The National Asset Management Assessment Framework suggests that in order to reach core asset management maturity a Council should have "a process for meeting training needs in financial and asset management practices for councillors and staff" in place.
The development of an asset management training manual would be one way of largely satisfying this requirement.
Whilst individual councils may have a range of systems and practices in place that are unique in one way or another, many other systems and practices are standard or fairly generic and the training required to use and/or apply them need not be especially bespoke.
This page has been set up to create a generic asset management training manual that can be used as is or modified as required by any council needing to address the issue of asset management training.
Activities & Processes
Asset Management can be defined as the combination of management, financial, economic, engineering and other practices applied to physical assets with the objective of providing the required level of service in the most cost effective manner. It includes the management of the whole life cycle (design, construction, commissioning, operating, maintaining, repairing, modifying, replacing and decommissioning/disposal) of physical and infrastructure assets.
This definition covers a wide range of activities and processes for which training may be required. These include:
- Asset Componentisation
- Asset Condition Assessment
- Asset Data Collection
- Asset Data Entry
- Asset Handover
- Asset Management Governance
- Asset Management Policy Development
- Asset Management Plan Development
- Asset Management Strategy Development
- Asset Management System Management
- Asset Mapping
- Asset Recognition
- Asset Segmentation
- Asset Valuation
- Budget Development
- Capital Works Prioritisation
- Capital Works Programming
- Community Consultation
- Data Cleansing
- Demand Forecasting
- Knowledge Management
- Maintenance Scheduling
- Renewal Planning
- Service Planning
Software
Many of the processes above rely on heavily on software. And training on how to use each type of software commonly associated with asset management related actives, may well be of value.
- Asset Management Systems
- Databases
- Drawing Validation Tools
- Maintenance Management Systems
- Geographical Information Systems
Resources
In many cases information about asset management related processes and activities is available online, or in the form of manuals and guidelines. Educating asset management stakeholders about where to find knowledge online is an important aspect of asset management training.
- Special Interest Groups
- Northern Councils Asset Management Forum (Melbourne)
- South East Metro Councils Asset Management Group (Melbourne)
- Wide Bay Burnett Asset Management Group (Queensland)
- IPWEA
- Manuals, Standards & Guidelines
- Local Government & Municipal Knowledge Base
- Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)
- Asset Data Standards
- Accounting Standards
- Australian Legislation
Required Outputs & Reporting Requirements
There is little point in any process or activity unless it satisfies a particular need. Educating asset management stakeholders about the reasons for asset management, why particular processes are required and the outputs that are mandated through policy or legislation is an important aspect of asset management training. Examples of required outputs include:
- Internal Reporting
- External Reporting