PAS 55 is the British Standards Institution 's (BSI) Publicly Available Specification for the optimized management of physical assets - it provides clear definitions and a 28-point requirements specification for establishing and verifying a joined-up, optimized and whole-life management system for all types of physical assets. Now internationally recognized, PAS 55 is proving to be an essential, objective definition of what is required to demonstrate competence, establish improvement priorities and make better, clearer connections between strategic organizational plans and the actual day-to-day work and asset realities
PAS 55 has proven very successful, with widespread adoption in utilities, transport, mining, process and manufacturing industries worldwide. The 2008 update (PAS 55:2008) was developed by 50 organisations from 15 industry sectors in 10 countries. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has now accepted PAS 55 as the basis for development of the new ISO 55000 series of international standards.
Why do we need PAS 55?
Answer: Organisations that have adopted such a systematic and optimized approach have consistently delivered significant bottom-line cost and performance/service improvements. PAS 55 also provides clear evidence of sustainable good governance to customers, investors, regulators and other stakeholders. In contrast to many other standards, which can sometimes be met simply by having extensive paperwork, PAS 55 specifically requires evidence of alignment between good intentions and real, on-the-ground delivery. So it is a valuable mechanism to ensure that the principles of whole life cycle planning, risk management, cost/benefit, customer focus and sustainability etc. are actually delivered within the day-to-day activities of capital project implementation, operations, maintenance etc.
Key Features of PAS 55:2008 • A clear, internationally recognised definition of what good asset
References: • The Institute of Asset Management (IAM) UK • BSI PAS 55, Parts 1 & 2:2008 • UGL Services Royal Women’s Hospital Asset Management Plan • UGL Services Partnerships Victoria in Schools Asset Management Plan • ‘Developing and Implementing a Sustainable Asset Management Plan for a Public Private partnership’ - Ken Robertson, paper presented at ICOMS, Sydney in 2009 • ‘The Provider’s Guide to the Private Finance Initiative’, BDO Stoy Hayward, sourced on web search • ‘PDCA’, Edwards Deming & Walter Shewhart, sourced on Wikipedia web search