Asset management: is your company managing it correctly?

In any sector, assets are fundamental to a company. After all, they are responsible for bringing value to the business. And in an industrial or corporate environment, they make all the difference in how a plant or industry, for example, performs its work.

Whether tangible or intangible assets, the truth is that they are elements that require management. Requiring planning, control, and constant monitoring of their use.

Therefore, opting for asset management is the best way to handle these components and ensure the increase in productivity and cost reduction. But what does it really mean to manage these elements?

In this text, we will explain everything you need to know about asset management. Keep reading!

What is asset management?

An asset is defined as any element that represents value for an organization. It is not only linked to financial items; it is also described as materials used by the company, including energy components. Therefore, managing them means using a set of strategies aimed at controlling them so they can deliver good performance and ensure their sustainable use.

Management activities must accompany the entire lifecycle of the asset and involve everyone who deals with these components, whether internal staff, outsourced personnel, or regulators.

Some asset management practices are:

• cost balancing;

• maintenance;

• risk monitoring;

• analysis;

• opportunity identification;

• disposal;

What is asset management for?

It is a responsible way to control the use of assets, in order to extract maximum value. In addition to avoiding waste and helping the company's leadership to make decisions based on how these components are actually used in the business.

Thus, asset management includes not only a risk‑oriented view, but also the balancing of costs and opportunities that using a particular asset can bring to the business.

What are the types of asset management?

Asset management is not just a single process, especially because the definition of an asset is quite broad, encompassing not only materials but also finances. However, there are two basic types of asset management: industrial and fixed assets. Let's understand more below!

Industrial asset management

This management is responsible for the care of the industrial asset from its acquisition and use to disposal, i.e., the entire lifecycle. It is necessary to understand that when we talk about this component in this field, we refer to industrial equipment and the measures to manage its costs and impacts on the company.

The intention is always to optimize and reduce expenses without altering technical performance.

Fixed asset management

It is a process of analysis and control of the company's assets. Thus, unlike industrial management, it focuses more on financial performance. The main work is to map the assets and assess their monetary value and the cost they bring to the business.

After all, a financial investment always involves an initial expense until that amount converts into profit. Some examples of fixed assets are goods that generate economic benefit and are preserved for the production of products or services.

What is the importance of asset management in a company?

Asset management is important to help the business analyze its risks and prevent failures or bottlenecks in production. Moreover, it helps make internal processes less complicated, bringing more strategy to actions and data for decision‑making.

In practical terms, it is essential for maintenance processes. For example, the team responsible for the department aims to ensure that the assets of an industrial plant are available so that there are no production failures.

Asset management will also help assess the equipment lifecycle, the energy used, and analyze performance levels, assisting in determining whether replacement or disposal is needed before it affects the production sector and consequently the administration.

How does asset management work?

This activity is not a single process; there are several stages to implement asset management and ensure the best results. Although the number of steps depends on the type of material, there are some standard phases to implement it. Check them out!

Planning

This stage consists of classifying and registering the company's assets. After all, it is not possible to control them or even direct their use without knowing them. So, this is a stage that works for gathering information.

Project

From now on, the development of a project begins, using both the research done in the planning phase and an assessment of technologies that can be implemented. At this moment, what the company will consider to choose new assets is also analyzed, mainly the review of previously imposed guidelines.

Therefore, it evaluates whether they delivered good results based on what the assets provided to the business. Even if the acquisition cost is high, the goal is to look for components that have the lowest TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)¹ to demonstrate the level of efficiency.

Acquisition

With the information obtained in the planning and project phases, management creates a guide with specifications for equipment or services. From there, pieces that meet the stipulated requirements are sought. This is a stage where the team needs to deal with contracts, asset installations, among other functions.

Execution

We can say that the previous three phases constitute a major preparation stage to finally start putting asset management into practice. Now, in execution, the team will implement maintenance measures, such as preventive and predictive.

The idea is to monitor the assets, checking both their performance and classifying their condition. This is an important moment, as it makes it possible to know if repairs are needed.

Predictive maintenance tends to be more automated, with many equipment analyzed through sensors. It is very common in this stage to produce checklists, technical and photographic reports for record and verification.

