When I first started out as a Maintenance Fitter in the late ’80s, I didn’t think much beyond getting the job done, fixing the machine, staying on schedule, and moving to the next task. But over the years, something became crystal clear…the assets we manage aren’t the problem it’s how we manage change around them that gets in the way.
I’ve seen countless initiatives, new systems, restructures, shiny improvement projects that launch with great fanfare only to lose momentum and fizzle out. And more often than not, it’s not because people didn’t care or the idea was flawed. It was because the change wasn’t connected across a lifecycle!
That’s where a lifecycle approach to change management becomes a game changer.
Every organization, whether it acknowledges it or not, is already doing asset management. Decisions about what to buy, how to maintain it, when to upgrade, or whether to retire it…that’s lifecycle thinking. However, what I’ve found is that when change management doesn’t integrate into that lifecycle, coordination across divisions and teams begins to break down.
A lifecycle approach doesn’t just look at physical assets—it should consider services, people, processes, technology, data, and culture holistically (as a system). And that’s where change either thrives or fails.
I’ve realised that change management is more than just a project phase or a convenient bolt-on. It’s an ongoing capability. Whether we’re acquiring a new fleet, shifting to a new IT platform, or trying to embed better governance, it’s never just a single decision. It’s a series of coordinated choices across the whole lifecycle of a service or asset. And just like services and assets, change has its own lifecycle: eg awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement (thank you, A.D.K.A.R.). When we line up the asset lifecycle with the change lifecycle, the results (and outcomes) are evident.
A Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) is a fantastic tool, not just for asset management, but for aligning change with the organization’s objectives. It turns “we need to change” into “this is why, this is what, and this is how we can change.” When asset management and change management are aligned across the lifecycle, we stop reacting to problems and start anticipating them. We avoid the blame game and start building organizational and asset resilience.
- Start with the asset (and service) lifecycle:Understand where your organisation is in relation to its assets, people, and services.
- Use visualisation:Map out how change connects to each lifecycle phase so everyone sees their part. Talk value (outcomes and impact), not just tasks. People care more when they see how their work contributes to outcomes.
- Keep it human: Change is personal. No framework or lifecycle can replace empathy (sometimes sympathy), clear communication, and follow-up or playback.
Whether leading change or living through it, try viewing your next initiative through a lifecycle lens. It’s not about making things more complicated, and it’s about simplifying, coordinating and making change stick. We manage change more effectively when we connect the dots, and the lifecycle provides a valuable set of dots to work with.
Want to learn more about how Organisational Change Management and Asset Management work together? CLICK HERE
Martin Kerr, Author of “Organizational Change Management for Asset Management” CLICK HERE
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