Asset management plays a major role in helping organisations improve reliability and maintain consistent performance across their assets. As systems become larger and more complex, the need for a clear and structured approach to managing reliability also increases.
So, engineers and managers require a process that connects the right tools, methods and decisions in a logical sequence which make sure the every activity supports the larger reliability goals.
In recent years, many organisations have switched from reactive maintenance to more systematic practices. This change has created a strong demand for structured frameworks such as Asset Performance Management (APM), which provides a defined path for identifying goals, collecting the right information, analysing performance and improving results.
Understanding this process is essential for any engineer asset management system who focuses on long-term reliability improvement.
Understanding when, how and where to apply the various reliability engineering tools is available to help an organisation to achieve its reliability goals. This slowly becomes important as the system grows more complex and methods for handling its reliability become more advanced.
With increasing complexity in every part of asset performance management, a clear process for linking reliability tasks is essential. Without a proper process, when you try to carry out the various reliability activities within asset management can quickly become disrupted. This leads to wasted time nd resources and makes the organization stuck in a reactive state.
Nowadays, managers and engineers in asset management identify this problem, and in recent years, there has been a strong move towards adopting a more structured approach.
To build the new APM-focused process, we need to first outline the asset performance management tasks within each phase, then match the reliability methods and tools that support each task and phase. Let’s understand each phase in depth as defined below:
The first step of any project is to set clear goals and objectives. This phase is crucial because it identifies the requirements and goals that will guide all upcoming work. Too often, projects start without a defined purpose, which leads to weak execution. To avoid this, the organisation must do the following during a define phase:
A key performance indicator is a measure that is used to assess performance. Organisations use KPIs to understand how well they are progressing toward long-term goals. These metrics must be tracked to show the current performance and suggest improvement when required.
KPIs can be defined by asking what really matters to each stakeholder. So this helps to determine different levels of indicators like corporate, financial, efficiency/effectiveness and ensure they are aligned with business objectives.
Before running any reliability analysis, it is important to collect all information that is needed to meet the analysis goals. It is equally important to understand what types of we already have and where they are stored.
The data available will define which analysis can be performed, so if key information is missing, then further action may be required to obtain it.
So, the main purpose to use Measure phase is to assess the reliability gaps and collect data, then determine the suitable analysis methods.
Basically, the reliability gap assessment helps to identify the weaknesses that prevent an organisation from reaching its performance-related asset management system goals. This allow proper reliability programme to be created.
Engineers find that information from a gap is when resolved, would it help to achieve APM targets? This stage also reveals what data are currently available.
This phase is totally dependent on data, so you might think about where data is stored, coming from and how it is generated. For this phase, data comes from maintenance records, OEM reliability information or published generic data.
For existing equipment, historical information may also be valuable. Also, once the data and its sources are known, the data quality and consistency must be checked.
This phase is very important among all the phases. In this phase engineer performs several types of analysis to enhance asset performance. In this phase, we will see some most important analysis methods that are used by engineers in industry to improve reliability.
RCM offers a structured method for assessing asset functions and potential failure modes to create a maintenance strategy that ensures acceptable performance and risk levels in a cost-effective way. RCM can be:
Degradation analysis provides another way to calculate reliability by understanding how measured condition data deteriorates over time. Using CBM data, the engineers can project when failure will occur and identify the P-F interval when a potential issue first appears through to functional failure. This method helps in:
RDA differs from traditional life data analysis by modelling failure behaviour at the equipment or subsystem level rather than at a component level. So, instead of independent time-to-failure points, RDA uses cumulative opening time and cumulative failure counts. It therefore suits a repairable system, which helps in assessing event frequency and repair effectiveness.
RCA is used to systematically examine failure events, identify all contributing causes (physical, human, and organisational) and define corrective actions to prevent recurrence. Without a structured RCA an inappropriate or ineffective solutions may be applied, which reduces the reliability improvement effectiveness.
The main purpose of an APM process is to achieve better performance, which makes the improvement phase the most vital phase. Here, the focus is on finding actions that boost asset effectiveness and refine its operations, such as:
Whenever the APM process begines then, it is essential to carry out activities that maintain the results already achieved. Therefore, specific actions to monitor and control performance must be applied during the control phase, which include:
Modern asset management depends on structured systems to help engineers organise information, plan work and make informed decisions.
As assets become more complex, a reliable engineer asset management system becomes essential because it centralises all relevant data and supports every phase of the APM process.
The system stores key details such as maintenance history, condition monitoring records, performance trends and past failure events.
So, having all this information in one place makes it easier to understand asset behaviour and supports faster decision-making. It also make sures the engineering team does not lose important knowledge over time.
These systems also provide access to engineering tools to improve asset reliability, including dashboards, analysis reports and maintenance planning functions.
This helps the engineers’ asset management system connect findings from the analysis phase directly to practical actions, ensuring improvements are implemented correctly and on time.
Another benefit is that these systems help different teams work in a more coordinated way. Engineers, maintenance personnel and operations staff all rely on the same organised information, which reduces confusion and supports a more proactive approach across the organisation.
Predictive maintenance has become an important part of today’s asset performance management approach. Nowadays, instead of reacting to failures, organisations use real-time data to detect early signs of deterioration.
This helps engineers shift from a reactive state to a more controlled and predictable way of working.
Using predictive maintenance asset management, engineers monitor key parameters such as vibration, temperature, or oil condition.
These readings show how asset components are behaving during normal operation and reveal issues long before failure occurs. This improves reliability and allows better planning of maintenance activities.
A predictive maintenance asset management system combines sensor data, operating conditions and reliability models. This makes it possible to determine the most suitable time to carry out inspections or repairs.
As a result, maintenance becomes more accurate, resources are used more effectively, and unplanned downtime is reduced.
With predictive techniques, engineers gain clearer insight into how and why assets degrade over time.
This knowledge improves risk management, helps with future planning and supports better decision-making across all APM phases.
A predictive and data-driven approach brings significant value to asset performance management.
By using continuous monitoring and structured analytical tools, organisations can better understand their assets and make improvements that last.
Using reliability tracking software, engineers can monitor trends, track performance indicators and measure how well the asset responds to new maintenance actions.
This helps identify what is working and what still needs attention, which allows reliability to improve over time.
Predictive methods allow engineers to schedule work at the right moment rather than relying on fixed intervals or responding to unexpected failures.
This leads to fewer breakdowns, lower maintenance costs and more stable operations across the asset fleet.
A predictive strategy also supports long-term asset planning. By understanding failure patterns and degradation behaviour, engineers can decide when upgrades, replacements or design changes are required.
This ensures maintenance activities remain aligned with organisational goals and keeps assets performing at their best.
A structured APM process gives an engineer asset management system a clear way to link asset performance goals with the right reliability engineering tools. By following each phase like Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control help organisations can move from reactive maintenance to a proactive and predictive approach.
Adding modern systems such as predictive maintenance tools, reliability tracking software and centralised asset management platforms further strengthens every phase and ensures decisions are based on accurate data.
When engineers apply these methods consistently, asset reliability improves, downtime reduces, and long-term planning becomes more effective.
If you are looking for an effective asset management solution for better management, try Genic Assets Management Software Solutions!
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