Data has been a hot topic for organisations for some time. Now that volumes of data are increasing exponentially, the importance of good data to allow organisations to achieve their objectives is also increasing rapidly. So, how to turn data from a cost to a benefit?
We’re hiring – Looking for data evangelists
We always keeps our eyes and ears open for those people who understand how powerful data can be for organisations, when managed properly, and who do not get swayed by ‘sexy’ software when the input data cannot be relied upon.
Are you:
- Passionate about data and how it can improve the performance of organisations?
- Irritated by the lack of structure and consistency in approaches to data quality management?
- Frustrated by the tolerance/acceptance of poor data?
- Interested in the human and organisational aspects of data?
- Concerned about the protection and management of personal and sensitive data?
- A data management consultant or interested in becoming one?
- Able to based in London or the Midlands of the UK with some opportunities for travel?
- Perhaps someone who has experience of data management in transport/ utilities/ infrastructure or awareness of BIM?
- Looking for a challenging and rewarding consultancy role?
If so, then why not get in contact (enquiries@dpadvantage.co.uk) so we can explore our shared passion for data in more detail?
DPA supports CRA in their new GDPR accelerator service
DPA are pleased to announce that we are supporting CRA in the delivery of a ‘GDPR accelerator service’ – see here for more details. DPA will be providing support in data discovery, data quality analysis and data profiling in order to support clients understand their information architecture from a GDPR perspective.
CRA are one of Europe’s largest and most influential risk analysis consultancies, with a significant experience in safety critical infrastructure organisations, hence the good alignment with DPA.
Does your data need spring cleaning?
Save the Planet: Recycle your rubbish
Or
Save your space: Recycle your data
As we move from winter to the summer months’ people often think about cleaning their homes and gardens and this may include removing some of the clutter – often referred to as a ‘spring clean’. Do you need to do something similar for your data? (more…)
The importance of having a spatial view of your assets
Asset management systems that don’t store spatial data, in my view, can cause significant hindrance to your organisation.
Whatever your assets, there are many spatial-based techniques to capture data about assets:
- Drones or planes capturing LIDAR data (a laser scanning technique that captures point cloud data);
- Aerial imagery; and
- Various other remote condition monitoring techniques which have a spatial representation.
But if your asset register can’t store spatial data, it is still very hard to “join” or “align” this captured data to the asset record. So why does this matter? (more…)
The benefits of improving data quality
Typically, if we can improve the quality of data, then we will have better information to support decision making. Better decisions will lead to better outcomes/results and will in turn be likely to have better quality data arising from them. As the diagram illustrates, this becomes a virtuous circle where better data ultimately leads to better business results.
For most medium and large organisations, the effective management of data and systems can present significant challenges. Organisations may be unaware that their poor data and bad practices leads to inefficiencies and problems and are, therefore, an avoidable cost to an organisation. Data can, in many circumstances, outlive the software that stores it and the processes and users that created it.
To paraphrase a quality management guru, Philip Crosby:
“Data quality is free. It’s not a gift, but it’s free. What costs money are the unquality things – all the actions that involve not getting data quality right the first time and all the actions to correct these data quality issues”
We explore the impact of this quotation in the post “Data quality is free” and in the “Managing Data Quality” book
So, what are the benefits of improving data quality? (more…)
“Data is an asset” White Paper now available
You may have heard the term “treat data like an asset”, but have wondered what this really means. We have now written a free White Paper titled “Data is an asset” to explain:
- The nature of the data asset
- The challenges in managing this fragile asset
- The benefits that can arise from better management of data quality
- High profile examples of the problems caused by poor data
Visit our Data and Systems page to request a free download.
How complete is your asset inventory?
For infrastructure, transport and utilities organisations, the asset inventory is the central list of all the assets of interest to the organisation. This is a critical enabler for most asset management activities. If an asset does not appear in an organisation’s asset inventory, then it is highly likely that it is not receiving the correct maintenance. This in turn will ultimately lead to asset and service failures, potentially putting customers and employees at risk. In the worst cases, this may affect the survivability of the organisation.
So, how does this problem arise? How can it be prevented?
“Manage your data quality” training course now available
Since we have been running our data quality course for some time, we decided that it was time for a full update and refresh of the course. This has now been completed and we have just ‘road-tested’ the new exercises with the help of D-Coded Insights. Adrianne Carter from D-Coded stated that “the way the exercises build up is a really good way to help ensure that delegates understand the content of the course”.
This one-day course is aimed at people responsible for data management within an organisation, data stewards and data analysts. The course covers:
- The nature of enterprise data
- Explores why data is difficult to manage and the generic types of data quality problem
- Explains the key elements of ISO 8000 Part 150 and related data management techniques
- Uses our unique Data Zoo concept to explore attitudes towards data
- Provides tools and techniques to implement a coherent data governance approach
The course enables delegates to develop pragmatic, effective and sustainable approaches to data quality management and data governance that can expand as organisational capabilities improve
Manage your data quality – Flyer
Get in contact if you are interested in finding out more….
What are your data beliefs?
This year’s Institute of Asset Management lecture was given by cognitive psychologist and specialist in leadership performance, behavioural change and culture, Javier Bajer. Javier explained in a very engaging manner three fallacies about change and I thought the final one makes a good trigger for this blog post, namely, the view that changing behaviours and culture takes time, particularly if the beliefs that generate behaviours are not changed. (more…)