Complexity & Nature of Assets

Many SAM issues dealt with illustrations of the basics, and this is one of them.

A complicated asset has many elements to consider, and a good asset register or information system can handle them. A complex asset is one that not only has many elements but also where any decision on one may significantly impact the others. This requires a higher level of information and a more responsive asset management system. The more integrated an asset is, the more complex it is.

Utilities

Moderate to High Complexity. Assets are highly integrated, with few locations; failure can have immediate, extensive and critical (life and death) consequences
 
Comment: Utilities tend to have a limited range of assets, and asset characteristics, performance and maintenance requirements are well known; for example, mean time before failure is usually known; larger networks have potential for good spares inventory; and there can be long lead times for increasing network capacity, making it amenable to good planning.

Local Government

Where local government provides water and/or electricity under a utility model, see
Utilities, otherwise, LG assets generally have low complexity. Assets have, and need, limited integration, so asset structures are simpler. There may be many sites, but these sites are largely independent. Failure (such as poor road conditions) is seldom critical, mostly an inconvenience. But there are occasional exceptions.
 
Comment: A wide range of assets for urban local government complicates management; there is limited information on asset characteristics, maintenance and performance knowledge (this can sometimes be alleviated by sharing information across councils); smaller councils often lack the resources to develop asset skills and knowledge, which is mitigated to some extent by the benefits of low complexity.

State Budget Dependent Departments

Here, buildings vary from very simple (small schools, bus shelters) to large, complicated and complex (eg high security prisons, teaching hospitals where failure of one component can have serious consequences for others and critical (life and death) consequences. For Many state departments, however, the major asset is office buildings. Here, failures of elements are mostly localised and an inconvenience rather than critical.

Comment: Each department is responsible for only a narrow range of assets and
services; however, procurement issues may be complex.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay