I have worked over the last 30 years in the property, real estate and facilities management industry and I realised early on in my career that an organisation’s physical assets can play a vital role in delivering their organisational priorities, business plan and services. But it needs direction – a robust, practical and adaptable plan is vital for the effective management of an organisation’s estate and other assets to ensure efficiency, sustainability, and value for the organisation and the wider community. The process can be distilled into three primary dimensions: Direction, Data, and Delivery. These “3Ds” form the cornerstone of a robust estate and asset management strategy, guiding organisations to optimize their resources and achieve their goals.
1. Direction
Direction sets the foundation for effective asset management. It involves defining a clear path for how and where services will be delivered, supported by a comprehensive strategic plan.
Know Your Target Operating Model
The target operating model (TOM) is crucial for outlining how, when, and where services are delivered. This model provides a blueprint for the organisation, ensuring that all operational activities align with its overall objectives. By clearly understanding and defining the target operating model, an organisation can ensure that its services are delivered efficiently and effectively.
Develop A Strategic Property Plan
A strategic property plan is integral to supporting the target operating model. This plan outlines how the organisation’s physical assets will be managed and utilised to support its operational goals. It involves identifying the property requirements needed to deliver services and ensuring that these properties are optimally located, adequately maintained, and efficiently used. The strategic property plan should be dynamic, allowing for adjustments as organisational needs evolve.
2. Data
Data is the backbone of effective asset management. Accurate, comprehensive, and timely data on assets allows for informed decision-making and strategic planning.
Know Your Assets
To manage assets effectively, an organisation must have a thorough understanding of its current assets. This involves gathering detailed data on each asset, including its value, condition, performance, capacities, issues (such as backlog maintenance) and suitability for current and future needs. Don’t forget about its carbon footprint, in driving for net zero having an estimate of an asset’s operational and embodied carbon will help organisations make informed decisions when driving towards net zero. Monitoring asset performance on an ongoing basis helps identify areas for improvement and ensures that assets are being used optimally. Regular audits and assessments are necessary to keep this information up to date.
Needs Analysis
Engage with all the various stakeholders within your organisation to determine what is needed to achieve their objectives and the target operating model. Develop an ideal blueprint of how this can be achieved that can then be effectively “overlaid” on your current assets to see how it fits. This process helps identify gaps in the current asset portfolio and areas where investment is required. By understanding the needs of different departments and teams, you can ensure that your estates and asset management strategy is aligned with your broader goals and priorities and your target operating model.
3. Delivery
Delivery focuses on executing the strategic property plan effectively, ensuring that services are provided with the right facilities, in the right location, and at the right time.
Effective Delivery
Effective delivery means ensuring that the right services are provided with the appropriate facilities, at the right location, and at the right time. Delivery of the long-term plan is often best broken down into a series of projects with meticulous planning and coordination to align service delivery with asset availability and suitability, all moving towards the ultimate goal of the target operating model. Organisations must be agile, capable of adapting to changing circumstances and needs to maintain service quality and efficiency.
Operational Efficiency
Your strategic property plan must support your service delivery in a sustainable and efficient manner. This includes implementing practices that enhance flexibility and adaptability, ensuring that assets can meet current demands while being prepared for future changes. Efficiency also involves minimising waste, reducing costs, and maximising the value derived from the estate (such as releasing properties with development potential for capital receipts or regeneration). Sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient buildings and renewable energy sources, should be integrated into your asset management strategy to support long-term operational efficiency.
The Importance of a Plan
Across my years of helping my clients utilise their assets to improve their effectiveness and service delivery, I have found the 3Ds acts as a really good framework to deliver the best end results. However, time spent as an organisation on the first of my 3Ds, Direction, is in my view the most important of all. As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” . So many organisations undertake their organisational development and rationalise their estates and other assets in a piecemeal way, without an overall master plan. This is often exasperated by different departments or directorates acting independently to address an immediate need with no overall strategic goals in mind, often causing inefficiencies and conflict across the organisation as a whole. The target operating model is key, without it, how do you know what good looks like?
