Bond prepares ISO 55001 certification in Iraq and Kurdistan.
The asset management system. It sets how physical assets are planned, maintained, replaced and funded across their whole life, and lenders and state clients check it on infrastructure.
ISO 55001 Asset management systems · Assets
What ISO 55001 is
ISO 55001:2024 is the international standard for an asset management system. It asks a company to state what it needs its assets to deliver, write a strategic asset management plan, decide maintenance and renewal on recorded criteria, and show the assets perform at a cost the business can carry. It applies to physical assets such as plants, networks, fleets and buildings. The certification body issues the certificate to the company.
What the standard requires
- Clauses 1 to 3 cover scope, normative references and terms. Clauses 4 to 10 are the requirements an auditor checks.
- Clause 4, context. Name the asset portfolio in scope, list the parties that depend on it, and state what the organisation needs the assets to deliver.
- Clause 5, leadership. Management signs the asset management policy and states how it connects to the business plan and to the budget.
- Clause 6, planning. Write the strategic asset management plan, set asset management objectives with numbers, and record the criteria used to decide maintenance, renewal and disposal.
- Clause 7, support. Competence records for maintenance and engineering staff, and the asset information requirements: what data is held on each asset, who owns it and how it is kept current.
- Clause 8, operation. Control the life cycle activities, manage change before it reaches the asset, and control outsourced maintenance and operations.
- Clause 9, performance evaluation. Measure asset performance and the performance of the asset management system, run internal audits on a plan, and hold a management review.
- Clause 10, improvement. Log failures and nonconformities, find the cause, correct it, and feed the result back into the plans and the criteria.
Who needs ISO 55001 in Iraq and Kurdistan
The buyers that ask for ISO 55001
| Buyer or list | What they ask for |
|---|---|
| Lenders financing infrastructure | The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank fund power, water and transport projects in Iraq and assess how the asset will be maintained after handover. |
| State companies under the Ministry of Oil | Basra Oil Company, North Oil Company and the Iraqi Drilling Company hold large asset bases, and their maintenance and integrity contracts are written around asset records. |
| Kurdistan and Basra operators | DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone, HKN, Basrah Gas Company and Rumaila run integrity and maintenance programmes and ask contractors to work inside them. |
| KRG Approved Suppliers Center | asc.gov.krd. Annual registration. Certificates must come from a recognised conformity body to clear the criteria. |
| Ministry of Natural Resources Approved Vendor List | mnronline.com/avl. Evaluates finances, quality system and HSE. A government fee applies by category, renewed each year. We confirm the current fee before you apply. |
| EPC contractors | Handover packages on power, water and process projects in Kurdistan and Basra include the asset register, the spares list and the maintenance strategy. |
| Federal Ministry of Planning | Contractor classification and the federal unified electronic tendering platform. We confirm the current instruction before filing. |
| UN agencies through UNGM | ungm.org. One free registration covers UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, IOM and FAO. Facility and equipment contracts ask how the asset is kept running after delivery. |
Two tracks, you choose one
Certificate track
5 daysA company that needs a valid certificate for a lender condition, a client prequalification or a tender clause, and that already keeps an asset list and maintenance records in some form. We prepare the compliance system in five working days. The certification body then issues the certificate, and its calendar sits outside the five days.
Steps- We read the tender, the lender condition or the prequalification form on day one and confirm the asset portfolio, the scope and the body the buyer accepts.
- We agree the portfolio and the scope statement with the owner and the maintenance manager on day one.
- We turn the existing asset list into an asset register with criticality and condition against each asset on day two.
- We write the document set on day three and day four: policy, strategic asset management plan, objectives, decision criteria, procedures and forms.
- We train the maintenance and engineering leads on day four in a half day session on the records they have to keep.
- We run the first internal audit and the management review on day five, then close the findings.
- We book the certification body at the end of the five days, and the body sets the stage 1 and stage 2 dates on its own calendar. We prepare the site, attend both stages, and answer the findings with your team.
- The asset management system, complete in five working days
- Asset portfolio scope statement and asset register with criticality against each asset
- Asset management policy signed by management
- Strategic asset management plan and asset management objectives
- Decision criteria for maintenance, renewal and disposal
- Procedures and forms in the working language
- Internal audit report and management review minutes
- The certification body booking and a three year surveillance and renewal calendar
Implementation track
6 to 14 weeksA company whose maintenance spend and downtime are examined by a board, a lender or a state client, and that wants the register and the plans used by the maintenance team every day.
Steps- We analyse what the company does and what its buyers and tenders require, then send a proposal.
- We walk every site with the maintenance team and build the asset register asset by asset, with condition and criticality.
- We write the strategic asset management plan with the owner, the finance lead and the maintenance manager.
- We build the maintenance plans, the spares list and the decision criteria with the people who do the work.
- We write the documentation in Arabic, Kurdish or English and train every department that touches an asset.
- We let the system run live for three to four weeks so the certification body sees real work orders and real reviews.
- We run the internal audit programme and the management review, then prepare the site and attend stage 1 and stage 2.
- Asset register built on site with condition and criticality
- Strategic asset management plan agreed with finance
- Maintenance plans and spares list for every critical asset
- Life cycle cost model for the assets that carry the business
- Full documented system in the working language
- Training records for the maintenance and engineering teams
- Three to four weeks of live work orders and asset performance reports
- A three year surveillance and renewal calendar we run with you
The certification body issues the certificate.
