Transforming Asset Management Challenges with AI

How AI Makes the Biggest Impact on Asset Management

April 1, 2025

Marc Laplante

Navigating Megatrends: Where AI Will Have the Most Impact in Asset Management

Megatrends are like weather systems. They are dynamic and ever-present. Sometimes they are extreme and devastating and at other times, gentle. Organizations contend with megatrends on a regular basis. Climate change, inflation, aging assets, regulatory change and an aging workforce are examples of current megatrends that all impact an organization’s asset management system.  The next few paragraphs will explore how asset management collides with these megatrends and how AI has emerged to help individuals and industries productively adapt to the change that they bring.

Artificial Intelligence’s Timely Arrival

The current state of artificial intelligence (AI), and the ways it can be applied, couldn’t have arrived at a better time as these megatrends collide. Industries everywhere are dealing with aging assets, whose true condition is anyone’s guess, pushing regulators to issue new standards for addressing asset age-related risk. Meanwhile, we're racing to document and maintain the legacy knowledge of senior workers before they head for retirement. It’s crucial to somehow capture their expertise and integrate their knowledge into current systems. Add climate change forcing everyone to juggle asset risks against their budgeted environmental footprint, and inflation making everything painfully expensive—limiting investments to just the bare necessities for compliance and safety, which puts a real damper on growth and fresh ideas.

It’s my intent to show how we can understand the potential of AI and its applicability amidst the influence of these megatrends. There is a saying widely attributed to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” While I don’t suggest we’re in a crisis, the challenges that asset managers are facing are numerous and complex. We can use this moment to dig in and take advantage of this opportunity and use AI to reach asset management system performance beyond previous levels.

Aging Assets

If your confidence in the completeness or quality of asset data is low, you’re in luck. AI can be used to identify patterns in asset performance data even with incomplete records. Coupling this capability with established capabilities such as Monte Carlo Simulation, a “best guess” can be elevated to a higher level of certainty than you would have otherwise. More complex methods like decay modeling can be used to mathematically represent how assets deteriorate over time.

Aging Workforce

The challenge of the aging workforce is one of the more important applications of AI because the reality of achieving a more optimal division of labor between human intelligence and computers is within reach. For years there has been a struggle of administrative burden. We want skilled operators and technicians to make use of enterprise technology. However, an unintended outcome developed where skilled craftsmen and operators spend their time on administrative tasks instead of focusing on the work where they are most effective. This megatrend is forcing organizations to act with more urgency to find ways to bring in work process automation and embed the knowledge of organizational experts into these processes before skill and experience exit the workforce completely.

Climate Change

Companies have begun to incorporate climate risk assessments into their asset management strategies. Climate risk is as much a consideration as is the risk of failure modes. This is because the consequences of asset failure extend beyond human health and safety or revenue loss; they also include the risk of surpassing the budgeted environmental impact.

This is another opportunity to apply the power of AI to develop and operationalize strategies that link lifecycle activities and monitoring to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.  

The Approach for Impactful AI in Asset Management

It’s important to point out that before an organization goes on a shopping spree for artificial intelligence, it’s important to put some effort into learning the ISO 55000 overview of asset management principles. Read more in part 3 of this blog series.

An asset management policy will help to gain commitments from top management, alongside their support and authority. A strategic asset management plan will connect asset management to the organization’s objectives and establish the measures and outcomes needed to do so successfully. These standards contain guidance on leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. Understanding these important fundamentals will help tremendously when it comes to selecting technology as they establish processes that technology enables.

Elevating Asset Management System Performance Through Strategic AI Integration

AI represents a transformative opportunity for asset management professionals navigating today’s complex landscape of challenges. By strategically implementing AI solutions that address aging assets, workforce transitions and climate imperatives, organizations can not only mitigate risks but also uncover new efficiencies and insights previously unattainable. The most successful implementations will be those that align AI capabilities with established asset management frameworks like ISO 55000, ensuring technology serves organizational objectives rather than becoming an end in itself. As these megatrends continue to evolve, the organizations that thoughtfully integrate AI into their asset management systems will be best positioned to turn challenges into competitive advantages, creating sustainable value for stakeholders while maintaining resilience in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Learn more in the series: