The A&MM Lemniscate – Vertical & Horizontal Line of Sight in an Industry 5.0 World

Asset & Maintenance Management does not live in a straight line. Strategies are formulated at the top, maintenance is executed at the front line, data flows back, assumptions are revised, and the cycle starts again. The question is not if this loop exists, but whether it is coherent, explainable and aligned. This chapter introduces the Asset & Maintenance Management (A&MM) Lemniscate and the concepts of Vertical and Horizontal Line of Sight as a way to make that alignment both visible and governable.

Grounded in the latest ISO 55000:2024 series, the IAM Anatomy v4, the EFNMS Body of Knowledge (BoK) and the Asset Management BowTie, the A&MM Lemniscate provides a system view of how Asset Management and Maintenance interact over time. ISO 55000:2024 strengthens the requirement for clear line of sight between purpose, value, strategy, plans and operational activities. The IAM Anatomy emphasises vertical and horizontal alignment across the organisation. The EFNMS BoK anchors the maintenance perspective: preventing failures, restoring function, managing unavailability through technical, administrative and managerial action. The Asset Management BowTie adds structured risk logic: causes, barriers, consequences and actions. The Lemniscate brings these strands together into one integrated picture.

At the core of this picture lies vertical line of sight. It connects organisational mission, public value and risk appetite to the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP), the Strategic Maintenance Policy (SMP), maintenance concepts, work programmes and, ultimately, individual tasks on real assets. It also connects in the opposite direction: from failures, condition data, costs and learning back to policy, planning and governance. In vertical line of sight, the reader will recognise the logic of ISO 55000, ISO 55001 and ISO 55002, supported by standards such as EN 17485, EN 17007 and EN 15628.

This chapter shows how the vertical lemniscate loop can be used to make “from boardroom to bolthead and back” more than a slogan – a demonstrable reality.

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Complementing this is horizontal line of sight: the alignment across functions and disciplines at each organisational layer. At the top, it means finance, risk, policy and Asset Management working from a shared view of value and risk (ISO 55010, ISO 55011). At the tactical level, it connects Asset Managers, Maintenance Managers, planners, engineers and information managers around common models and data. At the operational level, it links internal teams, supervisors, contractors and suppliers within one maintenance and competence framework (including EN 17007, EN 17666, EN 13269, EN 15628). The horizontal lemniscate symbolises this continuous lateral dialogue: no siloed optimisation, but cross-functional, standardised collaboration.

The chapter then positions these alignment concepts explicitly in the context of Industry 5.0 and Artificial Intelligence. Industry 5.0 adds three lenses to the lemniscate: human-centricity, resilience and sustainability. AI, digital twins, IoT and advanced analytics become enablers that strengthen, rather than replace, human decision-making. Vertical line of sight is enhanced through real-time feedback and predictive insight; horizontal line of sight benefits from shared data platforms and integrated views across departments. Drawing on ISO 55012 and ISO 55013, the chapter explains how people and data must be treated as cross-cutting assets if Industry 5.0 is to deliver more than isolated pilots.

For the reader of this SAM book, this chapter offers a navigational device. It shows how the A&MM Lemniscate, with its vertical and horizontal lines of sight, can be used to:

  • interpret ISO 55000:2024 and the IAM Anatomy in the concrete reality of Asset & Maintenance Management;

  • position maintenance (as defined in the EFNMS BoK and CEN/TC 319) as an equal half of the loop, not a downstream afterthought;

  • understand where AI, digital twins and Industry 5.0 fit into alignment, rather than sitting beside it;

  • identify where line of sight in your own organisation is strong, where it is fragile and where gaps must be closed.

If you are looking for a clear, visual and normative way to connect strategy, risk, maintenance and digitalisation, this chapter is the entry point. It takes the familiar lemniscate symbol (∞) and turns it into a rigorous alignment model: one loop for the vertical journey between intent and execution, one loop for the horizontal collaboration between disciplines – both continuously in motion.

The promise of the chapter is simple: after reading it, you will be able to look at your own organisation through the lens of the A&MM Lemniscate and its vertical and horizontal lines of sight – and see, with much greater clarity, where value is created, where it is lost, and how alignment can be strengthened in an Industry 5.0 world.