Asset Management Accountability Framework Gap Assessment for Royal Women’s Hospital Melbourne

With a history dating back over 160 years as the first hospital in Australia for women who were pregnant, vulnerable and often destitute, the Royal Women’s Hospital is Australia’s largest specialist hospital dedicated to improving the health of all women and newborns.

Each year the Royal Women’s Hospital provides in excess of 250,000 episodes of care for women from 190 countries, who speak 96 different languages and follow 70 separate religious faiths, in a range of comprehensive services from health promotion to clinical expertise and leadership in maternity, gynaecology, women’s cancer services and in the specialist care of newborns. The overarching goal of the Royal Women’s Hospital is that patients and consumers are at the heart of everything they do.

The requirement

In February 2016, the Department of Treasury and Finance introduced the Asset Management Accountability Framework (AMAF) designed to assist Victorian Public Sector agencies manage their asset portfolios and provide better services for Victorians. The AMAF is aligned with ISO 55001, the international standard for asset management, but has some additional and different requirements to meet the specific needs of the Victorian Government.

Standing Directions from the Victorian Minister for Finance mandated the application of the AMAF to all Victorian Public Sector agencies with attestation required in compliance reporting for the 2017‑18 financial year. As a Public Sector agency, the Royal Women’s Hospital sought to determine their level of compliance with the AMAF requirements and what actions would be needed to close any gaps.

The methodology

We had previously performed gap assessments for other clients against both the PAS 55 and ISO 55001 asset management standards. As the AMAF is aligned with ISO 55001 but has some additional and different requirements to meet the specific needs of the Victorian Government, we used a modified version of the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) ISO 55001 assessment tool to make an assessment of the Royal Women’s Hospital’s compliance with the mandatory requirements of the AMAF, and to provide an indication of their current level of maturity towards achieving full compliance. A maturity score against each AMAF Mandatory requirement was assessed according to the following scale:

The maturity scoring provided an indication of the level of effort needed in order to achieve full compliance with AMAF requirements.

Consequently, in order to be fully compliant against an AMAF requirement, the Royal Women’s Hospital needed a maturity score of 3 against each of the elements that made up the requirement. Using the scale to assess maturity against each of the elements that make up the mandatory requirements of the AMAF, we were able to present a visual picture of maturity against all the requirements. The following figure provide an indication of what the assessed maturity picture that was presented to the Royal Women’s Hospital looked like, but does not represent the actual results of the assessment.

The approach

The gap assessment was performed in two stages. The first stage involved reviewing Royal Women’s Hospital’s documentation supporting compliance against the AMAF requirements. The second stage involved conducting interviews with identified Royal Women’s Hospital personnel from different service areas and departments, examining further documentation on site and performing observations that together supported behavioural compliance with their stated processes and the AMAF requirements. This two part approach allowed us to review key documents and interview key personnel in order to assess maturity against each AMAF requirement in the AMAF asset lifecycle areas of Leadership and Accountability, Planning, Acquisition, Operation and Disposal.

Using our assessment tool to assess the maturity of Royal Women’s Hospital across the 20 mandatory AMAF requirements, we identified recommendations for actions needed to close the gaps, and the level of effort and resources needed, that would allow Royal Women’s Hospital to achieve full attestation to the AMAF Mandatory requirements by 30 June 2018.

Outcomes

As a result of the gap assessment, the Royal Women’s Hospital received a detailed report that:

• Provided an assessment of the Royal Women’s Hospital level of maturity in complying with the AMAF Mandatory requirements; and
• Detailed recommendations for actions needed to close gaps in compliance and the suggested level of effort and resources that would be needed.

Benefits

As a result of the gap assessment, the Royal Women’s Hospital:

• Was provided with clear evidence that enabled presentation to their Board on the current level of compliance for reporting in the 2017 annual report;
• Received a report and roadmap that could be used to justify efforts to bridge the gaps in compliance; and
• Increased staff awareness of the AMAF, the requirements of asset management and the role different functional areas play in supporting compliance with the AMAF requirements. Importantly, it created awareness that the AMAF requirements apply across the organisation and not just to Finance (given that it is a treasury document).

If you are looking to align your asset management processes with ISO 55001 or AMAF standards, and to assess your current level of compliance contact us now and talk to one of our expert consultants.