Why now is the time to rethink asset management
Jessica Rauf-Thomas, head of operational asset management explores best practice in asset management and offers practical tips to get started.
A £49 billion maintenance backlog across the UK’s public estate. Industrial plants grappling with unplanned downtime. Ageing infrastructure placing growing pressure on stretched budgets and teams. The asset management challenge is vast – but it’s also a huge opportunity.
Facilities and engineering leaders are increasingly recognising that reactive maintenance is no longer sustainable. It’s costly, disruptive and misaligned with broader goals around compliance, sustainability and performance. What’s needed now is a shift in strategy – from short-term fixes to strategic, data-informed planning.
In this blog, I’ll explore best practice in asset management and provide practical tips that will help wherever you are on your journey.
Understanding the bigger picture
For many estates and FM teams, legacy systems, incomplete records and siloed data are still common. That makes it difficult to answer fundamental questions: What do we own? What condition is it in? What’s the risk if it fails?
Without this visibility, decisions about repairs, upgrades or investment are harder to justify. That not only drives inefficiency but can compromise safety, compliance and long-term value.
By contrast, asset management is about gaining clarity – bringing together data, people and technology to inform better decisions and extend the life and value of your assets.
Work with existing information
There’s a misconception that digital asset management requires starting from scratch. In fact, some of the most effective strategies begin with what organisations already have – existing systems, spreadsheets and site knowledge – and build from there.
The priority is to create a single source of truth. That might involve consolidating information into a digital asset register, retrofitting sensors, or integrating disparate systems. From this foundation, it’s possible to apply insights that support more targeted maintenance, smarter investment, and greater operational resilience.
Crucially, this doesn’t always require a full-scale tech overhaul. Many successful programmes begin by integrating legacy CAFM or BMS platforms into a unified data environment. By working with existing infrastructure, organisations can modernise at their own pace, protect prior investments, and prove value early – without disruption.
This isn’t about technology for technology’s sake. It’s about aligning asset performance with business goals, whether that’s reducing cost, increasing uptime, achieving net zero or preparing for audits.
What does good look like?
A strong asset management strategy will look slightly different for every organisation. But common features include:
- Condition-based maintenance – replacing fixed schedules with interventions based on real-time performance and risk.
- Lifecycle insights – understanding the total cost of ownership and when replacement delivers better value than repair.
- Criticality analysis – focusing attention and resources on assets that pose the greatest operational or compliance risk.
- Carbon and cost visibility – helping sustainability and finance teams make evidence-based decisions.
- Adaptability – supporting not just how buildings are used today, but how they may need to perform in future.
Strategic asset management also brings cross-functional value. Finance teams gain clearer forecasts and cost justification. Compliance officers’ benefit from audit-ready reporting. Sustainability leaders get better visibility of carbon performance and asset efficiency. This approach strengthens the business case for FM and creates alignment across departments.
We helped a global energy technology company that was managing estates across five countries, each with its own unstandardised data sources. By consolidating this information into a single asset management platform, the organisation achieved £500,000 in guaranteed annual savings, a 98% compliance rating, and identified over 30 separate opportunities for efficiency and risk reduction.
Five steps to get started
If you're ready to move beyond reactive asset management but unsure where to begin, these steps can help:
- Assess your current data landscape
Understand what information you already hold, where it lives, and how accurate it is. - Define asset criticality
Identify the assets that are most vital to safety, compliance, and service delivery. - Set clear goals
Whether it’s cutting reactive callouts, increasing uptime, or improving compliance, define what success looks like. - Centralise and clean your data
Even if it starts with a spreadsheet, begin consolidating information into one accessible format. - Pilot and scale
Start with a manageable site, system or asset type. Use early wins to build confidence and secure wider buy-in.
Why this matters now
The pressures on estates and infrastructure aren’t going away. If anything, they’re intensifying – from regulatory scrutiny and energy costs to customer expectations and ESG commitments. And with engineering talent in short supply, making the best use of people and resources has never been more important.
That’s why asset management isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a way to take back control by minimising risk, improving resilience and ensuring that every pound spent is delivering value.
For organisations ready to evolve, the tools, data and expertise are there. The time to start is now.
Ready to take the first step?
Whether you’re grappling with ageing assets, data siloes or pressure to deliver more for less, EMCOR UK can help. Our expert asset management in-house specialist team work with customers across sectors including defence, life sciences, utilities and data centres. The team drives change, develops plans and identifies opportunities for energy and carbon savings. From tailored strategies to manage your assets, to providing data integrity and accessibility, our comprehensive modular services offer a full range of solutions for your needs.
To learn more or start a conversation, read about our asset management solution or get in touch.