Knowledge base Gaining control Is control becoming the most important choice in the future asset managers planning and delivery toolkit, ask PA Consultings David Jarvis and Kamal Nandha M Author bios uch of the UKs transport and utilities infrastructure was designed and built prior to the digital revolution and its control is reliant upon human intervention. However, the world is changing through both the challenges that the operations of such organisations face and the opportunities that investments can now afford. Asset managers need to play an advanced role in advocating digital solutions that enable greater efficiency and effectiveness in the control of assets. A changing context Across all parts of society, and particularly where services are provided, the expectations of customers are rising: it is transactional and it is digital. The base level of presumed information and insight is surpassing many of the capabilities of legacy solutions. In providing new solutions, the future asset manager has a role to play in specifying solutions that support both communication and more traditional strategic asset management decisionmaking at an increased velocity and level of effectiveness. Fundamentally, there is now, more than ever, a need for more dynamic control of assets and networks. The transport and utility networks upon which we rely every day are at, or increasingly close to, their built capacity and there is progressively less appetite for physical infrastructure investment on various cost constrained and/or environmental grounds. Yet, as demand continues and the environment in which we live changes, creating new unpredictable or seasonal threats to infrastructure, the asset owner (and therefore the asset manager) can no longer afford complacency in their speed of response and the management of reputational damage this seeks to mitigate. The modern asset manager must anticipate these threats and create solutions that mitigate them through enhanced control. David Jarvis is a Principal Consultant at PA consulting. He has 15 years of experience in asset management gained working across the utilities, transport and logistics sectors at FTSE100- and NASDAQlisted companies. His unique combination of practical, hands-on operational experience and his ability to shape and articulate asset management strategy and execution enable him to help clients to go further and faster towards their goals. The challenge for tomorrow Operational control of large asset systems regulates flow and capacity be that trains, vehicles, gas, water or any such equivalent and in doing so provides a safe service for users (be they passengers, or utilities customers). Asset control has traditionally relied upon large workforces that hold critical knowledge. Across the operations of large asset organisations, the workforce is getting older; those who joined in the analogue era are working towards retirement.1 The challenge is that the gap between current skills and future needs is compounded by the expectations (and opportunities) of a new generational workforce in a digitised environment. While the asset manager may not be the operational controller, they need to understand the requirements this creates. In the increasingly complex world of whole-life asset management decision-making, where the purpose is to manage those same performance outcomes, operational control provides the most direct ability to control performance. Historically, such investment was in the humans that facilitated control be they signallers, low-tech traffic management systems and control room staff, and even operators of manually controlled pumps and levers on utility networks. Much of that true historical manual infrastructure has been replaced by analogue solutions and increasingly digital control, but the journey for smart, autonomous control is only just starting. The asset manager must understand it to maximise the benefits that it creates. In fact, many of the solutions created in the future will no longer require human intervention post implementation. They will be regulated by algorithms receiving inputs from a plethora of data points to make the most informed and optimised decision within seconds, be that operating a valve remotely, changing a signal or regulating the flow and pressure of supply. The benefits are clear. Great automation of decision-making increases speed to respond to system perturbation. Increased digitisation of a network can increase throughput and performance. Greater flexibility of control through digital enablement can improve the ergonomic control, while holding and maintaining the intelligence of the decisions made. All these things help to improve control and reduce operational costs a known driver of many investment cycles. Therefore, investment in the capability to provide such control is vital. Kamal Nandha advises clients across a range of advanced industry sectors for PAs Strategy and Business Design Practice. He drives successful transformations across the operations value chain that focus on digitisation, sustainability, and margin optimisation. He has extensive experience in central government, public sector and transport sectors. Rising to the challenge For organisations investing in funding cycles that have long build lead times and that face increased regulatory and government scrutiny on their investments, the asset and network of tomorrow is the design of today. Without a change in approach, to focus inclusively on the operational tool within the more traditional toolkit of maintenance, renewals and enhancements, todays asset managers will simply not be able to keep pace with the challenges above. This will result in spiralling costs of works, increased volatility in asset performance, and a workforce unable to operate