Navigating the future of engineering asset management

Tiếng Việt

Navigating the future of engineering asset management

The 17th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM) themed “Sustainable management of engineered assets in a post-COVID world: Industry 4.0, digital transformation, society 5.0 and beyond” will be taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 18-20 October 2023.

This year’s congress is hosted and organised by RMIT University Vietnam, the International Society of Engineering Asset Management (ISEAM), and the Asset Institute.

In 2023, Vietnam is emerging as a rapidly developing nation on the world stage, with a projected peak GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent expected in 2024. However, it still faces many challenges to achieving optimal outcomes for its citizens, businesses, and the nation as a whole. “Challenges include risk factors associated with geopolitics, markets, geography, environment, technology, and climate change, along with insufficient public and private physical and digital infrastructure”, said Dr Dinh Ngoc Minh, Program Manager of Artificial Intelligence program, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, RMIT Vietnam.

The 2023 WCEAM event will be focusing on Industry 4.0 and digital transformation.

As a result, the 2023 WCEAM event is set to take place in the largest financial and economic centre of Vietnam, with a focus on Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. The sustainability of Vietnam’s economic growth relies on the capacity to manage and maintain engineering assets, which could take forms in physical infrastructure such as roads and tracks and in digital mediums such as data, and cyberinfrastructure.

Dr Minh shared: “RMIT Vietnam chose to host the 17th WCEAM this year because of its commitment to continuous contribution to the country’s social and economic goals.

“Through organising the 17th WCEAM, RMIT commits to supporting businesses, communities, and academic partners across industries to approach emerging technologies and to pioneer Industry 4.0 applications across multiple industries, including energy, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and logistics”.

The event is expected to welcome over 100 participants from all around the world to meet and share state-of-the-art knowledge in research and application of advanced management frameworks, analytical tools, and technologies for engineering asset management in sectors that include energy, oil and gas, water, transport, defence, and health and community infrastructure.

Dr Minh revealed: “Specifically, we collect keynote talks and research presentations that describe collective efforts in applying emerging technologies in managing engineering assets in different countries, which are exemplars for practical lessons to be learned in Vietnam.

“The 17th WCEAM will host research papers and presentations from industry leaders, plus specific case studies related to engineering assets. These include crash prediction models in the context of the mountainous rural two-lane highway of Nepal, asset management and maintenance practices in Nigeria's telecom sector, predictive maintenance solutions by airports around the world, and some suggestions for Vietnamese airports”.

This year's WCEAM will feature many renowned keynote speakers, including Mr Alan T. Johnston, President of Mimosa (left), and Professor Sujeeva Setunge from RMIT University (right).

Notably, keynote presenters such as the President of Mimosa, Mr Alan T. Johnston and RMIT University Professor Sujeeva Setunge will stimulate a conversation about how Vietnam and its market participants can benefit from developing asset lifecycle management strategies, in addition to case studies on the management of civil infrastructure assets including buildings, bridges, drainage, and road pavements.

Besides academic paper presentations, a range of industry workshops will be organised, delivering specific technologies and lessons that participants will find relevant to their businesses and operations.

The event will bring together industry partners across different sectors and domains including Ericsson, De Heus, Tigernix, ABB, and more, creating a networking forum beyond academia.

Story: June Pham

Science and technology

12 October 2023