Developments ISO 55000 series

After two years of experience with the ISO 55000 series for asset management there have been calls to revise this standard. Normally, the standard would not be evaluated until 2022. For ISO 55002 this will be expedited to 2018.

As with the introduction of the ISO 55000 series there were calls in several countries to improve ISO 55002 in particular. Another reason is the update of the "High Level Structure"; the standard for ISO management system standards. This process will start around 2017.

In the end of 2015, the first ISO/TC 251 Asset Management Commission meeting took place in Yokohama. This committee takes care of the further development of the ISO 55000 series. Representatives from different countries presented strong points and areas of improvement of the ISO 55000 series.

Strengths that were mentioned frequently:

• The standard contributes to awareness of the importance of asset management to managers and policy makers.
• The strong interdependence of asset management and risk management that is reflected in the standard.
• The so-called "line of sight" which is the translation of (organizational) objectives to operational activities.
• The explicit link between technology and finance.

Areas of improvement that were mentioned frequently:

• Further elaboration of the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP).
• Better guidance on practical implementation of an asset management system.

In The Netherlands there also is a need to clarify how to deal with different roles: asset owner, asset manager and service provider. ISO 55001 does not specify how to deal with certification if these roles are not carried out by the same organization. Internationally this need is hardly recognized.

In the near future, the ISO/TC 251 standards committee will focus on primarily:

• Promotion of the use of ISO 55000;
• Collecting feedback from ISO 55000 series users;
• Drafting a directive to harmonize registration in the field of asset management and finance;
• Revision of ISO 55002. The Netherlands will president this activity.

AssetPouwer follows and influences the developments in the field of asset management and ISO 55000. We are a member of the ISO/TC 251 Asset Management Committee".