October 2007

September / October 2007

Did you know?

Newsletter Publication

This Newsletter is now being published bi-monthly.

Conference - Local Authority Property Association

The Local Authority Property Association’s conference was held at the beginning of September 2007. A workshop session on NAMS Property was lead John O’Brien of NAMS Group / Auckland City Council and Steve Lyons from SPM Consultants Ltd.  Photo’s and presentations will be available on www.lapa.org.nz within the next few weeks.
Mervyn Clarry from Manukau City Council won a copy of the NAMS Property manual.

Developing Levels of Service

Many of the people that attended the LAPA workshop on NAMS Property requested that NAMS runs a workshop on developing levels of service standards, measures and targets specifically for property assets. The interest was specifically around developing the strategic and tactical statements for a range of buildings including housing, community halls, utility buildings and largely commercial buildings. Although the NAMS Property manual and website provides a collection of good examples, it was generally agreed that these should be extended further as part of an industry workshop that shares experiences and knowledge across industry groups.

A property specific workshop could be specifically tailored for property practitioners if there is sufficient interest. Click here to register your interest

NAMS Group Ltd does already offer levels of service training which consists of theory, case studies and interactive workshop sessions where participants develop levels of service measures throughout the day which they can then take away. These courses were recently run in Christchurch, Palmerston North and Rotorua, following the release of the new Developing Levels of Service and Performance Measures Guidelines. They were all very well attended.

Developing Levels of Service and Performance Measures Guidelines

The new Developing Levels of Service and Performance Measures Guidelines has been released by NAMS Group and is available for purchase. The guidelines explore understanding  customer needs and debating options to decide on the right service level. Guidance is given on documenting  service levels and developing  performance measures, including activity specific sections and best  practice examples. Whilst the  guidelines were initiated by NZ Local  Government, and have most direct relevance to public sector organisations, the practices of service  level definition and consultation have wider application. Although these guidelines have been  written for the Local Government industry,  they do provide the principles for other industries to consider that is aligned with the  principles contained in Section 4.4 of the 2006 NAMS Property manual.

NZ Treasury's CAM Framework (Update)

CAM is still an area of focus for both Central Government Agencies and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). Treasury has recently concluded a consultation round with departments and selected Crown entities on proposed changes to the existing asset management regime that are broadly consistent with the 2006 CAM Report. The proposals target;

• clearer leadership roles in capital asset management and in ICT (Information, communications and technology)
• a new capital asset management framework applicable to all departments and crown entities, and all asset classes
• better quality information for decision making, financial planning and performance monitoring purposes
• improved assurance for ministers around the quality of asset-related spending
  

The current intention is to seek Cabinet decisions on the proposals before Christmas 2007, for roll-out during 2008.

At this early stage, the following Agencies are using or intend to use the principles contained in the NAMS Property manual as a guide to their asset management planning processes:

• Housing NZ Corporation
• Ministry of Health and District Health Boards
• Department of Corrections
• Tertiary Education Commission
• Ministry of  Education
  

Training on the Asset Planning Demonstration System

The first seminar on how to use the ‘demonstration asset planning system’ was run by SPM in Auckland during September. It was attended by 15 people from around the country from various industries including Government Agencies and Local Councils. The intention of the training was to help people become more familiar  with using the planning system in combination with the manual. Further sessions will be held early in 2008.

Southland / Otago NAMS Property Training

A number of organisations in the Southland / Otago area have requested that the one day NAMS Property seminar held earlier this year be repeated in Dunedin. Depending on confirmed numbers, the seminar is scheduled for late November 2007. Its likely that individuals from Local Government, Housing, Education, and Health Boards will attend. Click here to register your interest

Customised NAMS Training for Corrections

A customised NAMS Property session has been arranged for the Department of Corrections and Treasury staff to be held in Wellington in November. This session is the second of such for the Department of Corrections, and is part of the ongoing development of their asset management planning framework.

Annual Membership Renewals

Annual membership renewals will be starting in November this year.
For $100 per member per year, you will continue to have access to the growing and evolving tool box and the demonstration system.

Did you know?

This month we focus on the Cloning Function within the Demonstration System.

Please let us know anything happening in your organisation or industry…