Can you please describe your approach for setting up an asset or equipment numbering system for a computerized maintenance management system.
Ross:
I have (written on asset numbering system) for the work I’ve done in Australasia.
That’s the section of the International Infrastructure Management Manual that was updated in 2011, around Asset Information System and Data Management.
And right now it’s getting updated for the 2015 edition, just in the last month they’ve updated that section again.
Numbering depends on the type of system you’re using
So, the thing is, the numbering depends on the type of system you’re using.
So, if you’re using a spatially-orientated system such as GIS, you might just want to have a sequential number because as long as you got the linkage, say your pipe reticulation, then all you need is that number.
When you get into point assets, say your treatment plants and your pump stations and tanks and things like that, sometimes you’re going to have a whole lot of assets in that one location.
And then you start thinking, well I want a schematic breakdown down of the assets and I want to number them.
And I think the best advice there is that you keep a recently simple hierarchy and that you break up that hierarchy into the areas that are logical to the people working on it.
So for argument sake, for the pump station, you’d say, right we’ve got a well of some description or a chamber, some concrete civil works, we give them one set of numbers.
- That might be C for concrete or C for civil.
- We’ve got some pumps. So you might start them with a P; it might be P1 or P2 or something like that.
- You might have some electrics and control gears, so you might say electrical gear E and start like that.
Start with a simple hierarchy
And just start with a simple hierarchy. Break it down under that if you need to be tracking information on your impellers, you might split them out or your motors, or you might just bring in the size of the pumps.
But really what you’re trying to do is number things relatively simple, in a way that works logically for the maintenance crews.
Because they will be the ones having to go and attend to those assets and code any work against the numbers.
So that’s the thing there, if you’re wanting to do numbering against reticulation assets, it can be against street names or as a code or the material.
Yeah, more usually the street name, location.
Those sorts of numbering systems though, I think they’ve fallen out of favor. They were back in the day when we didn’t have the spatial linkages.
So you have to have a textural hierarchy for reticulation assets.
Using spatial systems in building asset inventory
Nowadays I think everybody starts with the spatial systems when they’re building inventory and so you don’t need to be so concerned about the hierarchical numbering systems for reticulation.
But if you do, just choose street numbers or street names. Some councils or some authorities might have block sheets so they actually had a numbering system based on block sheets.
If that’s what you’re used to, nothing wrong with continuing with that system, assigning it to the asset and the database, or asset register.
If you end up with the number sequence of 30 numbers long, then somebody has to put that into the system every time they do it.
I always sort of think, keep it as simple as possible and keep the asset management numbering system as short as possible.
Less room for confusion if you do that.
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