they’re performing. This means they can better plan ahead, removing the need to make reactive decisions and allowing them to make strategic and cost-effective decisions. This in turn leads to a more controlled and proactive spend profile and forecast. It also means they are able to demonstrate regulatory compliance, as well as giving them the tools they need to be able to easily identify areas needing improvement.
What type of organisation can AIS add value to?
It’s a fundamental part of the estate or building management process for any client who relies on this type of asset detail, particularly those with a large estate and building footprint and/or multiple sites, but our main client base currently is within the defence sector and highly regulated industries. These organisations deal with extremely sensitive information and are subject to strict security and regulatory obligations, so they need to be able to make quick and informed decisions based on accurate information. AIS can help ensure the integrity, accuracy, security and quality of their information.
For example, we’re currently working for a large, multi-site defence contractor on a project to develop an asset management framework aligned to ISO 55000. This type of framework provides a consistent approach to managing assets, which can be really effective for those clients with very large, multiple estates where having uniform processes and procedures are crucial to them being able to deliver their outputs.
Can you give us some examples of recent projects?
We’re currently working on a large Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) project for a multi-site defence contractor, which involves creating a new fit-for-purpose data hierarchy structure, reclassifying assets and generating standard, uniform equipment naming conventions, as well as data cleansing and verification. This will provide the client with real value when it comes to making quick decisions about their assets and investments as the data can easily be structured in a way that enables them to access it very quickly.
A recent project included the asset tagging and registration of a large office refurbishment for a leading tech company. This featured a large number of plant and equipment assets within the ceiling voids and plant room. We worked closely with the client’s installation team and developed an approach to asset tagging where QR codes were generated and could be scanned, linking directly to their CAFM system. This provided all the information they need about an asset, from the make, model and serial number to the maintenance regime it requires. We then developed an asset register detailing everything within the facility.
How do you see AIS evolving in the future?
I think it’ll become something clients turn to in order to help smooth the handover process from construction to operation. The data and information AIS provides for an asset, building or estate stretches beyond the construction project lifecycle into the live operational environment. It can fill a void that often exists once a contractor hands over a building before it goes into operational use, providing facilities and estate management teams with all the information they need to best operate and run their new building or estate. The handover becomes a seamless, almost incidental activity. This, I think, will be something more and more clients will want as they see the benefits it brings, in both time and cost efficiency.
More about Pete
Pete Davey, Project Director for Asset Information Services at BakerHicks started his career as a drawing board design engineer, and then a CAD engineer in the Information Technology sector. He’s worked mostly within the facilities and infrastructure sectors, specialising in configuration management, information management and more recently asset management.
Experienced in consultancy and programme management in the security and defence industries, Pete’s understanding of highly regulated environments is second to none. He helps clients make informed decisions on how their buildings and assets are performing by leveraging the best from their data and information.
