Building Your Asset Management Capability: How Many People Do You Really Need?

The Question Every Organisation Asks One of the most common questions organisations face when developing their asset management capability is: "What's the minimum number of people we need to make this work?" The answer, whilst not a simple number, is both practical and scalable to your organisation's maturity level.

Alexander Muir

9/10/20264 min read

Issue Date: October 2025

The Question Every Organisation Asks

One of the most common questions organisations face when developing their asset management capability is: "What's the minimum number of people we need to make this work?" The answer, whilst not a simple number, is both practical and scalable to your organisation's maturity level.

Starting Small: The Basic Maturity Level

According to the World Road Association (PIARC), at the basic maturity level, asset management may rely on just one person or a small group with multi-disciplinary training and experience. As the organisation moves to the proficient level, asset management will involve the coordinated effort of various workgroups and multiple individuals.

This means you can start with as few as one to five people, provided they have the right mix of skills and experience. However, this small team must be multidisciplinary and well-connected across the organisation.

The Seven Essential Roles

The Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Competences Framework defines seven key roles required to optimise the delivery and performance of physical assets:

1. Policy Development – Setting the principles and direction for asset management aligned with organisational objectives

2. Strategy Development – Providing strategic direction, demand analysis, and forecasting

3. Asset Management Planning – Identifying options, conducting whole-life costing, and developing asset management plans

4. Implementing Asset Management Plans – Managing the complete asset lifecycle from creation through to disposal

5. Asset Management Capability Development – Building teams, managing suppliers, and shaping organisational culture

6. Risk Management and Performance Improvement – Ensuring effective risk management and continuous improvement

7. Asset Knowledge Management – Defining information requirements and making data available for decision-making

Minimum Team Structure: Five Core Positions

For a small to medium organisation beginning their asset management journey, a practical minimum team structure would consist of five people:

Position 1: Asset Management Leader (Strategic Focus)

  • Responsible for Roles 1, 2, and 5 (Policy, Strategy, and Capability Development)

  • Provides leadership and liaison with senior management

  • Drives organisational culture change and stakeholder engagement

  • Typical background: Engineering, planning, or business management with strong strategic thinking

Position 2: Asset Planning Specialist (Tactical Focus)

  • Responsible for Role 3 (Asset Management Planning)

  • Develops asset management plans, conducts investment appraisal, and whole-life costing

  • Prepares business cases and financial projections

  • Typical background: Engineering or finance with analytical skills and experience in cost-benefit analysis

Position 3: Asset Management System Specialist (Systems and Compliance Focus)

  • Responsible for Role 7 (Asset Knowledge Management) - Systems component

  • Develops and maintains the asset management system aligned with ISO 55001

  • Manages asset management framework, policies, and procedures

  • Ensures system integration and compliance with standards

  • Typical background: Systems analysis, quality management, or management systems with knowledge of ISO 55001


Position 4: Asset Management Data Specialist (Data and Analytics Focus)

  • Responsible for Role 7 (Asset Knowledge Management) - Data component

  • Manages asset data collection, validation, and quality assurance

  • Conducts data analysis and develops performance reporting

  • Maintains asset registers and ensures data accessibility for decision-making

  • Typical background: Data science, engineering, or information management with strong analytical capabilities

  • Source: Odysseus-imc Pty Ltd


Position 5: Performance and Risk Specialist (Assurance Focus)

  • Responsible for Role 6 (Risk Management and Performance Improvement)

  • Monitors asset and system performance against objectives

  • Conducts risk assessments and manages compliance requirements

  • Drives continuous improvement and lessons learned

  • Typical background: Risk management, quality assurance, or operational excellence with auditing experience


Note: Role 4 (Implementing Asset Management Plans) covers lifecycle delivery activities such as operations, maintenance, and asset creation. These activities are typically performed by existing operational teams rather than dedicated asset management staff, with the AM team providing strategic oversight and coordination.

Essential Skillsets Required

The Asset Management Council in Australia lists 243 individual competences for asset management professionals, but for a minimum team, focus on these core competencies:

  • Strategic thinking and ability to align asset management with organisational objectives

  • Financial acumen including whole-life costing and investment appraisal

  • Risk assessment and management capabilities

  • Data analysis and statistical techniques for asset performance evaluation

  • Data management including data governance, quality assurance, and validation

  • Information systems knowledge and database management

  • ISO 55001 knowledge and asset management system implementation experience

  • Systems thinking and ability to integrate information systems and processes

  • Stakeholder engagement and communication abilities

  • Technical knowledge of the asset types being managed

  • Project management experience

  • Quality assurance and continuous improvement methodologies

  • Reporting and visualisation skills for communicating asset insights


Scaling Your Capability

The transition from a small group to a formal, mature asset management team is an important leadership task that requires consideration of individual, team, and organisational expectations. As your organisation's asset management maturity grows, you can expand by:

  • Adding specialists for specific asset classes or portfolios

  • Creating dedicated roles for each of the seven key roles

  • Building separate teams for strategic planning, tactical delivery, and operational support

  • Expanding the data analytics capability to include predictive modelling and advanced analytics

  • Developing in-house expertise rather than relying on external consultants

  • Building redundancy and succession planning within the team

Key Success Factors

Sufficient resources are vital to the effective implementation of asset management, including adequate training for agency staff to ensure availability of the necessary skills and understanding.

Beyond headcount, success requires:

  • Senior leadership commitment and support for the asset management team

  • Clear roles and responsibilities defined through RACI matrices

  • Access to training aligned with ISO 55001 and IAM competency frameworks

  • Integration with existing organisational functions (finance, operations, maintenance)

The Bottom Line

You can begin advancing your asset management capability with a minimum of one to five dedicated people, depending on your organisation's size and complexity. For most organisations, a practical starting point is a five-person team covering strategic leadership, planning, systems management, data analytics, and performance assurance. These individuals must have multidisciplinary skills and strong organisational support, with lifecycle delivery activities coordinated through existing operational teams.

The separation of the Asset Management System Specialist and Asset Management Data Specialist roles is particularly important, as it distinguishes between managing the framework and systems (ISO 55001 compliance, processes, and integration) and managing the actual data (collection, quality, analysis, and reporting). Both functions are critical but require different skill sets.

Start with this core team, ensure they have appropriate training and authority, and scale your capability as your organisation's asset management maturity develops.

The key is not simply the number of people, but having the right competencies distributed across the seven key roles, clear accountability, and genuine commitment from senior leadership to support asset management as a strategic organisational capability.

Sources:

  • Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Competences Framework Version 3.0, 2014

  • World Road Association (PIARC) Asset Management Manual

  • Asset Management Council Australia Competency Framework

  • ISO 55001 Asset Management System Standards

  • Odysseus-imc Pty Ltd - Asset Management Data Specialist role definition

For more information:

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Odysseus-imc Pty Ltd

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🌐 www.odysseus-imc.com

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Beveridge, Victoria

Australia, 3753

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