Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
- Henry Ford

As most of you know we have been in the process of renovating our office. We had to move to a rather “rustic” temporary office for a few weeks while the renovation was completed. As Henry Ford said we all came together, kept it together and successfully worked together throughout this process. We have been living out of boxes, covered in dust and anxious to move back into our office. Finally that time has come. We are back in our office and eager to successfully knock out the rest of this year.

We are still in the process of trying to decorate and beautify the place, but we still have fun along the way. We hold weekly furniture voting sessions that sometimes end in five different votes. Eventually we will have all of the final pieces in place. But in the meantime we are back in business people! Check out the new bigWebApps Office.

The New Kitchen:

View down hallway with everyone’s office:

The concrete floors:

Lounge Area:

Conference Room:

Office:

Of course there is more to see but you will have to come visit us to get the full tour. Check back for updates when we add all of the final touches. Needless to say we are all very pleased with the new office and happy to be back!

The first step is the most crucial

Today, in our continuing series on the asset life cycle, we are going to cover the first step of the cycle, design. Of course the initial step of any asset life cycle is to first determine the need for an asset. Once this need is determined, the design process begins. Every asset development project will have a varying number of phases, but for our illustration I will lump them all in to five categories.

The 5 Phases of the Design

1. Discovery
2. Definition / Scope
3. Engineering / Design
4. Construction / Procurement
5. Deployment

Phase 1 – Discovery

The discovery phase is what starts the entire process. It includes all of the discussions, thought, and exploration that lead to the moment when you realize you need to provide a new asset to fill a need within your business. The phase ends with your decision to move forward with a project.

Phase 2 – Definition / Scope

This is the most critical phase in any design process. In this phase all of the requirements that the new asset needs to meet are clearly defined. This provides a defined project scope and puts metrics in place by which the success of the total project is measured. This is also where budgets get determined and project costs are estimated. Upon collecting all of this research, the decision is made to either move to next phase or kill the project.

Phase 3 – Engineering / Design

In this phase designers and engineers are commissioned to draw up schematics based on the defined requirements. The project end goals are clearly solidified and initial conflicts with in the projects are resolved (i.e. ongoing maintenance cost estimates, physical placement of the assets, and project start and finish dates). This phase ends when you agree to the plans that will guide construction

Phase 4 – Construction / Procurement

The contractor or vendor who will build your asset becomes the most active member of the team during this phase. Investments are made in materials, and timetables are extremely important. Good communication within the project team is critical, as the need for changes often arises. This is typically the time of highest stress for the project owner.

Phase 5 – Deployment

This phase beings the day the project is up and running and never really ends. It’s where you begin to measure the success of the asset against the pre-determined project objectives. If you are turning over the project to others who will ultimately use it, good communication during that process is important. Your engineer or designer can help ensure that the terms of any contracts were met. You can use the experience of this project to improve the process of future work. This phase leads directly into the next step in the asset life cycle, commissioning.

The earlier a holistic approach is adopted in the life cycle process, the easier it will be in subsequent steps. The design is the first step in creating a successful project.

In our next article in the asset life cycle management series we’ll cover commissioning.

Helpdesk by bigWebApps has developed a system that meets all of the needs for your asset management life cycle as well as make existing system integration simple, no matter what existing measures you have in place. Our Helpdesk system is a web based, meaning you’ll have access to all of your information wherever you have an internet connection. Our Software as a Service (SaaS) provides you with instant system set up and deployment.

Browse our site for more information: http://helpdesk.bigwebapps.com