The implementation track, week by week
| Phase | Weeks | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio and buyer requirements | Weeks 1 to 2 | We confirm which assets and sites the certificate covers and which body the lender or client accepts. Nothing is written before this is fixed. |
| Asset register and site walks | Weeks 2 to 5 | We walk each site with the maintenance team, record every asset with its condition, and set criticality against the assets that carry production or service. |
| Strategic asset management plan | Weeks 4 to 7 | We write the plan with the owner and the finance lead: what the assets must deliver, what that costs over the life, and how renewal is funded. |
| Maintenance plans and documentation | Weeks 5 to 9 | Maintenance strategy per critical asset, spares list, decision criteria, procedures and forms, written in Arabic, Kurdish or English around what the team already records. |
| Training and rollout | Weeks 8 to 10 | A session for maintenance, engineering and stores on the work order and register records they own, plus a session for management on the review. |
| Records running live | Weeks 9 to 12 | The system runs in daily operations for three to four weeks so there are real work orders, real condition updates and real performance reports for the auditor to sample. |
| Internal audit and management review | Weeks 12 to 13 | We run the first internal audit against every clause, log the findings, and hold the management review with the owner and the finance lead. |
| Certification audit | Weeks 13 to 14 | The accredited body runs stage 1 on the documents and stage 2 on site. We prepare the site, attend both, and answer the findings. |
What we do, what you do
We do
- Confirm the asset portfolio, the scope and the certification body the lender or client accepts, before any work starts.
- Build the asset register on site with the maintenance team, with condition and criticality against each asset.
- Write the strategic asset management plan and the decision criteria with the owner and the finance lead.
- Write the whole documented system in the language the company works in.
- Train the maintenance, engineering and stores teams on the records they have to keep.
- Run the first internal audit and chair the management review.
- Select certification bodies, collect their quotes, and book the audit dates.
- Prepare the site, attend stage 1 and stage 2, and answer the auditor with your team.
- Keep the surveillance and recertification dates in a calendar and prepare each audit.
You do
- Name one asset or maintenance manager who can give about six hours a week.
- Give us the current asset list, maintenance records, spares data and the capital budget.
- Release the maintenance supervisors for a half day site walk per area so the register is built from the equipment itself.
- Have the finance lead give about four hours to the life cycle cost work and to the renewal budget.
- Raise work orders in the agreed system through the live period so the auditor sees real records.
- Have the owner or general manager attend the management review, which takes about two hours.
- Pay the certification body directly, or through us at cost with the receipts.
- Have the owner or general manager present at the opening and closing meetings of the certification audit.
What moves the price
- Number of sites and whether the auditor has to travel to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Baghdad or Basra.
- Size of the asset portfolio and how many assets are critical enough to need a plan of their own.
- Effective headcount, which sets the starting auditor days under the IAF MD 5 table.
- Whether an asset register already exists or has to be built on site from the equipment.
- Whether maintenance is done in house or outsourced, because outsourced work has to be controlled and evidenced.
- Whether the certificate has to come from a body accredited under an IAF member or a locally accredited body is enough.
- Languages the documentation is written in.
- Whether ISO 55001 is built alone or together with ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 as one system, which lowers total auditor days.
- Number of findings at stage 2 and how much evidence the body asks for to close them.
The proposal names the scope, the deliverables and the dates before work starts.
ISO 55001 questions we are asked
We prepare the compliance system in five working days on the certificate track. The implementation track runs six to fourteen weeks. The certification body then issues the certificate. Bodies working in Erbil and Basra set their own audit dates.
The proposal names the scope, the deliverables and the dates before work starts.
A certificate from a body accredited by IQAS, for example KQC in Erbil, is valid in Iraq and accepted for KRG lists. IQAS is not a member of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement. The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank and international operators require a body accredited under an IAF member, such as Bureau Veritas, SGS or TUV. We confirm which one the buyer accepts before any body is booked.
Lenders financing power, water and transport assets, state companies under the Ministry of Oil such as Basra Oil Company and North Oil Company, and operators including DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone and Basrah Gas Company that run integrity programmes their contractors work inside. KRG ASC registration at asc.gov.krd and the MNR Approved Vendor List at mnronline.com/avl both check certificates at the annual renewal.
It is the document required by clause 6 that turns the business plan into asset decisions. It states what the assets have to deliver, over what period, at what cost, and how renewal is funded. For a Kurdistan power or water operator it usually covers 5 to 10 years and names the assets that will be replaced in each of them. It is signed by the owner and the finance lead. Clause 7 requires controlled asset information and names no software product, so a spreadsheet register of 200 to 2,000 assets with version control and a single owner is enough at the start.
Yes. We work anywhere in Iraq, in Basra, Baghdad, Kirkuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok, and in the Gulf. The office is in Erbil and the team travels to the site.
Three years from the date of issue. The certification body runs a surveillance audit each year and a recertification audit in year three. We keep those dates in a calendar and prepare the company for each one. If a surveillance audit is missed the body can suspend the certificate, and a suspended certificate will not pass a list renewal at the KRG ASC or the MNR AVL.
Business inquiry
Select a target. Two questions follow, and the file reaches the desk on WhatsApp. A reply comes within four working hours.