Papers and Case Studies

CMMS Asset Management and Setup

Asset management in your facilities Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is a vital part of any maintenance and reliability program. The proper development of an asset tagging and characterization system can pay huge future dividends in terms of improved data quality for reliability analysis and improvement.

The Type of Asset Tagging Systems

There are two primary types of asset tagging systems. The first type is through the use of an asset location tag, which identifies the equipment location and function. The asset location tagging system can be helpful since it can be a shorthand to knowing where the asset is and what it does. Often an asset location number would include some designation to area the asset exists, type of asset, and specific location for that asset within the process. The problem with an asset location numbering system is that it becomes difficult to track the repairs, modifications, or problems with a specific serial numbered asset throughout time if it is swapped from one location to another.

The second type of asset tagging is using an asset specific tag number, which is specific to that specific equipment serial number. An asset specific number allows a facility to track asset lifecycle costs, and better identify equipment defects that may be specific to the asset, not the operation or site of installation.

Most Effective Asset Tagging Solutions

The most effective solution for asset tagging is to use a serial number specific number at the asset level, and an asset location number for a location level. This allows queries for the asset location number tag, which may be easier for people to reference, but can ensure that the asset information can stay with the specific serial number. Thus allowing proper reliability trending on the equipment.

The use of an asset location numbering system is critical to efficiently identifying, reporting, and studying asset reliability. The ability to work a location and function shorthand into the asset number can save time and effort when identifying and discussing an asset. There are however several things that must to be ensured when naming assets to make sure that the system is truly useful.

The first thing to consider for an efficient asset location numbering system is that a system should be developed to ensure the naming scheme is repeatable and identifiable. This can involve a specific order of numbers or letters which normally identify the facility that it is in, the location or unit within the facility, the type of equipment, and either the function within the location, or the number within the location. Redundant equipment can be identified by adding an additional number or letter. It can be vital for queries and data analysis that the format of these asset numbers is consistent throughout, so when creating an asset location numbering system, it would be important to determine a template for how assets are going to be labeled. Some problems discovered when looking at this type of system include inconsistent spacing or the use of dashes. These types of problems leave many facilities with asset tagging that is inconsistent and provides very little value to a descriptive tagging system.

Asset Tagging and CMMS Setup

In addition to tag numbers, it is vital that assets are properly categorized within a CMMS. Proper categorization will allow querying, sorting, and filtering of equipment work order data. Categories that may be helpful for this sort of analysis may include asset type, asset location, unit location, operating speed, rated horsepower, manufacturer, among many others. Categorizing assets with many types of information allows for analysis to better determine facility strengths and weaknesses. For example, it categorizing assets allows a facility to compare equipment reliability across equipment manufacturers, to help guide future purchases to more reliable manufacturer. Another useful analysis made possible with categorization would be comparing different operating units to determine over and underperforming business areas, which can further be investigated to develop policies, procedures, or other changes that can be made to improve reliability.

Proper Asset tagging and CMMS setup are vital to delivering useful reliability analysis for your facility. For more information or assistance with asset tagging and CMMS setup, contact Red Wolf Reliability at 970-266-9005 or here!