Managing assets in the construction industry is one of the crucial yet most important tasks. Majorly concentrating on timely project completion within budget, planning, managing, and maintaining project assets can impact on the project significantly in cost and sustainability. 

When it comes to the construction industry, managing assets is not just dealing with the placement and procurement of necessary materials; it is a strategy involving the complete lifecycle of assets from design through building phases and maintenance. Having a keen understanding of asset management when it comes to designing assets saves a lot of effort and improves productivity.  

This article will explore the essentials of asset management in construction, its benefits, challenges, and ways to mitigate them. 

Construction Asset Management?

In general, asset management refers to the systematic management of assets. Commercial construction projects include physical and digital assets. The key intention is to manage these assets and ensure they are designed, maintained, and optimized for maximum value.  

Asset management involves various processes to manage, and track all the project resources, it could be project resources, machinery, raw materials, designs, analysis reports, standards, systems, and much more. Managing these in a secure and easily accessible manner without discrepancy generation.  

💡 Physical Assets

Physical Assets in construction include the basic materials and systems that are essential in initiating the construction process which encompasses materials to build like concrete, steel, wood, cement, and glass. Systems include HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and Air conditioning), plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire protection systems, and much more. Also, physical assets related to machinery like bulldozers, excavators, cranes, concrete mixers, elevators, loaders, and trenchers.  

💡 Digital Assets

On the other hand, Digital Assets, while working with BIM (Building Information Modeling), are invaluable in nature. BIM serves as the digital comprehensive representation of the building, incorporating detailed information about the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the structure. Data associated with BIM models such as designs of various structural systems like beams, columns, and walls, along with HVAC, MEP, and interior design systems are essential assets for maintaining the integrity and further project purposes. Apart from design assets, project documents like drawings, site images, key documents, and standard procedures are also a part of a successful design project.  

Benefits of Effective Construction Asset Management 

1. Improved Operational Efficiency

With proper and effective asset management, teams spend comparatively less time dealing with real-time project equipment, tools and materials, ensuring they have everything properly maintained, reducing downtime, and helping maintain the pace. 

2. Security at Site

Unluckily Construction industry is prone to theft and mischief as assets like heavy machinery and raw materials need to be kept at the site which are difficult to track and manage. Digitalizing the sites with GPS systems and asset management software helps project managers have an enhancement in security. 

3. Cost Management

Getting to know the information related to material lack and tools/machinery damage will help you solve the issues on hand, ensuring you stay updated on the contingencies and prepare plans accordingly in terms of cost management. Again, managing and reusing the project’s digital assets like standard walls, beams, structures, and interiors help designers save time in redesigning such standard items, ultimately helping in mitigating unnecessary costs.  

4. Sustainability and Maintenance

Effective asset management goes beyond the construction phase and helps to ensure the sustainability of the building during operation. Digital assets integrated with IoT can help in finding out the lifespan of the interiors, and structures and help in predicting maintenance. 

5. Effective Decision Making

Real-time insights related to asset availability ensure your project stays up-to-date on the changes and unavailability. This helps you to make informed decisions on the purchase/order without making any interruption.   

Challenges in Managing Construction Assets

Managing assets, when it comes to the construction sector, is not an easy task. It poses challenges too, let’s have a look at a few, 

1. Misplacement

Movement of materials, machinery and tools is done frequently in the construction site. Locating these assets is a tedious task. Ultimately, it leads to delay in the completion or sometimes need to re-purchase which causes additional expense. 

2. Vandalism or Theft

Assets on the site are placed in an open area, without any proper security. This leads to trespassers and thefts, which leads to huge capital loss. Heavy machinery and specialized tools are mostly prone to thieves. 

3. Replacement Issues

Stolen or misplaced assets sometimes maybe not easily irreplaceable. This creates huge trouble for the stakeholders and causes issue in finding alternative or replacement. If those replacements are not found in time, it causes unpredictable downtimes. 

Strategies for Effective Asset Management 

Managing assets in real time is a complicated yet crucial process. Still can be implemented effectively by following the top strategies as mentioned below. 

1. RFID tagging and GPS tracking

Radio frequency identification and global positioning systems integrated with the construction assets help to have a track of the assets being utilized in the construction site. These advancements allows for real-time monitoring, which helps prevent theft, loss, and unauthorized use, as well as providing valuable insights into asset performance and utilization. 

2. Establish Clear Utilization Protocols

Develop standard protocols for ensuring proper usage of machinery and tools. This involves assigning specific tasks to equipment by tracking the usage and ensuring they are not left ideal for long periods. After usage, ensuring that they are placed properly in the designated spaces.  

3. Asset Disposal Plan

Once the asset’s usage is no longer needed, it must be removed from the workplace in order to clear discrepancies. Proper planning is needed to dispose of the assets whether it could be reselling or giving back to the supplier if borrowed, disposing of any toxic chemicals, or transferring it to other places gives space to other useful assets and reduces unnecessary site issues. 

4. Technology Integration

Construction is going digital; comprehensive asset management software helps you manage the assets effectively. With barcodes and RFID tagging assets integrating those data with the software tool will help you track asset usage frequently.  

Construction design assets like BIM design content, designs, standard documentation, licenses, SOPs, site images, and much more should be managed in a standard platform.  

One such tool is Enginero, which provides a comprehensive solution to manage your construction designs and related assets under one central repository, allowing all the construction stakeholders to stay in one roof.  

5. Implement Preventive Goals

Proactive maintenance schedules are the best to prevent breakdowns before they happen, helping to reduce unexpected breakdowns and expensive delays. Regular inspection of the materials and machinery helps to set goals properly. 

Conclusion

In the construction sector, proper asset management is crucial for achieving project success, maximizing resources, and reducing expenses. Construction teams can enhance operational efficiency, minimize downtime, and improve security by handling physical and digital assets. 

 Issues such as theft, loss, and maintenance interruptions can be reduced by implementing solutions such as RFID tracking, established usage guidelines, and regular maintenance.  

With the adoption of digital tools and integrated software in the industry, asset management plays a crucial role in boosting short-term productivity and ensuring long-term sustainability. By implementing proper systems, construction projects can remain on schedule, under budget, and provide enduring value.