Leanne Cluley is Founder & CEO at Reduxo, a company based in Melbourne, Australia that provides physical asset audit services and facility condition assessments. Mike Petrusky asks Leanne about her experiences providing physical asset audit inspections for all types of assets and how the data collected provides the basis for lifecycle costing models, preventative and predictive maintenance, and reliability. Leanne shares about things she has learned by working with clients and facilities maintenance service providers creating and verifying asset registers to ensure they are accurate and provide a single version of truth. Her decades of experience in the world of asset management is both interesting and inspirational as Mike explores common business philosophies and tastes in music he shares with Leanne.
Connect with Leanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leannecluley/
Learn more about Reduxo: https://www.reduxo.com.au/
Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepetrusky/
Learn more about the iOFFICE Asset Division and explore more interviews at: https://www.assetchampion.com/
Share your thoughts with Mike via email: podcast@iOFFICECORP.com
Read the full transcript:
Leanne (00:00):
The data turns it into knowledge and allows you to make wise decisions. It’s the basis of a life cycle costing model, reliability, preventative maintenance. So it reduces your risks. It’s the basis of all planning. So without having an accurate phase, you can’t plan for the future.
Mike (00:20):
This is the Asset Champion Podcast, where we talk with facilities maintenance and asset management leaders about the industry trends and technologies impacting your organization. This show is powered by the iOffice Asset Division, delivering easy-to-use maintenance management software tools to help you drive powerful asset performance.
Hey everyone, welcome to the show. My name is Mike, and this is episode 15 of the Asset Champion Podcast, your weekly audio adventure into the world of asset management. I am glad you’re here because my guest this week is Leanne Cluley, the founder and CEO of Reduxo, a company based in Australia that provides physical asset audit inspection services. And we talk about the importance of collecting accurate data, because as you heard at the top of the show, it’s the basis for life cycle costing models, preventative and predictive maintenance, reliability, and so much more. Leanne has been in the business for a very long time. And she taught me a whole lot during this conversation, but she also has a great personality and we had a lot of fun during our chat, which I’m sure you’ll enjoy hearing. So let’s get to it.
On the Asset Champion Hotline, all the way from down under. I’m pleased to welcome Leanne Cluley to the show. Hi Leanne.
Leanne (01:47):
Hi Mike. How are you?
Mike (01:48):
I am doing great. I was hoping you’d say “good day.”
Leanne (01:51):
I can say that for you. Good day.
Mike (01:55):
Is that a real thing? Do people say “good day” in Australia?
Leanne (01:58):
Oh yeah. All the time.
Mike (01:59):
It’s not just a thing I learned watching Crocodile Dundee as a child in the ’80s?
Leanne (02:03):
No, it is a well-respected and accepted term here in Australia.
Mike (02:10):
Well, as Crocodile Dundee told me, “That’s a knife.” I don’t know. That’s terrible.
Leanne (02:15):
That is terrible.
Mike (02:18):
Well, good day to you.
Leanne (02:19):
Good day, Mike.
Mike (02:20):
That’s it. There’s a great Australian accent.
Leanne (02:22):
Yeah, that’s it.
Mike (02:23):
And you’re in Melbourne, Australia, not Melbourne, but Melbourne. How am I doing?
Leanne (02:29):
Pretty good.
Mike (02:31):
So glad to hear that. And so happy to welcome you to the new podcast. My first guest from Australia on the Asset Champion Podcast. I have many friends though, down under, and apparently we have met before and I didn’t know it.
Leanne (02:45):
Yeah, we met just briefly. I attended one of the IFMA conferences. I think it was facilities fusion in Chicago. I remember it was snowing. And you were speaking.
Mike (02:59):
Yes, I love IFMA. I’ve been there for many, many years, and I do remember being on the stage in Chicago, but I don’t remember seeing you out in the crowd. It was kind of a big blur for me that day.
Leanne (03:08):
Well, there was a lot of us there.
Mike (03:11):
And how often do you come to the U.S. Is it just for conferences or just… Do you enjoy visiting?
