--- title: "ISO 55 000 standard for asset management on its way to becoming a reality" description: "Alan Tait gives feedback on the ISO 55 000 design workshops in Washington DC The recent International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) / PC 251" image: https://www.pragmaworld.net/wp-content/uploads/pragma-social-placeholder-blue.jpg canonical: https://www.pragmaworld.net/iso-55-000-standard-for-asset-management-on-its-way-to-becoming-a-reality/ url: https://pragma-world.getmd.ai/iso-55-000-standard-for-asset-management-on-its-way-to-becoming-a-reality/.md last_converted: 2026-09-22T11:31:45.736Z --- # ISO 55 000 standard for asset management on its way to becoming a reality November 11, 2013**Alan Tait gives feedback on the ISO 55 000 design workshops in Washington DC** The recent International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) / PC 251 workshops in Arlington, Washington DC is testimony to the fact that the ISO 55 000 for asset management is well on its way to becoming a reality. The ISO started a process about 2 years ago to develop a standard for asset management. The departure point for this standard was Publicly Available Specification 55, or PAS 55 (PAS 55-2008 parts 1 & 2), which has been developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI), in conjunction with the Institute for Asset Management UK (IAM) and numerous public and private sector organisations. Says Alan Tait, Managing Director of Pragma, “PAS 55 is applicable to any organisation that depends on its physical assets for the performance and continuance of its business operations. Companies that have implemented the standard have benefited on two fronts. The first is improved, more reliable and sustainable operations. The second is reduced insurance premiums.” PAS 55-2008 is currently undergoing conversion into an International Standard (ISO 55 000). Tait continues: “ISO went out on a vote to their contributing countries and bodies for support on whether to develop a standard and whether PAS 55 could be used as the foundation. The vote was a resounding yes.” Since then, each of the contributing countries has set up mirror committees whereby they have the opportunity to review and comment on the content of the existing or modified documentation. “This is currently happening in more than 30 countries across the world, so there will be many different views and opinions. In South Africa, this is being led by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). On the local working committee, there are representatives from the Southern African Asset Management Association (SAAMA), PRASA, SANRAL, IMESA, Pragma, e-Logics, Anglo American, SSI, to name a few. All the feedback from these working committees is fed back to ISO head office for consolidation and then resubmission to all the countries again,” says Tait. On top of this process, there are also international workshops, held every six months, where the various countries have an opportunity to get together for five days to debate and workshop the comments and critical alignment issues. “The most recent workshops were held in Washington, where 50 people from 29 countries got together to continue the ISO 55 000 debate. South Africa had 4 representatives at these workshops. PAS 55, which was released in 2004 and revised in 2008, was the starting point and we now have only between 40 and 50% of the original PAS 55. The five days were essentially made up of an initial plenary session where all the delegates were briefed as a single group. “From the second to the fifth day, we broke up into smaller groups and worked on individual sections of the documentation. The brief was very simple – streamline, make it relevant and ensure all comments are accounted for. At the end of each day, each sub-group then presented their changes to the rest of the group, together with their rationale for the changes. On the final day we closed with another plenary session, whereby final closing statements and de-briefing were done. All documentation was then distributed to the countries shortly after the workshops, for comments, and the process to start again. “Firstly, this meeting was essentially to take the drafts and improve the text to a point where they would be ready for circulation as formal Committee Drafts. We also debated the issue of asset life cycle versus just asset life, where we decided to only refer to asset life as assets which do not go through continuous life cycles. Other issues included ensuring that the standard is applicable to intangible assets too, e.g. financial, human and software assets, and not only physical,” says Tait. The next international meeting will be held from 6 to 10 February 2012 in Pretoria, South Africa. “Most of the delegates are extremely excited to visit our great country and continue the debate on the ISO 55 000 standard on our shores,” says Tait. “I reckon all in all, we’ll have three more meetings of which Pretoria will be the first, followed by a meeting in June 2012 (in Prague) and another one in February 2013. We’re hoping to release the new standard at the end of 2013 or early in 2014.” For more information contact Alan Tait at [[email protected]](https://www.pragmaworld.net/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c6d404d4202784d45586c5c5e4d4b414d5b435e404802424958) or on 011 848 6940. Issued by Gina T Z Ganswyk / Peter Marx, Purple Pine PR. Tel: 021 914 6388 ##### Subscribe to our newsletter ##### More content ##### Asset Management Masterclass or Awareness Training? Start with the role, not the course Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma I get asked this question quite often: Should I do the Asset Management Masterclass, or... ##### The lonely learner problem: why self-paced learning still needs people Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma Self-paced learning has solved a very real problem for busy adults. It gives people more... ##### Pragma appoints Stephan Kornelius as Chief Executive Officer Author | Pragma Experienced Pragma executive takes the helm on 1 October as the business continues its next... ##### No time for training? Look at what is taking the time. Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma “Not now. The team is too busy.” It is one of the most understandable reasons... ##### When Finance and Operations agree on spares Author | Pragma MRO spares are often the source of a familiar business tension. Finance wants to reduce... ##### You don’t train for a marathon by running a marathon Author | Tim Beavon - Partner Consultant, Pragma Why shutdown readiness depends on applying lessons before the next major event A major shutdown... ##### Pragma announces leadership transition and continues strategic momentum Author | Pragma Pragma has announced an important leadership transition as the business continues to build on... ##### Are we solving the wrong training problem? Author | Karen Greyling - Academy Business Development Manager, Pragma When organisations say they need training, they may already be solving the wrong training problem:... ##### The art of balancing work order feedback with compliance, learning, and wrench time Author | Scheepers Schoeman - Senior Associate, Professional Services Most organisations don’t choose their work order feedback culture. They drift into it. A new... ##### Why a qualified maintenance planner changes more than maintenance Author | Karen Greyling - Academy Business Development Manager, Pragma In many plants, the same pattern repeats itself. Work arrives late. Materials are chased at... ##### Why MRO inventory is different from other inventory classes Author | Andre Jordaan - Partner Consultant, Pragma MRO inventory differs from other inventory classes because demand is irregular, the consequences of stockouts... ##### How failing water infrastructure is quietly reshaping South Africa’s cities Author | Nelson Broden – Business Lead Pragma Managed Services On the school run through... ##### From dead capital to operational certainty: Smarter spare parts management Author: André Jordaan, Partner Consultant, Pragma Most MRO stores aren’t short of parts; they’re short... ##### Asset Management Awareness Training that fits real work Author | Karen Greyling, Business Development Manager If you’ve ever thought, “We don’t need another... ##### Asset Management Masterclass: Strategic training for leaders driving performance, reliability and results Author | Karen Greyling – Business Development Manager In asset-intensive industries, leaders are under growing... ##### Beyond compliance: Why repeated maturity assessments define asset performance leadership Author | Stephan Kornelius – Pragma Professional Services Business Lead In asset-intensive industries, leaders face... ##### OEMs need a connected platform for services Author | Henk Wynjeterp – Regional Lead – Europe | Henk leads Pragma’s OEM after-sales... ##### When rivers cry out: How asset management can help heal South Africa’s waterways Author | Nelson Broden – Business Lead Pragma Managed Services The Hennops River, once part... ##### Ditch the buzzword: OEM after-sales leaders buy execution, not “servitization” Author | Henk Wynjeterp – Regional Lead – Europe | Henk leads Pragma’s OEM after-sales... ##### Beyond the software – embedding your EAMS into your organisation’s DNA for sustainable value The key to a successful EAMS (Enterprise Asset Management System) implementation lies in integrating the... ##### Pragma’s perspective on what the proposed South African budget means for infrastructure governance Author | Stephan Kornelius Author | Stephan Kornelius – Pragma Professional Services Business Lead Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2025... ##### Government infrastructure investments must go beyond bricks and mortar – A global perspective Author | Bani Kgosana Author | Bani Kgosana Across the globe, ageing infrastructure threatens economic stability. In the US,... ##### Pragma partners with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team to power maintenance excellence Author | Liza Schroeder Pragma is proud to announce its support of the Q36.5 Pro... ##### Revitalising South Africa – a better path to infrastructure renewal Author | Bani Kgosana, Pragma CRO South Africa faces an extraordinary opportunity to transform its... ##### Transforming maintenance from a grudge purchase to a strategic investment Author | Scott Gibson, Pragma CEO  With South Africans enjoying a break from load shedding... ##### Pragma 2.0 – CEO of Pragma, Scott Gibson’s vision is to compete with international giants through engineering excellence At Pragma, our roots are deeply embedded in engineering consulting. We are proud to be... ##### Are you proactively shaping your focused improvement process or is it evolving organically? Author | André Jordaan, Pragma Partner Consultant Focused improvement (FI) is the overarching process used... ##### Introducing Pragma’s Enhanced Asset Management Assessment Framework: AMIP Physical assets must be managed effectively for a business to grow and be competitive. Across... ##### Unlocking Asset Management Excellence: Pragma’s Spotlight at the SAAMA Conference, 5-6 June 2024 As anticipation builds for the upcoming South African Asset Management Association (SAAMA) Conference, Pragma is... ##### A new era at Pragma: Scott Gibson appointed CEO Designate After an illustrious 34-year tenure as co-founder and CEO of the Pragma Group, Adriaan Scheeres...