MEX Makes It Simple Building The Asset Register Deciding on the Asset Structure The Asset tree structure is so important and central to the functionality of MEX, it is therefore important to plan it out before you begin to enter Assets into MEX. There are a number of ways to structure the tree according to your requirements, but three basic principles should guide you: Can Assets be easily found in the tree structure? Will all of the users of the system understand the tree structure? Does the tree structure match your reporting requirements? Numbering Your Assets A numbering convention for equipment should be adopted according to your needs. However, it isn’t exactly numbering, as the Asset Number in MEX can be alphanumeric – that is it can contain numbers and letters. We’ll use the term ‘numbering your Assets’ because that is how it is commonly referred to in the industry. Note: your company may have already decided the style to use to number your Assets. This may link in with another system you have in place, or be part of an industry standard numbering system. In this case, you won’t have to choose a new style. Numbering can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some examples of styles you can use: Use the literal name (e.g. Main Pump). This is the name that is typically used to identify the item by most staff Use the Asset Type with a sequential number. (e.g. PP001, PP002, for Pump No 1 and 2) Use a unique number for each item. (Starting at 1 and increasing – this option can be enabled through the Control Files by selecting the option ‘Asset Auto-Numbering On’ – as below)
Transcript
MEX Makes It Simple
Building The Asset Register
Deciding on the Asset Structure
The Asset tree structure is so important and central to the functionality of MEX, it is therefore important to plan it out before you begin to enter Assets into MEX. There are a number of ways to structure the tree according to your requirements, but three basic principles should guide you:
Can Assets be easily found in the tree structure? Will all of the users of the system understand the tree structure? Does the tree structure match your reporting requirements?
Numbering Your Assets
A numbering convention for equipment should be adopted according to your needs. However, it isn’t exactly numbering, as the Asset Number in MEX can be alphanumeric – that is it can contain numbers and letters. We’ll use the term ‘numbering your Assets’ because that is how it is commonly referred to in the industry.
Note: your company may have already decided the style to use to number your Assets. This may link in with another system you have in place, or be part of an industry standard numbering system. In this case, you won’t have to choose a new style.
Numbering can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some examples of styles you can use:
Use the literal name (e.g. Main Pump). This is the name that is typically used to identify the item by most staff
Use the Asset Type with a sequential number. (e.g. PP001, PP002, for Pump No 1 and 2) Use a unique number for each item. (Starting at 1 and increasing – this option can be enabled
through the Control Files by selecting the option ‘Asset Auto-Numbering On’ – as below)
MEX Makes It Simple
BUILDING THE ASSET REGISTERNote: In the Asset Register there is an ‘Asset Number’ and a ‘Financial Asset Number’. The Financial Asset Number usually comes from the accounting system of your company. Hence you can have your asset numbers which are used by people who do the work and a financial asset number for reference to the accounting system.
We’re now going to work through an example of using Asset Type with a sequential number. In this example, we will be setting up Assets in a Hotel. Examples;
Each room will be given a number: RM101 to RM612 Refrigerators throughout the hotel are given a number: FR001 to FR138. (These numbers can then
.....we marked physically on each fridge) The air conditioning cooling towers on the roof are numbered: WH001 and WH002. Even the elevator will be given an Asset Number (EV001), as well as its components like the..
.....electric motor (EM023), gearboxes (GB034), and controllers (CT002).
Now, if you have thousands of Assets in your Asset Register, it’s going to become difficult to sort through these Assets to find an item, and then track down its location. MEX uses a ‘parent-child’ relationship structure between Assets to help organize them.
For instance, RM112 has the following items in it; FR037 – Bar Fridge No 37 and TV012 – 32” Color TV No 12. This may be represented in MEX as below;
RM112 acts as the parent Asset of FR037 and TV012, because they physically sit in that location.
Now, any work done on TV012 or FR037 and be included on reports run on RM112, as they are children of that Asset. In turn, RM112 may have a Parent Asset as well (e.g. FLOOR01), which you could also use for reporting and/or organizational purposes.
