Engineering asset management (EAM) is a multidisciplinary combination of physical asset management, financial considerations, and information technologies.
But to fully understand that definition, it helps to have solid, working definitions of engineering assets, financial assets, EAM platforms, and the differences between capability and financial values.
Before looking at how organizations manage them, it’s important to first understand what they are. Because there are so many different types of assets, it pays to be precise.
What is an engineering asset?
The most basic definition of an asset has three related parts. There is a physical object, a legal entity, and a value. The definition also covers the relationships between these parts. The legal entity, either a person or company, attributes a value to the physical object.
We can start building our understanding from there.
Locations in organizations
One way to understand engineering assets is by looking at their relative position to other types of assets inside an organization. So, you can think of them as forming the base of a pyramid, with various financial assets positioned above them. Basically, engineering assets are the physical machines, equipment, and facilities that allow an organization to create financial assets such as shares, derivatives, options, and securities.
Types of values
Another way to understand engineering assets is by looking at the types of value they deliver. So, there is “capability” value, which is where most people focus. It’s the asset’s capacity to perform a specific task. In manufacturing, it could be the output. For example, how many perfect tin cans does the equipment produce within a set amount of time. Or, for a fleet, it could be the likelihood a truck arrives on time with a delivery.
The other type of value is financial. Here, you are using monetary units to determine value. It could be dollars or any other standardized monetary unit. Although engineering asset management tends to focus on the capability value, financial value is also important. For example, by looking at costs for initial investment, ongoing maintenance, decommissioning, and installing a replacement, you can decide on the right time to retire an asset to ensure you maximize its value throughout its lifecycle.
Armed with a working definition of engineering assets, we can look at the definition of engineering asset management. But first, there are two quick points of possible confusion to clear up.
When is asset management not asset management?
When the assets are purely financial, asset management is not asset management. Or, put less poetically, engineering asset management is not the same as financial asset management. Physical assets require hands-on maintenance. Financial assets are often just numbers living on hard drives.
And when is EAM not EAM?
You can use EAM as an initialism for engineering asset management in the same way you can call the Central Intelligence Agency the CIA. But EAM is also a closely related software solution that organizations use to get the most value from their assets. Enterprise asset management software is also EAM.
What is engineering asset management (EAM)?
EAM is a multidisciplinary combination of physical asset management, financial considerations, and information technologies.
You start with basic asset management, which is how an organization maximizes its investments in assets, equipment, and facilities. If a company buys equipment that produces tin cans, asset management is the combination of processes and policies the company uses to get the largest number of perfect tin cans with the smallest amounts of time and money. From there, you add financial factors, as well as platforms that facilitate data capture for critical business intelligence. Those three elements together are EAM.
Remember, the associated information technology is often enterprise asset management software. So, EAM the software is a part of the EAM asset management process.
Why engineering asset management is important
Asset management is pivotal to the operational success of any organization. It goes beyond mere maintenance; it’s about strategically optimizing the performance and lifecycle of assets to achieve maximum efficiency and reliability.
This approach not only helps in reducing downtime and operational costs but also enhances asset value and ensures compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
By leveraging advanced analytics and real-time data, asset management enables businesses to make informed decisions, predict maintenance needs, and prevent equipment failures before they occur.
By Jonathan Davis
Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He holds a master's degree in journalism.
