ISO 55000: Asset Management Policy -- Communicate!

March 6, 2014

It is not only required that there is a policy, but there must be clear evidence that the policy is communicated.

The Asset Management Policy is defined by the ISO 55000 standard as the set of principles an organization will employ to meet objectives – not asset management objectives but organizational objectives.

It is leadership’s opportunity to create vision and focus. In many ways it is a reflection of values and culture. It is more about what we do than what we say. This is very clear in what is stated in ISO 55002, 5.2: “It is not necessary for the policy to be captured in a discrete document: it can be contained in other high level organizational policies or documents… The important point is that it is communicable to the organization.”

Communication is the measure. Rightfully so! We know this from years of helping organizations undertake continuous improvement and much empirical research data. Failure to effectively communicate is the most common mistake. We hear this so often, yet we keep repeating it. Why?

We do not communicate frequently enough and from the right level.

The ISO 55000 standard attempts to address this through the focus on leadership engagement. But it is not specific or directive on how. Here we must rely on what we know about communication. So, understand communication. Understand that effective communication comes from leadership and supervisors. Understand that communication must be repeated several times, some say as often as seven times, to be heard. Understand that face-to-face is most effective.

Ultimately it is not only required that there is a policy, but there must be clear evidence that the policy is communicated.

About the Author

Bill Wilder | Founder and Director

Bill Wilder, MEd, is the founder and director of the Life Cycle Institute, the learning, leadership and change management practice at Life Cycle Engineering (www.LCE.com). The Institute integrates the science of learning and the science of change management to help organizations produce results through behavior change.

Bill led the creation of the 3A learning process that incorporates the concepts of active learning and change management. He has worked with many organizations to develop learning and change management solutions that engage people and drive accountability for behavior changes that deliver results.

Bill is a certified Prosci Change Management professional and is one of the few Prosci Authorized Training Provider Certified instructors in the world. He is the author of several articles, white papers and videos on the topics of learning and change management.