ISO 55001 Asset Management System Certification

What ISO 55001 Is

ISO 55001 specifies requirements for an asset management system. The current edition is ISO 55001:2024, the second edition, titled Asset management, Asset management system, Requirements. It replaced the 2014 first edition and broadened the framing beyond physical infrastructure to assets more generally.

It sits in a family published by the International Organization for Standardization:

• ISO 55000 provides the overview, principles and vocabulary.
• ISO 55001 contains the auditable requirements. This is the one you certify against.
• ISO 55002 gives guidance on applying ISO 55001.
• Further parts in the family address matters such as the alignment of financial and non financial asset management functions.

The standard is not an asset register specification and it is not a maintenance programme. It asks how the organisation realises value from its assets across their life cycle, and whether the decisions that determine that value are made deliberately, with evidence, and in line with organisational objectives.

What the Standard Requires

ISO 55001 follows the harmonised structure used across ISO management system standards, which is why it integrates cleanly with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. The distinctive content sits in the line of sight from organisational objectives down to activity on individual assets:

• Context and stakeholders. Internal and external issues, and the requirements of stakeholders including regulators, lenders, insurers and customers.
• Asset management policy. A commitment from top management that is consistent with the organisational plan.
• Strategic asset management plan. The document that translates organisational objectives into asset management objectives and sets the approach for developing asset management plans.
• Asset management objectives and plans. Objectives that are measurable, and plans that state what will be done, with what resources, by whom, by when and how results will be evaluated.
• Risk and opportunity. Asset related risk managed within the organisation’s wider risk management approach, which is where ISO 31000 is commonly used.
• Support. Resources, competence, awareness, communication and information requirements, including the data quality on which asset decisions depend.
• Operation. Operational planning and control, management of change, and control of outsourced activities, which matters where maintenance is contracted out.
• Performance evaluation and improvement. Monitoring, asset performance and asset management performance evaluation, internal audit, management review, non conformity and corrective action.

The Certification Cycle

Unlike several of the frameworks people group it with, ISO 55001 really is certifiable and the familiar management system cycle applies.

1. Stage 1 audit. The certification body reviews documented information and readiness, confirms scope and site arrangements, and identifies areas of concern for stage 2.
2. Stage 2 audit. Implementation and effectiveness are audited on site against the requirements, with non conformities raised and closed before a certification decision.
3. Certification. The certificate is valid for three years.
4. Surveillance. Annual surveillance audits during the cycle confirm the system remains implemented and effective.
5. Recertification. A recertification audit before expiry starts the next three year cycle.

One point deserves precision. Asset management systems are not currently listed within the scopes of the International Accreditation Forum multilateral recognition arrangement, which covers standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 45001. Accredited ISO 55001 certification is nonetheless available, because individual national accreditation bodies operate programmes for it. The practical consequence is that you should confirm which accreditation body accredits your chosen certification body for ISO 55001 specifically, rather than assuming that a general accreditation mark covers it.

How Univate Builds the System

1. Scope and asset portfolio definition. Which assets, which sites and which decisions the system governs. A scope drawn around a plant behaves very differently from one drawn around a network.
2. Line of sight. Organisational objectives, asset management policy, strategic asset management plan and asset management objectives connected so that an auditor can follow them.
3. Gap assessment. Existing maintenance, capital planning, risk and data practices tested against the requirements, so you build on what works.
4. Implementation. Asset information requirements and data quality, life cycle decision criteria, risk assessment, competence, contractor control and performance measures.
5. Audit readiness. Internal audit, management review and support through stage 1 and stage 2 with the certification body.

Points Worth Being Careful About

• Asset data quality is the usual failure point. If asset registers, condition data and cost data disagree, the decision making the standard requires cannot be evidenced.
• The strategic asset management plan is a requirement, not a formality. A document that restates the policy without translating objectives into an approach will attract a finding.
• Certification covers the asset management system, not the condition of the assets. It does not assert that your assets are in good order.
• Outsourced maintenance stays within your management system. Contractor control is audited.
• Check the accreditation position for ISO 55001 with your certification body before you sign, since it is not covered by the IAF multilateral recognition arrangement scopes.

ISO 55001 Questions We Are Asked Most Often

Is ISO 55001 certifiable?

Yes. ISO 55001 is a requirements standard for an asset management system and certification bodies audit organisations against it, with a stage 1 and stage 2 initial audit, a certificate valid for three years, annual surveillance audits and recertification before expiry.

What is the current edition?

ISO 55001:2024, the second edition, titled Asset management, Asset management system, Requirements. It replaced the 2014 first edition.

Is ISO 55001 certification accredited?

It can be, but not through the International Accreditation Forum multilateral recognition arrangement, whose scopes do not currently list asset management systems. Individual national accreditation bodies do operate ISO 55001 programmes, so ask your certification body which accreditation body accredits it for this specific standard.

What is a strategic asset management plan?

Documented information that specifies how organisational objectives are converted into asset management objectives, the approach for developing asset management plans, and the role of the asset management system in supporting those objectives. ISO 55001 requires it.

How does ISO 55001 relate to ISO 31000?

ISO 55001 requires asset related risks and opportunities to be addressed within the organisation’s risk management approach. ISO 31000 provides guidelines for that approach. ISO 31000 is guidance and is not itself certifiable.

Tell us what asset portfolio you manage and what is driving the requirement, whether that is a regulator, a lender, a tender or a board decision. We will scope the asset management system and the route to certification.

Univate supports certification, assessment and compliance programmes for organisations operating across international markets. Talk to our team about scope, effort and the route that genuinely applies to your organisation.