Indicators

In general, indicators are parameters used to point out or show whether something is achieving a result. They are used in various sectors, but here in asset management, they are ideal for assessing effects.

After all, the management work does not end after planning and execution. It is still necessary to monitor initiatives and make adjustments when needed. In this, indicators are essential. But which to use? It depends on the type of asset and objective, but generally they are:

• Risks: a survey of equipment performance is conducted with the aim of finding possible failures or wear that could harm long‑term production;

• Data analysis: the collected information is periodically analyzed by management, checking what has or does not have strategic value for the business;

• Lifecycle cost: as we mentioned in previous sections, assets have a trajectory that starts with acquisition and ends with wear, but throughout this process there are costs involved. The purpose of this indicator is to assess what those expenses are;

• Failure calculation: its frequency is monthly and it is essential to know the level of necessary maintenance and the useful life of equipment;

• Standardization: how well are the information and indicators systematized for better reading and use? This indicator will be fundamental to understand if the data collection, storage, and organization processes are well adjusted and help produce materials such as well‑grounded reports;

• Improve: The final stage is the moment to take all the conclusions from the analyses and plan the next actions based on some questions, such as: what went wrong? What can be fixed? Is it still possible to achieve the desired results? If not, can this material serve as a comparison for future actions? What could be improved? etc.

What are the benefits of asset management?

In addition to guiding the company to more responsibly control the use of its resources, there are several benefits to making this practice standard in the business. They are:

• Better financial results: asset management provides a better return on investment, especially regarding equipment acquisition and the results they have brought to the company;

• More assertive decision‑making: this happens because management starts dealing with data to decide its next steps, avoiding reliance on information with little relevance that brings no real value to the company;

• Better risk management: as there is better use of equipment, employee performance is positively affected. Moreover, it provides better opportunities to analyze the impact the company has both socially and environmentally, helping reduce costs;

• Improves product and service quality: asset management provides better use of components, delivering quality products and services that meet consumer expectations;

• More compliance: the company can invest in more transparent initiatives and strives to carry out its activities in accordance with regulatory requirements, as well as keeping it aligned with organizational standards;

• Improves sustainability: it helps the company have greater control over its long‑term results, including controlling expenses, performance, and its assets. As a result, it makes the business much more sustainable in its operations;

• Makes the company more efficient: it is an initiative that ensures continuous review and improvement of the company's operations. This leads to a considerable increase in process efficiency and, as a consequence, the business can generate more value in its initiatives.

How to optimize asset management and achieve more results?

Asset management offers a series of advantages for the business as we can see in the previous section. However, it is possible that even after implementing it, the company struggles to achieve its goals, because many processes related to asset management are outdated.

In this sense, the best solution would be to invest in initiatives that help optimize it. We have listed the main ones below!

Map the assets

Both industrial and financial assets need detailed monitoring. You can see in the previous topics that one of the fundamental steps to implement the management area is the col

eta of information regarding these assets.

Here, the principle is the same, however, the goal is to make this process more organized, classifying these components in detail. For this, the use of data management tools will be essential. In addition to a good investment in sensors capable of monitoring the equipment with greater precision.

Monitor the processes

It must be made clear that it is not only the assets that will be monitored. The processes and the results must be part of this equation to understand how management has affected the business. This will be a fundamental initiative to define possible changes and improvements in asset performance.

A good way to visualize the processes is to use visual elements to represent them, such as flowcharts. They can help understand how each step is implemented.

Engage the team

When we talk about the team, we are referring not only to employees but also to strategic partners, such as investors and suppliers. All these people have an important role in asset management, even if indirectly. After all, they deal with some part of these components and must have enough commitment to preserve them.

Therefore, one of the best strategies is to carry out activities that teach and inform about the importance of caring for assets, such as additional training. They are a good tool to demonstrate how these components should be managed and what the best practices are.

Also, do not forget to define a feedback process, as well as provide rewards for the employees responsible for management. This way, you can keep them more engaged with the work.

Define the indicators

We talked about indicators in the topic on the stages of asset management; in fact, they are very useful measures to get a quick view of what is happening. However, for optimization, you cannot use just any; you will need to establish a set that allows you to make a detailed assessment.