MEX Makes It Simple
MEX Makes It Simple
Parent Assets may not always be a physical asset or plant; in MEX you can have items that are in your Asset Register that are neither – they could be an area, department, region, function, etc. This function is available in MEX to make it easier to manage your Assets. For example, you may have;
In the above example, we are grouping RM112 underneath Parent ‘FLOOR01’, which also sits underneath ‘HOTEL01’.
How many levels are there?
In MEX, there is no limit to the number of levels you can go to, however please note that Reports only go to 7 levels by standard. You don’t have to use all of these levels, just what you need. However, you must start at the top and work your way down.
Be wary of going too far with your asset numbering. This is based on the experiences of many companies who have implemented systems all over the world.
The question: To what level do assets have to be numbered? The answer: To the level where the system is easy to use but still captures the information required for the management function of your maintenance system.
This question must be answered before you commence creating the Asset Register. Otherwise the Asset Register can become a millstone around the neck of the maintenance department.
The following examples will highlight this. These examples have come from real experiences when implementing computerized maintenance management systems.
Example 1: Mining site, mobile fleet of vehicles. The Asset Register has been created in a way that Assets are numbered down to minor components, including seat belts, universal joints and seats in the cabin. The end result here would be that the Asset Register would be twenty times larger than if they had only numbered Assets down to major components, like engine, gearboxes, etc.
BUILDING THE ASSET REGISTER
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Downsides here would be: Searching and finding the correct Asset Number is slower and more technical The speed of the system slows as the Asset Register was so large Work Orders are not raised for the correct Asset because there are too many items to select from Training requirement on the Asset Register was very high because the numbering was so in depth When a vehicle comes in for maintenance, often many jobs are done at once. But because the seat
belts, universal joints, seats, etc. Were records as individual Assets, it meant that many Work Orders were created for the single maintenance job
Example 2: Car Manufacturer. This car manufacturer went down to a spare part level in the Asset Register. For example, every fuse on a switchboard was given as Asset Number. This was done because they wanted to do failure analyses on every component. As in example 1, this led to an enormous Asset Register, where people found it hard to search and find items.
In this case, spare parts can be stored in MEX through the additional ‘Stores’ module, that allows you to Catalogue spare parts, rather than having them clog up the Asset Register.
Asset Type, Manufacturer and Model Number
The Asset Type is the type of Asset i.e. Car, truck, pump, floor, wall etc.
Every Asset Number can have a Manufacturer and a Model Number. An Asset cannot have a Model Number without a Manufacturer though.
It is fairly obvious that the Manufacturer is the company that manufactured the item. You can keep a master list of these in MEX.
The model number is the Model Number of the asset. Again, there is a master list of Model Numbers kept in MEX linked to the Manufacturer. The Manufacturers and Model Numbers can be viewed in the Control Files module of MEX.
When adding assets to the Asset Register, the Asset Types, Manufacturers and Model Numbers can be added on the fly. That is, as you add them to the Asset Register, MEX will prompt you to add them to the master list.
One example might be a company car stored in the Asset Register;
BUILDING THE ASSET REGISTER
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Apart from the obvious task of categorizing assets, the Asset Type’s major use is in relation to PM’s (Preventative Maintenance).
A single routine service for a certain type of Asset can easily be applied to all Assets that meet that criteria. Instead of then having to add manually every Asset matching that type, you’re able to assign an Asset Type to a policy and it will automatically detect and add those Assets to the ‘Asset Using’ tab on that PM.
You are also able to use a combination of Asset Type / Manufacturer / Model Number to detect and add Assets to the PM. For instance, you may have a policy that you wish to apply to all Assets with a type of ‘Car’, but you have a separate policy that you wish to apply to all Nissan Patrols because they have different service requirements. You’re able to specify each of these parameters on your PM to narrow down the scope of Assets you wish to include;
Duplicating Asset Numbers
In the setup of any Asset Register there are many items, which are identical or very similar in all their characteristics. To increase the speed at which these items can be added to MEX, it is advantageous to be able to set up one item and then duplicate it many times, changing just the Asset Number initially. Later you need only change the qualities of the Assets that must be changed. This facility can be found in the Asset Register details form as a button.
