ICT Based Asset Management Framework

Manufacturing and production environment is subjected to radical change. Impetus to this change has been fuelled by intensely competitive liberalised markets; with technological advances promising enhanced services and improved asset infrastructure and plant performance. This emergent re-organisation has a direct influence on economic incentives associated with the design and management of asset equipment and infrastructures, for continuous availability of these assets is crucial to profitability and efficiency of the business. As a consequence, engineering enterprises are faced with new challenges of safeguarding the technical integrity of these assets, and the coordination of support mechanisms required to keep these assets in running condition. At present, there is insufficient understanding of optimised technology exploitation for realisation of these processes; and theory and model development is required to gain understanding that is a prerequisite to influencing and controlling asset operation to the best advantage of the business. This paper aims to make a fundamental contribution to the development and application of ICTs for asset management, by investigating the interrelations between changing asset design, production demand and supply management, maintenance demands, asset operation and process control structures, technological innovations, and the support processes governing asset operation in manufacturing, production and service industries. It takes lifecycle perspective of asset management by addressing economic and performance tradeoffs, decision support, information flows, and process re-engineering needs of superior asset design, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, and renewal.