A newly-revised international standard, ISO 55002:2018 – Asset Management – Management Systems – Guidelines For The Application Of ISO 55001, is closely intertwined with another standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Why Do Companies Need Asset Management?
The mind is a powerful entity. While the fastest supercomputer in the world, the Tianhe-2, has a maximum processing speed of 54.902 petaFLOPS—petaFLOP meaning one quadrillion floating point calculations per second—the human brain is believed to operate at 1 exaFLOP—one billion-billion calculations per second. By firing synapses, one can plunge into creativity, computation, organization, and various other processes guided by thought.
However, there’s a tangible world outside of the confines of our minds. In it, assets, represent potential or actual value to an organization, maintain key roles. More often than not, assets are physical.
For companies and organizations, depending merely on the power of one’s complex brain to adequately oversee and utilize all assets is often not enough. Instead, the communal knowledge of industry experts drives organizations towards success.
Asset management enables an organization to realize value from its assets while achieving its organization objectives. In other words, asset management succeeds in taking that which is robustly formulated in the mind—assets and objectives associated with their use—and turns it into reality.
The application of asset management concepts is addressed in ISO 55002:2018. This standard is intrinsically tied to ISO 55001:2014 – Asset Management – Management Systems – Requirements.
What is ISO 55001?
It should be noted that ISO 55002:2018, as implied by the “2” at the end of its designation, is part of a series of standards focused on asset management. ISO 55001:2014 is the seminal document in this series.
ISO 55001:2014 specifies the core guidelines for an asset management system. This involves considering the organization’s context, a commitment from the organization’s top leadership, established asset management objectives and plans to meet them, determining resources, establishing competencies, and evaluating the asset management system’s performance. Ultimately, this assists the organization in finding success in meeting its goals.
Other than the organization itself, ISO 55001:2014 can be used by internal and external parties who need to assess the organization’s ability to meet legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements, as well as the organization’s own goals.
What is ISO 55002 and How Does It Differ from ISO 55001?
ISO 55002:2018 supports ISO 55001:2014 thoroughly, in that its guidelines are intended to be used while applying an asset management system in accordance with ISO 55001:2014. Because of this, the ISO 55002:2018 document structurally mirrors the ISO 55001:2014 document closely, expanding upon guidelines necessary when implementing the core guidelines addressed in ISO 55001:2014. For example, in Subclause 4, “Context of the organization,” ISO 55002:2018 dives into external context (e.g. social and cultural, political, technological, and competitive and natural environment factors) and internal context (e.g. governance requirements, organizational culture, the size and complexity of the organization, and size of assets).
According to ISO 55002:2018, the design and improvement of an asset management system is driven by four pathways of key importance, including the line of sight from the context of the organization to the asset management operation, objectives, decision-making criteria and processes, and risk management developed at all levels. ISO 55002:2018 was written with these four key elements in mind, and the guidelines it provides in applying asset management concepts are conductive to success due to their adherence to these concepts.
Users should note that ISO 55002:2018 cannot be used to provide financial, accounting, or technical guidance for managing specific asset types.
Furthermore, while the majority of the ISO 55002:2018 document is aligned structurally with ISO 55001:2014, it strays from its companion’s composition by including eight annexes (Annexes A through H) that detail supplementary information on asset management concepts that may prove useful in its implementation. These annexes explain value as a fundamental in asset management, how to define the scope of an asset management system, the principles behind asset management decision making, and the objectives and structure of the strategic asset management plan (SAMP), among various other concepts.
Changes to ISO 55002:2018
ISO 55002:2018 is the second edition of the standard for applying ISO 55001 asset management concepts, and it revises the 2014 edition to further clarify its guidelines and heighten connections between it and its related standard. For example, in the 2018 edition, linkages between clauses have been provided. Furthermore, the many annexes were added on cross-cutting concepts, and they serve to provide a combined guidance for specific asset management themes that are addressed throughout the ISO 55002:2018 standard.
In addition, the ISO 55000 fundamentals (value, alignment, leadership, and assurance) are now addressed in each clause, if applicable. Furthermore, the application of ISO 55001:2014 to the domains of asset management identified in ISO 55000 have been clarified, and the adequacy of this information to each domain is stated, whenever possible.
The standards in this series are available together at a discount as the ISO 55000 / ISO 55001 / ISO 55002 – Asset Management Package.
ISO 55002:2018 – Asset Management – Management Systems – Guidelines For The Application Of ISO 55001 is available on the ANSI Webstore.
Accreditation for ISO 55001 Asset Management Systems Certification Bodies
Following requirements of ISO 55002 can help meet the requirements of an asset management system outlined in ISO 55001, but some organizations, to ensure best practices when it comes to their assets, choose to go further. To gain trust in their compliance, organizations seek out certification to the asset management standard.
To demonstrate credibility, these and other management systems certification bodies benefit greatly from ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accreditation.
You can learn more about Accreditation for ISO 55001 Asset Management Systems Certification Bodies here.
