60 seconds with Nikki Walsh Chair of the IAM Patrons Group and member of the Digital Group Nikki Walsh on drainage, data and DIY Why asset management? I started out in engineering in the mid-90s: I had always loved maths and science, and it seemed like a good place to apply those skills in a practical context. I began my career as a graduate engineer in the water industry. I moved from research and planning to designing wastewater systems, then on to project management and strategy development. Ive spent the past 20 years with the word asset in my job title, but Ive had a multitude of roles doing very different functions. My work history includes: asset delivery for wastewater solutions and flooding prevention; asset planning for analytical water and wastewater services; asset strategy building around urban drainage approaches; and asset management transformation. Fifteen years ago, I had the opportunity to manage a strategic planning team covering asset planning and strategy development for all wastewater assets, which gave me a real passion for aligning strategic objectives with intervention plans. I use the word intervention because this isnt about investment in assets, but how you operate and maintain them throughout the ownership cycle. By understanding how your assets interact with each other and with your customers, you can manage the risks and make the best investment decisions. Since then, I have survived six periodic reviews in the water industry and am dipping my toes into the first control period plan for rail, having joined Network Rail as Head of Asset Management Strategy (Eastern) in February 2021. In these sectors, the ability to balance the potential of your asset base with the need for affordability is essential. My friends and family have seen many different sides of asset management, and my son still loves the fact that I used to work with poo and turn it into power! How do you describe your job to your family and friends? With difficulty! I tell them my job is about supporting people who own and run the railway to replace or repair the assets at the right time, with the right solution at the right cost, to make sure the trains can deliver a robust service long into the future. Sustainability is important to me, as assets will be around for a long time and I believe we owe it to our children to leave them in a good state. My friends and family have seen many different sides of asset management, and my son still loves the fact that I used to work with poo and turn it into power! Tell us more about your role on the digital working group? People coming into asset-centric industries now will expect more digital capability in their roles. The challenge is that we are living in a world of old assets with little data and a growing base of new assets with better data, and we need to be able to make informed decisions while taking both types of data into account. Old is not always bad and new is not always good. On this journey towards digital maturity, its crucial that we still get the foundations right. To extract the best possible value from our assets, we need good asset data and mature digital systems. Mistakes are costly in asset management, and its crucial that professionals feel confident using the new tools and technology at their disposal. The IAMs Digital Group aims to provide asset management professionals with practical guidance to help them navigate the digital asset management journey, using a broad range of case studies to showcase all stages of maturity. The volunteers are passionate about getting digital asset management right and share the common goal of helping people navigate the digital minefield. The group has a great mix of experience: I love that there is always something to learn from others. What are the three most important issues for the profession currently? There are three that stand out to me in the water and rail sectors: building a cost-competitive industry, supporting collaborative thinking, and developing resilience to change in a fast-paced world. Building an industry where we bring value into our decision-making instead of just focusing on cash will help us find small additional costs that can unlock large amounts of value for stakeholders. Developing resilience will help the asset management sector overcome the challenges brought about by COVID-19, inflation and increased political instability. We need to be able to adjust at a faster pace and use techniques, such as adaptive planning and digital tools, to support us in planning for uncertainty. Collaborative working and systems thinking will allow us to work together across disciplines and sectors to adapt to changing patterns of demand. We can all learn from each other, and we all have to operate affordable industries and look at smarter ways of working. There have been some outstanding results of crossindustry collaboration, particularly in flooding, where collaboratively developed solutions enable good results at a lower cost. Systems thinking is about seeing our assets as a system that delivers a function extending beyond our scope. It encourages us to think about the parts we need to get right for the whole process to work, such as how a single rail journey will require input from both the railway services and the stations at each end of the journey. How do you like to relax? I have a bolt hole on the coast of Scotland and love to spend time at the beach or walking the cliffs, ideally followed by a beach barbecue or a trip to the pub. With two children and two dogs it is always good to have a tired family at the end of a busy day! I enjoy gaming and I am an avid reader I love sci-fi and thrillers. Get involved The IAMs Digital Group aims to provide practical guidance to the asset management community to navigate the digital asset management journey, and understand data and get the maximum value from it. Read more about the group or contact the IAM to find out more and get involved. Where in the world would you like to be right now? On holiday in Asia. I love the history, food, scenery and, of course, the beautiful golden sandy beaches. For my next trip, Id like to go to Vietnam and Cambodia there are so many amazing temples to visit. If you werent doing your current role, what would you like to be doing? Thats a tough question because I love my current role. I used to think about being a teacher, but I didnt think Id have the patience for it, though I do enjoy supporting my local school as a governor. Im a self-taught decorator and I always love planning projects around the home. Maybe buying and renovating property would be something I would enjoy.