a new asset class, impacting customer satisfaction and performance. As stated above, the asset and network of tomorrow is the design of today. The tripartite of technology, processes and people require equivalence of investment even in the early stages and the actions of those that must move as technology advances needs appropriate investment. To manage this rapidly emerging opportunity for tomorrows networks, asset managers need to do five things: 1 2 3 4 5 Revolution not evolution The asset managers and operators of today will not be those of tomorrow. A revolution in approach is required across technology, process and people as opposed to the traditional evolution in approach. The past decade has been uniquely friendly for capital-intensive industries. The industry has enjoyed ubiquitous cheap capital, high spending, deflationary pressure from a relatively large and skilled labour force, globally low energy costs and integrated supply chains that make it easier to access materials from anywhere. All that is changing fundamentally we are entering an age of high capital costs, tightened spending, high energy costs, labour inflation caused by inevitable demographic changes, de-globalisation of supply chains and re-localisation of industries. The convergence of these changes will require accelerating multiple generational shifts in industry within the next decade. The next decade will not be like the last for asset management organisations. The current consensus is that industry will be disrupted by opportunities (and threats) from rapidly advancing technology, changing customer expectations and adjustment to the energy transition. Because of the arguments described above, the ability to control an asset extracting maximum value in use, lifespan, and therefore return on investment will be more critical than ever in the decade to come. Organisations must shift now, embracing technology, optimising their processes, and preparing their people to achieve this for the asset managers of tomorrow to thrive. Endnotes 1 According to the Construction Products Association (CPA), the age demographic of construction workers across the industry is massively skewed towards those aged between 50 and 56, meaning that the sector is expected to lose about a quarter of its workforce within 10 to 15 years, regardless of the impact of the pandemic. Truncate decision-making Improve business process via decision support tools. There are a range of tools and systems that increase the effectiveness of decision-making, ensuring that the rapid response is also the correct response (IoT, decision support tools, machine learning). Advances in network-loss monitoring within the water industry are an example, which now enable the deployment of thousands of small IoT network monitoring devices within an area to create a systems picture, enabling rapid, targeted deployment of engineers to find and fix faults in advance of increased deterioration. Increase network understanding Utilise technology to predict and prevent outages. Businesses can improve network understanding and as a result increase the level of control. An example of this is the increasing utilisation of digital twins, enabling asset operators to create a digital replica of their asset base in real-time. This systems picture is then used to monitor and predict asset behaviour, informing cost-effective and timely control decisions as a result. [See the Autumn 22 issue of Assets for more on digital twins.] Invest in remote asset management Deploy technology to control the network remotely. Doing so removes the requirement for physical interaction and with it reduces the risks associated with operator availability, skills shortages in the field and asset access issues. These solutions enable central control rooms to operate valves, signals, pumps, and a whole host of other assets at the touch of a button, removing the reliance on manual intervention. While these solutions are not new, they are not always widespread within an asset operators portfolio, and there is scope to further exploit this potential, creating connected operations. Create an eco-system for education Increase investment in people. Tomorrows asset operators and maintainers will work in an increasingly digitised and complex context. As new asset types are deployed merging the divide between physical and digital, the type and range of skills required to control those assets will shift. Operators of the future are unlikely to join organisations armed with all the skills required within your specific business context. The traditional approach of hire, bulk train and retain is under threat from the increasing pace, complexity, and opportunities available to businesses. The modern asset controller requires an environment that fosters continual learning, skills development, and enhanced situational awareness. Asset owners and operators should seek to create this environment utilising the latest technology. An example of this is VR (virtual reality) that can create an experience as close to doing the real thing as possible, allowing engineers to train in a real-life environment. Accelerate the buy-in of others Bring people together. Collaboration and a focus on outcomes will be increasingly important in asset control. It will be necessary to break down traditional siloes of activity by engaging the end user earlier in the process, enabling the development of knowledge and skill in asset operation earlier in the life-cycle to ensure exceptional asset control during the run phase of an assets life. The traditional handover model deployed in asset management will require a change in approach to a more collaborative, co-creation model if the end user is going to maximise the benefit (and therefore the control) of their assets.