My working week Wim Timmerman Wim Timmerman from Royal HaskoningDHV on discovering asset management, what his role encompasses, and why NxtGen plays such a vital role in developing the profession I work for Royal HaskoningDHV as a strategic asset management and organisational development adviser. Ive been here for about five years but Ive been working in asset management for the past eight years, although I didnt know that what I was doing was classed as asset management at first. My previous role was at a construction company as a member of the project team. When I moved to Royal HaskoningDHV, I heard the term asset management: before that, I hadnt realised that what I did was part of the asset management chain. My current role is all about the public space, so I do a lot of work for the provinces and municipalities that form the local government structure here in the Netherlands. Its not as narrow as just looking at infrastructure, but the infrastructure side of things tends to take up most of my time because its where the biggest investments are made. When I moved to Royal HaskoningDHV, I heard the term asset management: before that, I hadnt realised that what I did was part of the asset management chain My passion is to make sure that organisations are fit for the people working in them. I think that an organisation is a concept that helps people to do their jobs properly and to deliver on certain goals and strategies. For example, Im working for a municipality in one of the bigger cities in the Netherlands, which is in transition from a traditional focus on maintenance to thinking about what kind of developments we need in our public spaces to deal with all the challenges we have, such as a growing population, energy transition, legislation changes, and so on. What I really like about that project is working with people to find ways to adjust their working practices and use their expertise and passion to benefit society. The focus is on the end users: the people who use your public space or your buildings or whatever asset youre talking about. But its also about the people working in the organisation: asset management is also about unleashing their potential. Every week is different, but theres a common thread that runs through them. Most of the time Im talking with people to get more insight into how they work Every week is different, but theres a common thread that runs through them. Most of the time Im talking with people to get more insight into how they work: I would say half of my time is used in meetings or updating information. Another part of my time I spend working on change-management plans, executing them, and working closely with my client to make sure Im in line with the goals and expectations. I also take part in network events with the IAM and with other organisations related to asset management in the Netherlands. I got introduced to the IAM when I started working for Royal HaskoningDHV. I discovered the IAMs Asset Management an Anatomy and I sat the IAM Certificate, which gave me the tools that I needed including knowledge of ISO 55000 to better help our customers. I became the chair of the NxtGen Netherlands in 2019 and then joined the IAM Netherlands Chapter board in 2023. What I really enjoy about NxtGen is the connection with other fields of asset management. A very important part of the NxtGen network is to learn from each other, to share knowledge, expertise, and experience What I really enjoy about NxtGen is the connection with other fields of asset management because the scope is so broad. I work for local government, but its also about industry, airports, healthcare, etc. A very important part of the NxtGen network is to learn from each other, to share knowledge, expertise, and experience, and progress our own development and the development of asset management as a profession. I think that asset management is undervalued as a profession. For example, until recently in the Netherlands, there were no college or university programmes that actually prepared you for being an asset management professional or working in the sector. This has started to change during the past few years, but its still a new expertise that needs more promotion. If you bring [a] challenge back to asset management, it takes issues out of the emotional conversation into a more objective space. It allows us to look at the facts and appreciate the different needs and interests And its so important, because asset management can help us to unravel the complexity of the challenges we face. In the Netherlands, we have a very difficult issue with stringent legislation on the excess of nitrogen emissions. We have already exceeded the nitrogen levels in the atmosphere that are permitted by law, so this in turn affects the building of new infrastructure basically it has brought it to a halt. But we also need homes for people, new schools, new hospitals. One of the main challenges we have at the moment is the complexity of everything coming together competing for space: we want to make the world a better place healthier, greener, more biodiversity. On the other hand, we have our need for stability and in some areas for growth: for development of new homes, for the cities to grow the infrastructure, for new products and for securing food production. But if you bring that challenge back to asset management, it takes issues out of the emotional conversation into a more objective space. It allows us to look at the facts and appreciate the different needs and interests, and find out what the best options and answers are. We need to breach the silos and connect. Asset management can be the instrument that facilitates the process of coming together to find solutions. Find out more about the IAM Netherlands Chapter and NxtGen