In this sense, you will need to choose those that are related to the asset process. For example, if the asset is the energy used to operate the machines, one of the indicators could be the percentage of consumption per activity.

Whatever indicator is chosen, the company must maintain a monitoring standard, defining dates and deadlines to obtain the data.

How does technology help asset management?

Technology is essential for optimizing various asset management activities, and there are many systems that help deliver good results. Tools specialized in data management, for example, are great allies for monitoring.

In this context, some possibilities include programming different applications to work in an integrated way with maintenance and provide a faster view of what is happening.

Another example is GIS (Geographic Information Systems), tools capable of combining data and images of assets and recording them in a database. With this material, management can produce reports quickly.

What does energy use have to do with this?

To understand how energy use relates to good asset management, let's use an example that combines both well: a company in the electric sector. In this type of segment, assets form the basis for tariff calculation.

Cables, poles, transformers—i.e., all components responsible for transmission—are considered in this equation. As we have seen, assets are elements that bring value to a company, and all the items mentioned provide some type of value.

Likewise, the energy itself that is sold is also considered an asset. Therefore, when this type of company invests in management, it is working to improve the capacity of its components, making storage, inventory, and energy flow as efficient as possible.

How to control energy use?

Within the company, using management and automation strategies is a great way to control energy. These resources offer a good opportunity to obtain information about the business’s energy profile and not only be able to control usage but also understand what needs to be changed, facilitating decision‑making.

Shall we explore the four strategies for energy use?

Energy monitoring

To start, monitoring consists of the combination of both analog and digital mechanisms. That is, sensors installed on machines that are capable of transmitting information to the company’s system. From there, management has information about equipment performance, including its consumption curve.

By knowing how much the machines consume, it is possible to determine energy‑saving actions, control peak periods, evaluate the best operating times, and identify waste.

Load automation

Another possibility is management systems capable of controlling the energy load used by machines. They are programmed to monitor the energy level and prevent demand overload.

Suppose your company contracts a limited load package. Imagine the problem if an operation consumes more and your business runs out of energy in the middle of a process?

Using this type of tool together with monitoring will provide greater security in energy use, avoiding waste and preventing one operation from harming others.

Sub‑metering and allocation

Sub‑metering and allocation are responsible for measuring electrical quantities on panels in real time. From there, they automatically process the billing for each unit where they are installed.

Of course, such a system can bring many advantages for control. For example, providing online information for the entire management, showing measurement data for each unit, calculating the bill amount, helping prevent problems, etc.

Set reduction targets

Setting reduction targets works well if the company has a monitoring system for its energy consumption. This is because it will be necessary to know how much is spent in operations, including in different situations such as high demand.

Based on this, asset management assists in defining targets for each business process, always aiming to reduce waste. The goal is to develop peaks or limits for energy use so the company can be guided.

Seek renewable energy

It is difficult to talk about energy control without mentioning how essential it is to modify the structure. Of course, all the tools shown here are important, but understanding how to improve waste reduction and consequently help the environment makes it important to look for other alternatives: renewable energy.

First, it has a huge impact on electricity use, helping to save it. Second, it brings the company the possibility of working with sources such as wind and solar and investing in energy efficiency combined with a more sustainable future.

Energy use is an important topic when we talk about companies, regardless of the sector. For more specific sectors like industry, its use influences a large part of operations. Therefore, investing in tools and strategies that help improve its control is what any company should do.

Hire a company

Finally, when it comes to choosing the best energy source, you cannot decide arbitrarily. More than advising you to look for a specialized energy company, it is important to have criteria. First, savings cannot be only in usage; they must also extend to value, combining quality, fair price, and control opportunity. Serena is the best representative.

You will not only have flexibility but also better control of your expenses, saving up to 30%. With a fixed price, you pay only for what you consume, without waste, and receive directly from our wind and solar farms. In addition, you have technology on your side; resolve everything online in a few minutes.

Asset management is there as a guarantee for the best administration of the company’s resources, and regarding energy use, it can offer more security, less waste, and better performance for business operations.

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