The Importance of Asset Management Systems in Long Term Corrosion Control

The Importance of Asset Management Systems in Long Term Corrosion Control

Mark Dragar, Asset Manager Pipelines, Jemena Asset Management

Too often we as engineers and managers of critical infrastructure focus on the technical details in a bid to control corrosion. We focus on the design and the performance of the products we specify to ensure we eliminate corrosion from our assets. However, our experience tells us that over time, the elements of nature take their toll on the integrity of our assets; constantly challenging our best designs and taking advantage of our not so good designs.

Historically, our employees have become the ultimate source of asset knowledge; knowing when something is ‘not right’ and when to take action. For many organisations that manage large long term assets, it had become a given that the right person with the right knowledge would still be performing the same role as always, maintaining continuity in managing the issues that threaten the integrity of our assets.

So what happens when an organisation responsible for the operations and maintenance of long term critical infrastructure is subject to changes in management structure, organisational structure, loss of asset records and worst of all loss of employees with critical asset knowledge. With the seasaw of building and losing knowledge over the years it becomes apparent that the ability to manage integrity over the long term becomes most critical to the asset manager.