What does asset management mean to you?

In recent years there has been much written on the topic of enterprise asset management (EAM) but there is little consensus as to its actual definition. As electric utility industry pushes ahead with the arduous task of implementing EAM practices, it becomes critical to define and understand what asset management is in the context of the modern utility. So far, this term has been applied to low-level systems (e.g. maintenance management), organization structures (e.g. asset manager/service provider), processes (e.g. reliability centered maintenance) and to high-level strategies (e.g. asset versus functional). If we look at it from an operational standpoint for a transmission and distribution utility however, assets include not only those that represent a particular financial interest, but also those against which any type of work may be performed, or those for which historical operation, inspection, and maintenance information need to be maintained. An enterprise asset management (EAM) strategy provides a utility with the capability of managing their asset life cycle to meet the desired level of reliability at the lowest total cost of ownership possible. The correct EAM strategy also optimizes asset life-cycle investments that manage quality of performance risks. In laymen terms, asset management is about transforming how the basic core functions of an electric utility are executed. When all is said and done at the end of the day, it comes down to one basic premise-keeping the lights on.