For example, if you have a fleet of 10 identical model trucks, you could create TRUCK01, fill in the Asset Type, Manufacturer and Model Number, and then duplicate this Asset and change the Asset Number to be TRUCK02, TRUCK03, etc. Afterwards, you could then change the information that may differ between these Assets, such as Serial Numbers, or Purchase Dates, etc.
BUILDING THE ASSET REGISTER
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Duplicating the Tree Structure
This function allows for the entire structure to be duplicated. The duplicate tree will duplicate the Asset Number selected and all children that of the selected Asset.
For example, each floor of a building is almost identical. Hence the 1st floor is constructed in the Asset Register and then this entire structure is duplicated and renumbered as the 2nd floor. This function can be found by selecting an asset in the Asset Register tree and clicking on the Duplicate Tree button.
Other fields in the Asset Register
Financial Asset NumberThe Financial Asset Number is usually the number the accounting system of a company uses to identify an Asset. This number is usually different from the MEX Asset No. This function is available in MEX so that the Asset Number in an accounting or external system can be linked to the Asset Number in the MEX Asset Register.
Barcode NumberThe barcode number is the barcode number affixed by a label for this Asset. This facility is available in MEX for cases where the Asset Number will vary from the barcode number.
SupplierThe company that we purchased the Assets or Spare Parts from.
Serial NumberThe serial number of the Asset.
User Defined FieldsThere are user-defined fields available for every Asset. Hence, if there is data that is needed to be recorded against any Asset Number where a field is not currently available, then the User Defined Fields (UDF) are available. The UDFs are linked to the Asset Type to create order in their use and to make the task of managing them simpler.Examples of UDFs against Asset Types of ‘BUILDING’ might be;
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Changing your mind
Once the Asset Register has been created you may require some of the items to be edited. This usually occurs because you now know more about the system, or someone changes his or her mind, not necessarily you.
Renaming Assets
In MEX any Asset Number can be changed. This can be found by selecting the Asset in the Asset Register and then right mouse clicking on the Asset to bring up the pop up menu. For example, if you have numbered a TV as “TV028”, and you now want to change it to “TV109”, then you can!
When you change the Asset Number, no other information previously entered into MEX is lost. Work orders, history, maintenance policies, store issues, purchase orders, requests will remain referring to this Asset even after its number has changed.
Moving Assets In the Asset Register, you are able to move Assets around to different locations in the Register. By right-clicking on an Asset and then selecting ‘Move Asset’, you are able to select a new Parent location for that particular Asset.
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In the next screen, you will be able to enter a reason for the Asset Movement. This is by default “Asset Movement”, but can be changed if you wish to provide any more information about the movement. For example, if you are moving equipment from one site to another, you may include information like “Forklift was moved from NSW site to QLD site”. For those users that have a dummy Parent Asset for their workshop, they may move a rotable Asset there with a note something like “Undergoing repairs, removed from site”.
These movement records are then stored in the ‘Movements’ tab of an Asset
Deleting an Asset
If you have made a mistake and don’t wish to rename or move an Asset, you’re able to delete Assets generally in the creation phase of the Asset Register. However, as soon as an Asset has associated records like Work Orders, PMs, Readings, etc. then you are unable to delete it.
This is because of the way that databases work, if you were to delete the Asset record altogether, related records would break because they wouldn’t be able to find the related Asset.
Instead of deleting, in MEX we are able to make an Asset inactive. We can do this through the Asset Register by selecting an Asset, clicking on ‘Details’, and then unticking the ‘Active’ checkbox.
BUILDING THE ASSET REGISTER
MEX Makes It Simple
You are able to view inactive Assets by selecting ‘Include Inactive’ in the Asset Register.
Importing data in MEX
Either you or MEX can import any Asset Register information you already have in another file or database. Even if it’s incomplete. We can also provide a template in Excel if that makes it easier.
If you have any questions please contact MEX Support at [email protected] or by calling + 61 7 3392 4777
64 Commercial Road, Newstead, QLD, Australia 4006PO Box 3322, Newstead, QLD, Australia 4006
