Advanced Asset Management: From Assets to Decisions

Most organizations can tell you what they spent on their assets. Far fewer can tell you which assets are most likely to fail, what risks those failures create, how much deferred maintenance they carry, or where the next dollar should be invested to deliver the greatest value. Every day, leaders make decisions involving facilities, infrastructure, equipment, utilities, fleets, and technology assets worth millions—or even billions—of dollars. Yet many of those decisions are made with incomplete information, inconsistent data, competing priorities, and limited resources. Advanced Asset Management: From Assets to Decisions provides a practical framework for turning asset information into confident, defensible decisions. Drawing on more than three decades of experience working with public agencies, utilities, higher education institutions, manufacturers, federal organizations, and some of the world's largest asset management programs, Scott Stukel demonstrates how modern asset management extends far beyond maintenance management, software implementation, or compliance programs. It is a decision-making discipline that connects assets, condition, risk, work, funding, and organizational objectives into a single framework for action. Inside this book, you'll learn how to: Build and govern effective asset inventories Define asset hierarchies, classifications, and information standards Assess asset condition, health, criticality, and risk Develop practical maintenance and reliability strategies Manage deferred maintenance and infrastructure backlogs Prioritize work and investments using risk-based decision-making Create lifecycle and capital replacement plans Establish governance, accountability, and performance measures Improve reporting, analytics, and executive decision support Build a sustainable asset management program aligned with organizational goals Unlike books that focus solely on maintenance, software systems, or compliance requirements, this guide bridges the gap between asset management theory and real-world implementation. Through practical examples, lessons learned, proven frameworks, and implementation guidance, readers will gain the tools needed to move from simply tracking assets to using asset information as a strategic decision-making asset. Whether you are a facilities manager, maintenance leader, asset manager, engineer, consultant, executive, government professional, utility manager, or infrastructure steward, this book will help you answer the questions that matter most: What do we own? What condition is it in? What risks do we face? What work should be done next? Where should we invest? How do we make better decisions? The organizations that thrive in the coming decades will not be those that merely manage assets. They will be the organizations that know how to turn asset information into decisions. This book shows you how.