Organization-Wide Physical Asset Management. Dharmen Dhaliah
but not least I am extremely grateful to my family—my wife, Mitrini, and my sons, Yuvneesh and Yaneesh. They have inspired and encouraged me all the way, with helpful feedback and advice as I was putting the chapters together. Thank you for keeping the faith and for your endless patience, encouragement, and love.
On a misty cold morning, Darren Ordlan is shivering in his wetsuit as he stands among the other participants waiting for their wave to start. He is about to take on his first Ironman 70.3 race in Lake Placid, New York. This was a goal he set for himself when he turned fifty years old. It is not going to be easy, and he knows that. He is jumping on the spot, while shaking his arms and legs to fight the cold while simultaneously trying to relieve the stress that is making his stomach churn. But there is no going back, and he knows that too. He has trained relentlessly over the last few years for this specific moment and made lots of sacrifices along the way. These sacrifices did not only impact him, but his wife, Debbie, and his two sons, Rémi and Lucas, as well, who supported him all the way. They all made the trip to Lake Placid with him—a beautiful road trip of around six hours with fascinating views. Darren told Debbie not to wake up early to come with him for the start preparation, as it would be too cold in the morning. He did tell her and the boys to come cheer him on at the starting line. When that time came, Darren could not find them in the huge crowd of spectators along the beautiful shore of Lake Placid. The participants standing together on the beach keep moving slowly as they hear the sound of the siren. Although it is cold this morning, the water itself is quite warm when Darren gets in to do his warm-up. He could see the vapor fumes coming off the lake’s surface creating a majestic scene usually seen in movies. Now it is time to stop his wandering mind and focus on the race and what lies ahead of him for the next seven to eight hours. Darren needs to execute all the strategies and plans that he has worked on for the last few years to the best of his abilities.
“Dad!” Darren hears a voice calling him from afar. He looks around and finally spots Debbie, Rémi, and Lucas waving at him from among the crowd two or three rows away. They made it, braving the cold morning, and Darren is pleased to see them there supporting him. It gives him more confidence and purpose for what he is about to undertake.
“Wwwuuummppp!” goes the loud siren, and everybody around him starts running. He understands right away—this is it! He starts running, following the crowd the best he can, as there is a lot of jostling happening. He splashes into the water and starts to swim. It is a rough start with so many people around, arms flailing and legs kicking at him. Darren knows he has to keep his cool and stay focused for the next few minutes to steady himself. After a few strokes, he finally gets into a good rhythm, and his breathing also starts to settle down. It is a long swim, and he needs to manage his energy well. Darren feels very good taking deep breaths and letting his body rotate and glide in the clear water. He is now enjoying his swim at a good pace. But it does not last long.
“Drrriiinnnng!” His alarm clock starts to ring, and he reaches out to switch it off.
What a nice dream he was having. For the last four years he regularly relives this Lake Placid Ironman race even though he has completed multiple similar races since then at other locations. The Lake Placid Ironman race remains a special race, first because it was his first race; second, because of its magical location; and third, because it was such a great accomplishment in the sense that he proved “nothing is impossible.”
Darren peeks at the alarm clock, and he cannot believe it is already six o’clock. “Back to reality,” he says to himself.
It is Saturday, and he needs to go for his swimming session, which starts at 7:00, and then he has to meet up with Jerry Detunam at 8:30 am. His schedule is tight, and, unsurprisingly, he is already late! In a matter of minutes, Darren gets ready and rushes downstairs. He puts his swimming stuff into his bag and heads to the garage.
While driving to the swimming pool, Darren thinks about Jerry and how he can help him. He has known Jerry for a few years now, since they met in one of the classes on physical asset management that he was teaching. Jerry is the new asset manager at Mouroum Inc., a global leader in the food manufacturing industry. Lately, Jerry has been calling Darren almost daily, as he has been struggling in his job. Jerry wanted to book an appointment with Darren as soon as possible to discuss asset management and the issues he is facing at work. Over the phone he sounded somewhat stressed out about his new job, and he wanted to get some advice.
Darren has been in the field of managing physical assets for over thirty years in different industries of both the private and public sectors. His career has taken him through the tactical aspects of managing physical assets to the strategic approach of physical asset management. He has been successful not only in developing physical asset management strategies and plans but also in actually implementing them successfully in organizations and reaping the benefits while witnessing firsthand the challenges that come with it.
Two years ago he decided to go for a change and take on a new challenge. He took early retirement from his high-paying job in asset management to fulfill his dream of doing research work and completing his PhD in the field of asset management. Debbie was against his decision to take early retirement, but Darren’s love for asset management and teaching, as well as his desire to leave a legacy, was so strong that it was virtually impossible to make him change his mind. He joined Ryerson University as an adjunct professor. As an adjunct professor, he is not on the tenure track, but he teaches courses just like tenured professors do. He knows that the career path to earning his PhD and becoming a tenured professor is a rocky one. He also knows the job is not guaranteed, and compensation is quite low. That is why he also takes on consultancy work in asset management, when the opportunity arises, to help make ends meet.
Darren’s passion for asset management and his love for teaching and working with students are so strong, that he is ready to take on the rocky path. He is convinced that the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Darren spends most of his time with graduate and undergraduate students, teaching them and reviewing their theses and papers. He has always wanted to share his knowledge and experience with the younger generation and to spread awareness about good physical asset management practice as much as he can. At the same time, he sees great opportunities to do research and to innovate within the field of physical asset management while he works on his PhD.
Darren’s ultimate dream is to become a professor, but he realizes it will not be easy.
PHYSICAL ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS
“Assets are the livelihood of organizations. By definition an asset is anything that has potential or actual value to an organization.” This is how Darren starts his conversation with Jerry Detunam, who has been waiting for him in the hotel lobby.
“Organizations have different types of assets that they own/use in their operations to generate income,” Darren continues. “There are different types of assets in an organization:
• There are fixed assets, also known as non-current assets, which can be tangible, such as machinery, plant, and equipment, or intangible, such as brand, goodwill, etc.
• Current assets are inventory, cash, etc.
• Organizations also deal with financial assets, which can be in the form of current liabilities (short-term debts) or non-current liabilities (long-term loans, debentures, etc.).
• Another type of asset that organizations have to manage is people, which include their salaries, benefits, and expenses.”
Jerry is attending a workshop at 9:30 in the hotel. So they have a little under an hour to chat. Darren had a quick breakfast on his way and managed to get to the hotel on time. He feels a little exhausted after his swimming workout and is relieved that they found themselves a quiet and comfortable corner in the lobby of the hotel to