The second episode of #DigitalDialogues, our new series of virtual meetups, offered me the opportunity to learn more about what it means to move up the Asset Maturity Curve from my guests Maarten van der Zeyden, Solutions Director at Certus Digital, and Dave Roberts from KiwiRail.
As is probably true for many other people, I used to think of moving up the curve as mainly about implementing the right technology in the business. However, as Maarten explained during the episode, other non-technical aspects are critical as well. I thought that was an important point, so I wanted to share some more details with you.
Here are the four non-technical requirements to move up the Asset Maturity Curve.
1. Culture
Maarten explained that the first step towards moving up the Asset Maturity Curve is changing the culture. Technology can bring new capability into a business or make jobs easier. However, unless people change the way they do things, it’s unlikely for this technology to have a transformational impact.
With culture being the driver and technology the enabler – rather than the other way around – organisations stand a much better chance to move up the curve successfully.
2. Information/Insights
The second non-technical element that’s needed to move up the curve is information and insight. Without accurate, comprehensive and accessible data, organisations will struggle to make the move up the curve. Therefore, business leaders need to ask themselves what information and insights are required, how much of that is currently available and how they can go about addressing the gaps. This data then needs to be collated and stored securely, and it needs to be accessible by with wider organisations.
3. Processes
As Richard Jackson from Massey University already pointed out in the first episode of #DigitalDialogues, process needs to come before technology.
To be able to move up the Asset Maturity Curve, organisations first need to understand their processes and how these can be enabled by technology. Bringing in new technology without first fully understanding the backend processes will likely do more harm than good.
4. People
Finally, businesses who want to move up the curve need to ensure their people are empowered to use and improve the processes. This might involve additional training sessions to make sure staff understand the processes and how to use them. However, there is also a strong link to culture. People need to feel empowered to speak up and suggest improvements for the organisation to be able to optimise processes before and while they are moving up the Asset Maturity Curve.
These are the four non-technical factors organisations should consider to ensure they can move up the curve successfully and swiftly.
If you want to learn more about moving up the Asset Maturity Curve and hear more from Maarten as well as get insights into how KiwiRail is moving up the curve from Dave Roberts, watch the full episode of #DigitalDialogues on-demand now.