Building and maintaining an up-to-date Financial Asset Register is a complex and time consuming process. Accurate and reliable data on millions of assets, spread across large geographic areas, need to be captured and verified on a yearly basis. Reliable information can better inform stakeholders on the location and useful life of any asset. The IMQS Asset Verification Mobile Application simplifies this process and helps overcome risks associated with inaccurate data capture.

 

ACCURATE ASSET DATA IS ESSENTIAL FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT

Building and maintaining an up-to-date financial asset register relies on the annual verification, condition assessment and capturing of new asset data by teams in the field. The accurate verification of asset data in the field is an important step in a holistic Infrastructure Asset Management (IAM) process.

Data that is turned into information informs decisions around capital and operational investment. For stakeholders to make the right decisions and remain informed about present and/or future risks they need to receive the right information.

WHAT DOES ASSET VERIFICATION ENTAIL?

Asset verification relates to an annual stock take of all fixed and movable assets in an organisation’s asset register. In the case of municipalities, a variable array of physical assets located in disparate geographic locations, such as vehicles, pavements, traffic lights and road signs, must be surveyed and their conditions assessed.

Accurate information on the geographic position of an asset is essential in order for managers to direct teams in the field. Existing information regarding the current condition of an asset needs to be accurate for managers to prioritise inspection. On the other side, the accuracy of existing and future data is reliant on a team’s ability to accurately capture and consolidate field data without risk of error.

ASSET VERIFICATION INCLUDES:

Surveying, capturing and verifying existing or new fixed and movable assets.
Linking asset data to an asset hierarchy for it to be stored in the central asset register.
Accurately mapping the geographic position of each asset.
Centralising and updating asset data without the risk of input errors.

Movable assets require bar coding for their positive identification. Fixed assets such as buildings, land and infrastructure assets are not barcoded and rely on other forms of physical identification. Assessment and data capture takes the form of a physical assessment according to a template form to be filled out manually as well as recording data photographically.

SIMPLIFYING ASSET VERIFICATION THROUGH SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

The infrastructure asset management process can be simplified by making use of advances in information and communication technology. Relying on multiple steps in a complex web of human action and interaction is not only time consuming, but leaves much room for human error. Asset Verification is just one step in the IAM process that is made easier via advances in software.

IMQS has developed an easy to use and affordable mobile application as a solution that enables users to capture fixed and movable assets digitally on an Android tablet according to a pre-agreed asset hierarchy. As part of IMQS’s integrated asset management solution, the verification tool enables the real-time integration of data with a spatially linked Financial Asset Register.

It allows users to digitally capture and upload images (including bar code scanning) of assets with the tablet as they appear in the field. This confirms visual verification and allows one to build an archive for future reference. The pocket tool eliminates the risk of inaccurate data capture via an intuitive user interface that ensures usability across the user capability scale. While data can be logged, centralised and linked to the main asset hierarchy for consistent review, changes must first be approved at the appropriate level of management.

The IMQS Asset Verification Mobile Application can be downloaded from the Google Play store and allows for 100% offline capability. View the infographic on our Asset Verification Mobile Application here!