Bluefield Asset Management Specialists (AMS) have been providing practical services across the lifecycle of equipment for many years. We have assisted our Rail and Transport clients with evaluating different asset options in the study phase and improving how our clients manage their assets throughout their life including optimising lifecycle costs and reliability improvement.

Operational Readiness

During asset evaluation and purchasing, a business should consider the required maintenance infrastructure required to maintain the equipment over its lifecycle. It is easy to overlook some things that significantly impact the maintenance execution for many years to come.

• Does the maintenance or provisioning facility need to be redesigned, expanded or new tool and plant considered?
• Is there early training required for the operators and maintainers?
• Have the necessary asset management plans and maintenance tactics been developed in adequate detail?
• And what initial spares pool needs to be put into place and where will they be stored?

The operational readiness planning must be considered in detail during the initial investment phase. Bluefield has developed detailed checklists and processes to assist with these activities including extensive work on the required maintenance facilities.

Operating, Maintenance and Capital Costs

Process reviews and subsequent improvement is another service Bluefield AMS has developed a practical approach that has been proven to deliver results. Assisting clients to ensure their Maintenance Management System is accurately aligned to collect the correct data that can be used confidently to assist in decision making on how to operate and maintain rollingstock, trucks or buses efficiently to ensure optimal performance.

Rollingstock assets in particular have a significant operating life and therefore require a major input of investment in maintenance at some stage. Ascertaining when that point in time is, what the scope will be and to what level of improvements are needed, can have a significant impact on the whole of life costs. Suitable options to consider are:

• a complete strip down and major overhaul
• a mid-life refurbishment
• a component changeout strategy
• Incorporating upgrades

In this era, safety, social and environmental impacts play an important role in how an operation is viewed and therefore costs to ensure assets are compliant to the latest relevant standards are just as important as the day to day running costs. Bluefield AMS have reviewed rail fleets, facilities, and operations, and identified cost benefits and improvements using our Asset Management Planning toolkit, developed in-house, and can provide actual business bottom line outcomes.

All the plans in the world will not deliver the business outcomes without efficient and effective maintenance execution. In this area Bluefield stands alone in our ability to assist businesses to develop the necessary culture that provides maintenance execution quality. From our approach to working with our client’s teams to our toolkits and dedicated training programs, developed over many years of experience, Bluefield has developed a capability that is unique to our full life cycle approach.

Asset Decommissioning and Disposal

Finally, the decommissioning and disposal costs must be considered. Decommissioning and disposal of assets needs to be managed in a formal process from the time assets and spare components are identified for disposal, through to the safe and efficient disposal itself. Asset disposal may be due to the asset reaching its economic life, becoming surplus to the requirement of operations or has been damaged beyond economical repair due to an unplanned event.

Not only have we assisted clients with this important phase of an asset life, but we also have setup the necessary annual planning processes that allow companies to do the ongoing lifecycle planning for an asset over the longer term.

Asset Management Plans

Bluefield AMS works with our clients to develop Asset Management Plans that suit the business requirements and more importantly ensure that all the competing business functions are aligned and collectively own and implement the plans.