Leanne (03:16):
I try and combine the both. So I like to come once a year, but I’ve been many, many times. I worked for an asset management software solution provider, and this is before the internet, and I helped set up in the U.S. And so I was coming over a lot, and I was implementing projects all over the place in the U.S. And I just loved it, especially the shopping.
Mike (03:42):
We do have a lot of good shopping here.
Leanne (03:44):
You do.
Mike (03:45):
That’s wonderful. Leanne is founder of Reduxo, a company that is in the business of asset audits. Is that right? Leanne?
Leanne (03:56):
That’s correct. So we do physical asset audits or condition assessments.
Mike (04:00):
Oh yes, of course. The term facility condition assessment or FCA is something I became pretty familiar with during my FM Innovator Podcast days.
Leanne (04:10):
Yeah, exactly. So what we do is really… We create an asset register across all sorts of industries, not only just FM, though a good percentage of our work is FM. So most of it is due diligence contracts for new clients coming on for the service providers. So the FM service providers, Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE, BGIS. So we’ll often assist them to do an asset and condition audit to bring the data into their systems.
Mike (04:40):
It’s all about the data, isn’t it?
Leanne (04:42):
It’s all about the data. And without a good base data, Mike, very difficult to move forward.
Mike (04:48):
And we’re going to talk about that more as we get into the show. But before we get too far, Leanne, I want to learn more about your story. How did you end up where you are today? How did you end up in the world of assets and asset management?
Leanne (04:59):
Oh, gee. So my journey started in September, 1990, my first asset management role, which makes me quite old now.
Mike (05:07):
There’s no math on this show. We don’t do math on the show, Leanne.
Leanne (05:07):
That’s good. Good, good.
Mike (05:11):
We have no idea how old you are.
Leanne (05:13):
Great. I was very… So I started in support and training for an asset management software solution provider. I was employee number four. So I grew up there. And then what we decided out of all of that was, it’s great to sell software, but if the data that we brought in wasn’t accurate, they used to often blame the software, when in fact it was the base data. So that’s really what gave us the idea for Reduxo. So we started Reduxo seven years ago.
Mike (05:44):
Excellent.
Leanne (05:45):
And we’ve just remained independent. So we don’t align ourselves with any software solution or with any service provider. So we keep ourselves independent. So all we sell is a service, really.
Mike (05:57):
Well, so you’re a fan of the U.S. Do you like American music? I’m a big music fan, Leanne. What do you like to listen to when you come visit us?
Leanne (06:07):
Well, I saw Bruce Springsteen once. He came here to Melbourne. He’s been here a few times actually. He must love Australia.
Mike (06:14):
The boss. We call him the boss. Yes.
Leanne (06:17):
That’s right.
Mike (06:17):
He’s from my home state of New Jersey. I grew up in New Jersey, same as Bruce Springsteen. Yes. Tramps Like Us, Leanne. (singing)
Leanne (06:25):
Right.
Mike (06:25):
How about the saxophone? You can do the saxophone part.
Leanne (06:39):
Wow, Mike, you’re really good.
Mike (06:43):
I’m sorry. We’re on my first saxophone solo on the Asset Champion Podcast. I wasn’t going to sing today, folks. I promise. I promise. I love Australian music, too. Do you have a favorite Australian band?
Leanne (06:55):
I think probably growing up ’80s was my era. So INXS?
Mike (06:59):
Oh, love it.
Leanne (07:00):
And probably my other was maybe Crowded House, but really they were a Kiwi band, but we Australians always steal from New Zealand, so…
Mike (07:11):
(singing) That was a big, big hit here, in the ’80s.
Leanne (07:17):
Yeah, we love them.
Mike (07:18):
Well, thanks for playing along. Another question I’d like to ask is about motivation and inspiration. Do you have a favorite inspirational quote you could share with our audience?
Leanne (07:27):
The one that I like to use and that I probably have used all along is “you get what you put in.” So I just think that if you put the effort in, you’ll get repaid. And I think that works on most things in business and in life. And now I see it sort of as a karma. So if you’re nice to people, they’ll be nice back, might not happen today or tomorrow, but it will certainly happen. So when I commenced this business seven years ago, I always tried to be open and provide people with what they really want, not just make a sale, because most of our business is repaid business or referred. So I always try and just put in over and above what a customer expects.
