In recent years, business and technology leaders have reevaluated their priorities, and one thing has become clear: they cannot take what they have for granted.
Currently, asset management software provides businesses with information that can be used to better maintain and optimize machines, vehicles, and other equipment. Because of factors such as COVID-19 constraints and interest in climate action, more businesses are turning to asset management software.
Asset management software has also proven to be more important than ever for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic because in-person asset oversight and tracking became difficult. Many organizations have shifted to fully remote work or run facilities with skeleton crews. Assets that were once monitored using old-fashioned paper-based methods or simple spreadsheets have fallen out of favor. Even systems with some automation had issues managing their assets, increasing the risk of higher operational costs or lower revenues.
Demand for better asset management
Asset management software can assist businesses in staying ahead of these issues. Software, for example, can provide an alert when equipment requires servicing, thereby preventing breakdowns and associated downtime.
Asset failure can have significant consequences. These include natural disasters such as oil spills and wildfires, as well as property loss, service loss, unmet customer expectations, and even death. Failure of assets can also have an impact on the company’s ability to provide products and services.
This is especially true for companies with a high asset base. These organizations may also be subject to industry or regulatory policies that, if not followed, can result in penalties.
Climate change, aging assets, and infrastructure and sustainability concerns are all motivating businesses to use asset management software.
Organizations invest in asset management tools and technologies to reduce unplanned repairs as well as planned but unnecessary repair work; improve asset availability, reliability, and safety; reduce maintenance costs; and reduce the risk of critical asset failure.
Asset management software can benefit a wide range of assets, from the micro to the macro. Containerships, aircraft, vehicles, construction equipment, buildings, and machinery used in manufacturing or process industries are obvious capital-intensive assets.
At some point, asset management becomes inventory management on the micro level, when components are primarily elements to be used or consumed. However, minor details can have a significant impact. Non-disposable surgical tools, for example, may be considered an asset in a healthcare setting.
Assets are items with economic value that can provide a future benefit and that finance teams may report on a company’s balance sheet.
Asset management software is used by various types of businesses
Some industries rely heavily on asset management software.
Certain organizations’ business and operational capabilities drive them to invest more heavily in the tools and technologies that support asset management and maintenance. Without such software, organizations risk losing track of their assets entirely. Here are some examples of organizations that rely heavily on asset management software, as well as the assets that drive that use:
Construction firms: structural construction, manufacturing, and repair businesses require a wide range of equipment. Cranes, earthmovers, dump trucks, flatbed trailers, staging, trenching equipment, mixers, heaters, portable sanitation equipment, and power tools are all included.
Healthcare establishments: Asset management software can assist medical organizations in tracking the existence, condition, and location of critical devices and equipment in order to provide timely and quality patient care.
Companies in the oil and gas industry: Proper and timely maintenance of equipment and infrastructure is especially important in the oil and gas fields, both to ensure reliable and profitable operations and to avoid environmental and personnel risks.
Manufacturing, mining and natural resource extraction, telecom operators, transportation, and facility management are some other examples. For these industries, asset management success has a direct impact on the bottom line.
Common Asset Management Software Types
There are mainly two types of asset management software, and software buyers must understand their differences. enterprise asset management (EAM) and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS). The primary distinction between EAM and CMMS is a focus on computerizing asset management versus a more comprehensive oversight. EAM software, in a nutshell, is the more comprehensive system, fully managing capital assets throughout their entire lifecycle, from procurement to disposition. A CMMS, on the other hand, is a smaller-scale technology that primarily focuses on maintenance.
Both types of software support maintenance. They can be used by organizations to help maintain a variety of corporate assets, including the following:
- Manufacturing equipment and oil refineries are examples of fixed plant assets.
- Power lines, railways, and pipelines are examples of linear assets.
- Service equipment, rail cars, locomotives, trucks, transformers, pumping stations, and wind generation machinery are examples of mobile and fixed fleet assets.
