Hato Hone St John New Zealand

The Customer: Hato Hone St John New Zealand

Hato Hone St John (HHStJ), as a National Ambulance and Community Health Services provider, operates from a nationwide network of critical facilities across New Zealand, including ambulance stations, regional offices, community health and support sites. Most operational facilities are rated Importance Level 3 (IL3) or Level 4 (IL4) due to their essential role in emergency response and required performance following an event. HHStJ has been a member of the SPM Assets Software community since 2018.  

The Challenge

In 2018, HHStJ employed a devolved property model, managed regionally with individual buildings maintained by volunteer-led area committees. The absence of a centralised property register meant property condition data was inconsistent, incomplete, and difficult to maintain. As a result, there was no way to systematically and transparently plan and prioritise funding for property maintenance, renewal and upgrades.  

Decision-making for maintenance and renewals was mainly reactive, resulting in an increasing number of unplanned asset failures and difficulty in prioritising limited funding for critical maintenance. There was limited internal capacity to maintain property data across all regions. There was no centralised repository for asset information, leading to inconsistencies and duplication. 

HHStJ was having difficulty producing reliable, portfolio-wide reports for executives and governance bodies. There was a lack of transparency and data confidence for planning, funding, and risk management. Rising maintenance costs and reactive spending posed an increasing challenge, yet HHStJ lacked the data to systematically and confidently identify corrective maintenance and asset investment. Existing data were contained in inconsistently formatted spreadsheets, and local records provided low confidence in planning and funding decisions. 

Leadership required clear, consolidated evidence-based reports to prioritise investment and manage risk across the national portfolio. There was also rising asset risk from ageing facilities, deferred maintenance, and inconsistent renewal planning increased the likelihood of unplanned failures and service disruption. 

As a result of these challenges, HHSTJ recognised it needed a more robust and consistent understanding of its portfolio. Its objective was to develop and maintain a planned approach to maintenance, renewal, and upgrades. HHStJ wanted the data to inform area and regional planning, provide centralised information and reports to management, and provide logically formatted summary information on the portfolio's status.

The Solution 

To move from reactive to planned asset management, HHStJ engaged SPM Assets to assist with nationwide asset-component-based surveys and to implement a centralised, evidence-based, structured asset management system. Together, the teams delivered a collaborative programme that combined on-site survey work, data migration, and training. 

Key activities included: 

• Establishing an SPM Assets database aligned to HHStJ specific requirements, including components unique to emergency and community facilities. 

• Migrating existing data and normalising information to ensure accuracy and completeness. 

• Deploying trained independent and SPM Assets surveyors to complete comprehensive asset condition assessments across the network. 

• Implementing a consistent data schema and component library for all surveyed assets. 

• Consolidating all survey outputs into a single, cloud-based central repository and migrating data - historical information was filtered, validated and normalised, then consolidated into a single source of truth. 

• Developing standardised reporting dashboards and lifecycle planning tools for management and area committees, giving decision makers confidence in forward works and budget planning. 

• Providing training to HHStJ asset management and facilities teams as well as continuous improvement, end-user training, data governance practices and a rolling survey programme to maintain data currency and improve quality over time.
  
  
• Establishing a 3-4 year asset condition survey cycle for over 200 owned buildings.

The Results 

The partnership between HHStJ and SPM Assets has transformed how HHStJ manages its property portfolio: 

• Reliable and consistent data: A verified, up-to-date asset register now underpins all property planning and has centrally shaped the data format, providing centralised reporting for the executive.  

• Improved decision support: Executives and committees can access dashboards and reports that prioritise investment based on evidence, risk, and need. 

• Greater efficiency: Centralised data eliminates duplication of effort and supports consistent processes across all regions. 

• Reduced risk: Data confidence and structured maintenance planning have significantly reduced unplanned failures. 

• Strategic insight: HHStJ now produces forward works programmes and lifecycle forecasts aligned with organisational goals. 

• Scalability: The system supports future expansion, additional data collection, and new asset classes. 
  
  
• Reporting: Evidence-based custom reports and lifecycle forecasts were created, and work programmes were generated automatically from the SPM Assets Platform.

Why External Surveying Matters

HHStJ's decision to rely on trained independent external survey teams proved essential to success. Internal approaches, while appearing cost-effective, often fail to deliver complete, standardised, and current data due to staff workload and competing priorities. Professional surveyors ensure data quality, compliance with national standards, and the accuracy required for executive-level reporting and long-term planning. 

Lessons Learned and Recommendations 

The project reinforced several key principles for organisations managing large or distributed portfolios: 

• Appoint a central asset manager to coordinate strategy and data governance before survey work begins. 

• Use trained, independent specialist survey teams to ensure data consistency and quality. 

• Adopt standardised templates and classification structures from the outset. 

• Leverage reporting dashboards to support decision-making and budget planning. 

• Plan for ongoing data maintenance and surveys to preserve confidence and reliability over time. 

• Drive decision-making through dashboards and scheduled reporting to support budgeting cycles. 

• Budget for ongoing data maintenance, so information remains current and reliable. 

• Recognise that external surveying ensures quality and completeness that internal approaches often cannot achieve, particularly where resources are limited. 

This collaborative approach provided a robust framework for consistent data capture, ongoing portfolio updates, and evidence-based decision making. HHStJ now has an in-depth understanding of its property portfolio and has developed an evidence-based forward works programme, which provides the National Team and area committees with the information necessary for decision-making. HHStJ uses analysis and reporting to inform its leadership team and board, to develop and prioritise centrally managed work programmes, and to support strategic asset and facility management activities. 

“Partnering with SPM Assets on our Asset Management Maturity journey ensures that property decisions are grounded in reliable, evidence-based insights”

“This isn’t just about maintaining buildings, it’s about strengthening confidence in our long-term planning, being investment ready, ensuring our facilities remain fit for purpose, and supporting our ability to deliver lifesaving services to communities across New Zealand.”

If your organisation manages a complex and critical portfolio and needs reliable, up‑to‑date data for planning, budgeting and compliance, contact SPM Assets to discuss how structured surveying and centralised asset governance can deliver dependable data and executive reporting for your organisation.