Studying the funding principles for integrating Asset Management in Operations: an empirical research in production companies

The aim of this paper is to investigate Asset Management (AM) implementation as a business process within production systems to contribute to operational excellence. The main fundamentals to be considered to properly implement AM within production companies according to the existing literature and standards are identified and they are: two dimensions - i.e., the asset life cycle (Beginning of Life, Middle of Life, End of Life phases) and the hierarchical level of the asset-control activities (strategic level, tactical level, operational level) - and four funding principles - i.e., life cycle orientation, system orientation, risk orientation and asset-centric orientation. An empirical investigation is then developed through multiple case-study involving eight production companies in Italy, in order to assess the level of orientation towards those funding principles within production companies as it is nowadays, in order to identify existing gaps and areas for improvements.