CHARM

A NEW APPROACH TO UNIFIED
ASSET ASSESSMENT

REQUIREMENT

How to build a strong foundation for risk-based asset management?

CHALLENGE

Diversity of assets and gaps in an organisation’s knowledge can make it a challenge to create a unified plan for asset management and maintenance.

SOLUTION

Our tool CHARM is a single approach that gives organisations the power for a smooth and easy maintenance strategy and business-focused investment plans.

General Capability

The problem of asset management
Effective asset management is about building a strong foundation to manage risk and support an organisation’s entire operation. Make the right decisions about asset management and investment and an organisation positions itself for success. Make the wrong decisions and an organisation compromises safety and reliability and may even imperil its very well-being.

Many organisations manage a diverse collection of assets. Data from different assets can vary in terms of quality and volume. Some assets may have advanced sensors monitoring their condition, whereas the health of other assets may have to be assessed by an engineer. An organisation may not know the true condition of some of its assets, nor understand how those assets are degrading over time. Diversity of assets and gaps in an organisation’s knowledge can make it a challenge to create a unified plan for asset management and maintenance.

Too often asset maintenance budgets are based on the historic record of how different assets have been invested in over the years. Planning is frequently done for each asset class in isolation of the entire asset population because historically it was easier to manage the interventions and budget this way. Planning may also be quite ad hoc, based on the subjective opinions of engineers assessing the current condition of the assets. This is far from the best approach. What’s needed is an overarching view that is both critical and accurate, and which supports a modern organisation seeking tight control of its infrastructure and budgets.

CHARM: A new approach to unified asset assessment

At Decision Lab we’ve created a single tool that gives organisations the power to assess the health of their assets, forecast how those assets may degrade, and optimise maintenance and investment plans. We call it CHARM – the Combined Heath Asset Risk Model. CHARM uses monetised risk and estimated probability of failure to apply a single consistent approach to many different types of assets. And CHARM is designed precisely for those environments that can be the most challenging
– environments involving data that is both limited and qualitative.

CHARM and the user

We developed CHARM by working with engineers who needed practical solutions for very real problems. We sought out engineers in different sectors – engineers in the electricity industry, engineers working on the UK’s canals and waterways – to ensure that CHARM was versatile and widely applicable. With CHARM, end users create and then apply their own asset model.
Whatever sector an engineer is working in, CHARM allows the engineer to define their asset in a meaningful way, and then CHARM provides templates for data capture. CHARM offers the freedom to explore and optimise different investment strategies based on various factors including risk and budget. Adaptable to a wide range of requirements, CHARM evolves to meet the need.

The Future of CHARM

Through our work with Canals and Rivers Trust, CHARM is already protecting one of the UK’s most used and visible historical assets. As we continue to bring CHARM to diverse business environments, CHARM is proving its adaptability to managing different assets, data sources, and operational constraints. At the largest naval port in Western Europe – Devonport – CHARM is supporting Babcock International with its asset management transformation project.