For Facilities Managers in both the public and private sectors, asset management has traditionally focused on maintenance, compliance, and cost control. But the scope is expanding. With risks ranging from extreme weather events and supply chain disruption to cyberattacks and energy crises, asset management is increasingly recognised as a critical enabler of business continuity and organisational resilience…
From Reactive to Proactive
Historically, many estates have relied on reactive or scheduled maintenance cycles. While effective in keeping assets operational, this approach often leaves organisations vulnerable to unexpected failures at critical moments. Today, the emphasis is on embedding resilience into asset strategies through proactive monitoring, risk modelling, and contingency planning.
Facilities teams are leveraging IoT sensors, condition-based monitoring, and predictive analytics to anticipate failures before they occur. By linking asset health data directly into business continuity frameworks, organisations can pre-emptively address risks that could disrupt operations.
Planning for Disruption
Resilience-minded asset management goes beyond fixing equipment: it considers how failure impacts people, processes, and services. For example:
- A failed HVAC system during a heatwave doesn’t just affect comfort; it can disrupt learning in schools or critical patient care in hospitals.
- A power outage in a data centre could impact essential services or financial operations nationwide.
Best practice involves mapping asset dependencies and identifying which assets are mission-critical. These insights allow facilities managers to prioritise investment, schedule maintenance strategically, and build redundancy where needed.
Supply Chain and Spares Strategy
The global supply chain challenges of recent years have underlined the importance of spares planning. Long lead times for replacement parts can turn a minor fault into weeks of downtime. Facilities managers are increasingly holding critical spares in local stock, diversifying supplier relationships, and working with procurement colleagues to ensure continuity of supply for essential assets.
Integration with Risk and ESG
Resilient asset management also supports compliance and sustainability objectives. Aligning strategies with ISO 55001 (asset management) and ISO 22301 (business continuity) creates a more joined-up approach, while considering lifecycle carbon emissions ensures resilience efforts also support net zero goals.
A Seat at the Board Table
In many organisations, facilities managers are now being asked to contribute to enterprise-wide resilience planning. Demonstrating how robust asset management underpins continuity of operations, staff safety, and regulatory compliance positions FM as a strategic function, not just a support service.
By embedding resilience into asset management strategies, facilities professionals can ensure that when disruption strikes, whether from equipment failure, climate events, or global crises, their organisations can respond swiftly, recover quickly, and continue delivering vital services.
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Photo by Georg Eiermann on Unsplash
