How do you track your systems, processes, and performance?

Are you in spreadsheet hell?

If your answer is “yes” it’s time to find a mature replacement solution.

Spreadsheets have no integrity. They are unauditable.

Spreadsheets aren't auditable.

I met with the maintenance manager of a local municipality and 3 members of his team about new federal legislation that required municipalities report their fixed assets. This challenge had been met by finance and had not touched operations. I wondered why. The maintenance manager explained that they had no need for a CMMS or EAM system and that they were managing the municipality's $1.4B worth of assets using spreadsheets. He was proud of their accomplishment. I thought they were in spreadsheet hell.

Reliance on spreadsheets as a primary source of asset data is risky especially when you consider the impact of unexpected external events. Critical questions to ask yourself are:

1. How does your organizations calculate the impact associated with asset failures?

2. In the event of failure, can you identify how your processes are linked to each other so you can understand the issue and quickly adapt with confidence to the threat?

3. As assets and people change, how do you know that you have a single version of the truth?

With spreadsheets it's impossible to properly document the processes and information to support the decision-making process around assets. Spreadsheets are not audit-able. They have no integrity. Considering the business risk involved, a more reliable and sustainable approach would be to take the next big step in maturity and invest in an enterprise solution to track and manage mission critical assets.

The end goal would be an outcome that supports a decision-making process based on relevant information with checks-and-balances in place. To reach this goal, the systems and processes must be in place to provide visibility and insight into operations to predict asset failures,  implement better cost controls, increase production, and improve performance. Check out FORTIG for a comprehensive suite of systems and processes that support Asset Management.

To be successful with these major initiatives, asset-intensive organization must have strong and visionary leadership. To support the changes they see as necessary, leaders must have a reliable cross-functional team with the skills and authority to follow up and make the change. This structure is required to implement sustainable operational efficiencies. I look for these markers of success with clients I work with. If they aren't there, I move on.