Every senior leader needs to know ISO 55000 and ISO 10020
In boardrooms and executive reviews across the world, asset management is high on the agenda. Organisations are under pressure to deliver more value, more sustainably, from the assets they already own, operate (or are accountable for). The logic is sound: manage assets better, improve performance, and reduce risk. In my experience, this is always easier said than done!
All too often, programs fail, not because the strategy was wrong, but because change didn’t stick.
The Asset Management Blind Spot
You may have invested in a new asset management system, refined your Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP), or even achieved ISO 55001 certification. But behind the dashboards and KPIs, there’s a common pattern occurring in asset-intensive organisations:
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Frontline teams bypass new processes. (#Assurance)
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Middle management resists role changes. (#Leadership)
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Business units disengage from central initiatives. (#Value)
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Technology is underutilised or poorly adopted. (#Alignment)
In short, change is introduced, but not embedded. And this is the critical blind spot. (#Adaptability and #Sustainability)
The Standards Speak Clearly: It’s About People Too!
ISO 55000 tells us that asset management is the coordinated activity of an organisation to realise value from assets. But that coordination relies on more than data, plans, or physical assets. It depends on people, their understanding, their behaviour, their values and their collective buy-in. (In an interview in 2013 I remember sharing a phrase “Asset Management is about creating and sustaining a Collective Intent”, a year before ISO 55001 was published.
That’s where ISO 10020:2022, the international standard for Organisational Change Management (OCM), becomes essential. It provides the structure to guide people through change, aligning culture, capability, and communication with your asset management ambitions. Better still, it doesn’t prescribe a change methodology; it provides governance to support change methodologies!
The Leadership Gap
Many asset strategies fail not in the planning but in the execution. Not because the SAMP was poorly written, but because the organisation wasn’t ready to accept it, deliver it and absorb it. Change readiness isn’t a technical issue; it’s a leadership one!
Asset management transformation without change management leads to:
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Misalignment between strategy and operations.
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Resistance to new roles or ways of working.
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Underuse of systems designed to create value.
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Short-term compliance over long-term improvement.
Leaders must champion not only the “what” of asset management but also the “how” of adoption.
Embedding Change: A Strategic Capability
OCM helps ensure that your asset strategy doesn’t sit in a binder, but becomes business-as-usual. Proven frameworks like ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-Step Process, and Lewin’s Change Model provide practical tools to guide transformation from awareness to reinforcement.
When done well, change management:
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Builds urgency and understanding of the need for change.
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Engages stakeholders across all levels. [blue collar (operation), grey collar (indirect) and white collar(overhead)]
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Aligns roles and responsibilities with asset objectives.
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Develops internal capability and confidence.
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Reinforces and sustains new behaviours.
What Does Good Look Like?
When asset management and change management are integrated:
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Physical and non-physical assets are equally valued. (i.e. Capability)
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Leadership communicates purpose, not just policy. (This was a debated topic throughout the review of ISO 55001:2024)
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Change is led proactively, not reactively.
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Performance is driven by leading indicators, not just lagging results. (The SAMP should be focused on Lead and Service-oriented)
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The organisation moves from compliance to capability. (Compliance is important, but a compliant culture can work against an organisation)
This isn’t just about managing change. It’s about leading it with clarity, commitment, and consistency.
Final Thought for Leaders
Every asset management initiative is a change initiative! And change that isn’t led, managed, and embedded will fail, regardless of how good the strategy looks on paper.
As a leader, your role is to ensure that asset management is not just a technical program, it’s a transformation program. And that transformation starts with people.
Value doesn’t come from systems!
It comes from people using them with purpose!
#AssetManagement #ChangeManagement #ISO55000 #ISO55001 #ISO10020 #Leadership #OrganisationalChange #StrategicAlignment #OperationalExcellence #CultureChange #TransformationLeadership #ValueRealisation #AssetLifecycle #ADKAR #Kotter #OCM
