The ninth World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM) will be held at the International Convention Centre at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, in Pretoria, from October 28 to 31 and will explore complementary disciplines that constitute the body of knowledge on engineering asset management.
The congress will feature many international experts who will share their experiences, while practitioner opinions from public-sector organisations will be juxtaposed with those from private-sector industry to provide insight into asset management practices and experiences.
“The words ‘asset’ and ‘management’ are broad concepts; hence, asset management includes, besides other disciplines and definitions, engineering, technology, finance, sustainability, service, maintenance, amortisation, profitability, operations and production, as well as manufacturing and investment management,” says University of Pretoria Graduate School of Technology Management and ninth WCEAM organising committee chairperson Professor Joe Amadi-Echendu.
The congress includes six tutorials, six workshops, three industry visits and four keynote addresses, while 45 academic and 60 industry case-study papers will be presented during the congress, reflecting the multi-, cross-, and transdisciplinary nature of asset management. The congress proceedings will be published and indexed by international publisher Springer.
“The first day will feature tutorials on topics such as reliability, management systems (specifically ISO 5500x) and sustainability. Workshops will be held on topics including condition assessment and managing underground utility infrastructure, while geographic information company Esri will make a presentation on the application of geographical information systems to assess asset risk.
“Academics, students and practitioners can, thus, gain insight into the wider disciplines contributing to asset management. The Automotive Industry Development Centre, Eskom Generation, and Joy Mining have opened their doors for site visits to enable attendees to observe current asset management practices.”
The second day will feature a plenary address by investment management company Stanlib’s head of Absolute Returns; a keynote address from State-owned power utility Eskom; and a panel discussion moderated by the MD and CEO of Australian power generator Macquarie Generation. The panel discussion will examine the industry trend of ‘servitisation’ and the influence technology management has on the supply chain that links original-equipment manufacturers, vendors and systems integrators to custodians, operators and maintainers of equipment and spares.
The third day will focus on public-sector asset management issues, including the regulations set out by the Government Immovable Asset Management and Public Finance Management Acts. Financial services firm ABSA Capital’s VP for public–private partnership financing will give a keynote address. The executive mayor of the City of Tshwane and the Minister of Public Works are also expected to address the congress.
“Proper and effective asset management cannot be divorced from considerations such as capital financing, operating costs, asset condition and utilisation, risks and vulnerabilities, depreciation and end-of-life divestment. Therefore, the third day of the congress will feature a keynote address from the auditor-general of the Australian state of Queensland who will share some experiences on balancing national requirements with effective and efficient assets provision to enable service delivery,” says Amadi-Echendu.