Mike (08:14):
Yeah, absolutely. The relationships you build and the trust you build is essential to our success. That’s absolutely my philosophy, Leanne, when it comes to doing these podcasts, for example. It’s about giving, hopefully some valuable information, a little fun along the way, and it’s give, give, give, and eventually it comes back around in the form of connections and relationships, and maybe business down the road. So I like that philosophy a lot.
Leanne (08:40):
Exactly. Yep. That’s how we feel.
Mike (08:42):
Well, I appreciate you giving to this show today. I hope it will give you back something down the road. So that’s wonderful. So what part of your work are you most passionate about? What do you enjoy most about being in the world of asset audits and asset management?
Leanne (08:57):
It’s very diverse. So, one moment we’re in a data center, the next we’re at a hotel or an airport. We did a munitions base for defense. The guys loved working on that project. But I think what satisfies me most is really the challenge, delivering a project on time and on budget. We’ve done some large projects here that in very short timeframes. So we’re pretty nimble. And it’s the challenge of those. We did a very well-known 24 hour convenience store, which is all over the world. So 7-Eleven.
Mike (09:33):
I was going to say, can I guess which one?
Leanne (09:36):
Yeah, exactly. And Australia’s a big place. So logistically organizing to visit all those stores. So we did 700 stores in seven weeks.
Mike (09:48):
Wow.
Leanne (09:48):
And it was something like 240,000 assets.
Mike (09:53):
Amazing.
Leanne (09:54):
Yeah. So the challenge of getting that done, and accurate and consistent, was a big challenge, but it was fantastic. We loved it. We’ve done that one twice, actually. So they do a building condition assessment, usually annually. So that’s been fun.
Mike (10:12):
Well, that’s great.
Leanne (10:13):
There was a really good part of 7-Eleven that was also… We captured different types of assets for different areas. So for example, 7-Eleven here, a lot of the stores have fuel balances, so they sell fuel. So we captured assets for the fuel department. We captured all their signage. So we captured that for their marketing to make sure that it was consistent. We captured what was important to them, which was Slurpee machines and coffee machines.
Mike (10:44):
That’s the key right there. Absolutely.
Leanne (10:47):
So, you know-
Mike (10:47):
The Slurpee machines.
Leanne (10:50):
That’s right. So that’s an essential asset and a critical asset for them. That’s what brings people through the door. We captured their all the traditional stuff as well. We also captured all their security. We captured all sorts of assets. So the assets helped multiple departments. It helped the fuel guys. It helped marketing. We captured all their IT equipment while out there, the security guys. So it was interesting that the asset data went off, not only to create a facilities or a preventative maintenance plan, but it assisted a whole lot of other areas while we were there.
Mike (11:23):
And when you say you captured the information about these assets, how did you do that?
Leanne (11:28):
So we use mobility tools. So we have tablets. And what makes it funny is it’s all set up prior. So lots of dropdown lists. So we… There are pretty much only two types of Slurpee machines, or two models, one type. So we have that all pre-configured to make it easy. And we captured makes, models, serial numbers, conditions, but everything’s all pre-configured, and it sort of forces our auditors down the track, which ensures we get pretty consistent data.
Mike (11:57):
And then what do they do with the information once they have it all?
Leanne (12:00):
Lots of things. So it’s really the foundation. And I remember your recent podcast with Cameron Christensen, was it?
Mike (12:09):
Oh yes, from New York city.
Leanne (12:11):
Yes.
Mike (12:11):
From the Julliard school.
Leanne (12:14):
That’s right.
Mike (12:14):
When they heard me sing, they heard me sing, Leanne, and they said, “We need you to come and talk to Cam.”
Leanne (12:18):
Yeah, exactly. That’s right. I loved that one.
Mike (12:21):
Thank you.
Leanne (12:22):
But it was actually something he said that the data is the foundation and the start. And he said that the data turns it into knowledge and allows you to make wise decisions. So it’s the basis of a life cycle costing model. It’s the basis of a financial asset registered to do appreciation. It’s the basis of preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance. It’s the basis of all planning. It’s the basis for reliability. So it reduces your risk. So without having a good, accurate base, you can’t plan for the future.
Mike (13:00):
Excellent. Well, I love the fact that my podcast guests are now quoting past podcast guests. That’s a circle of life kind of thing. It’s really… That’s great. So we are always talking on this show, Leanne, about the changing marketplace and new technologies. So I want to get your thoughts on advancements. What do you think the most significant ones are?
Leanne (13:21):
So I think for the asset management, for asset management, as it’s more recognized as a profession, and I think that’s happened in the last few years, and I think the reason that’s happening is the standard. So the ISO 55,000 standard. I think that’s assisted us. And we’re finding that asset management now is part of a FM maintenance contract that customers are insisting that the service providers provide more than just facilities management, that they actually provide asset management. So I think that’s been very good for us. Instead of that, I think in the past that was seen as a value add, whereas now I think service providers are now providing asset management as a really important component, and not just a value add.
Mike (14:10):
And technology?
Leanne (14:12):
I’m excited by the technology. We have a really good company that we work with down here in Australia that’s doing IoT, or the internet of things, and sensors, and great Aussie success story. So I think that’s moving maintenance from preventative or reactive to predictive. And they’re saving lots and lots of money for customers on all sorts of things, remote assets, being able to assist from a predictive as in not having to go out there every week, but go out there when required. I think that’s really exciting. And I think the other one that’s coming up is virtual reality.
Mike (14:52):
Oh really?
Leanne (14:53):
There’s a… I saw some good software actually coming out of Berkeley in California there, but I think that’ll be our next one. We will be able to walk around with a camera, go through a building and then create the asset register from the desktop.
Mike (15:07):
Interesting. And I know you don’t talk about software specifically. You’re not… you’re agnostic when it comes to software, but do you interact with CMMS and EAM software solutions a lot?
Leanne (15:18):
All the time. So usually our data is going into one of those. So with some of the service providers, we know exactly how they like that set up. So, we know their asset type structures, their location structures. So we create our data so that it’s easy for them to import straight into their system. So yeah, we work with most of the big service solution providers.
Mike (15:41):
Excellent. Any lessons you’ve learned along the way that would be interesting to my audience as far as making sure that the data is prepared for easy and smooth entry into a CMMS or EAM tool?
Leanne (15:55):
Yeah. I think it’s very important that there’s no point going off and getting an asset register done if you don’t have a solution. So it’s very important that you manage the data ongoing, and without a solution you can’t do. That’s not something you can do in Excel at least.
Mike (16:10):
Yeah, understood. What advice would you share to future asset management leaders?
Leanne (16:15):
I think be open to new ideas and new technology. I think you need to just keep moving forward. And I think especially in the world we live in today, that technology will play a huge component of where our industry goes. The other thing I would say would be get involved. So the associations, like IFMA etc., and meet and share with your colleagues.
Mike (16:43):
Leanne, it’s been great to talk to you. And I appreciate you being on the Asset Champion Podcast.
Leanne (16:48):
Thanks Mike. Really enjoyed it.
Mike (16:51):
There you have it, everybody. Leanne Cluley of Reduxo sharing just a few thoughts about the value of accurate data and why it is an essential part of the discipline of asset management. I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. And if so, please feel free to share it. We certainly want to get the word out about our new podcast here, and I hope you’ll also check out the show notes where you will find a link to connect with Leanne and her company. Don’t hesitate to reach out. I am sure she’d be happy to hear from you because as you just heard us discuss it, connections are being made. And this is all about making new relationships, as we build our community where we can come together to encourage and inspire each other, to be an asset champion. Peace out.
You’ve been listening to the Asset Champion Podcast. We hope you found this discussion beneficial, as we work together to elevate asset management success by improving efficiency, reducing costs and building best practices. For more information about how the iOFFICE Asset Division can boost the performance of your physical assets by providing comprehensive enterprise asset management software solutions, please visit assetchampion.com.