{"id":9438,"date":"2022-12-30T10:38:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T17:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/?p=9438"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:04:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T19:04:27","slug":"hierarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/hierarchy\/","title":{"rendered":"7 steps for creating an asset heirarchy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defining your asset hierarchy is not difficult, but it requires a systematic approach and consideration of several important points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps if you already have an existing (and accurate)<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">asset register<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Steps-for-creating-an-asset-hierarchy-01-scaled-1.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9440\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Steps-for-creating-an-asset-hierarchy-01-scaled-1.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2194\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 1: Define your equipment boundaries<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clearly define the rules by which you categorize a system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine you have two departments that share the same compressed air system. You need to consider:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where are the boundaries at which the change in department occurs?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have an electric motor driving a pump, does a motor form part of the electrical system or the pumping circuit?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a leak occurs at a boundary connection, does it belong to the connected device or is it within the system boundary?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You must clearly identify and define these rules to prevent user confusion and data corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 2: Categorize your assets<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use a system to categorize your assets as we did in the diagram above, or to create a class of assets \u2014 like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pumps<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use standard, readily identifiable categories common in your industry. Trying to personalize categories to your business will introduce jargon and confusion, making it hard to integrate new hires, and causing outside contractors to be less efficient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our example asset hierarchy, we defined HVAC as the system, with pumps as one of the children. Three different pump types are sub-units of the generic &#8220;pump&#8221; category, with each of them composed of individual components.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 3: Apply uniform codes or names<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create standardized names and codes for your equipment to allow easy identification and meaningful analysis. Adherence to a naming convention prevents people from inventing their own abbreviations or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/failure-codes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">failure codes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that will ruin your data integrity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your <a href=\"\/cmms\/\">CMMS<\/a> can enforce this discipline by forcing technicians to select names\/codes from a predefined list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISO 14224 has some helpful naming examples in Appendix A you can use as a reference.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 4: Decide on equipment subdivisions<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use a standard list of equipment sub-units. For instance, you may decide a generic compressor has the following sub-units:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compressor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Control and monitoring<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Receiver<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Air treatment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Power transmission<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miscellaneous.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In your CMMS, be sure to apply these sub-units to all compressors, even if the compressor is a simple unit that doesn&#8217;t have great complexity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may not use the sub-units entries, but maintaining the attributes is important for data integrity. Avoid devising different sub-units with customized attributes for equipment in the same category.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asset-taxonomy-combustion-engine.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9439\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asset-taxonomy-combustion-engine.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"866\" height=\"396\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 5: List required manufacturer data<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure you provide enough fields in your asset hierarchy to capture all manufacturer data. Some manufacturers use part and serial numbers to identify their components; others add a model number. Some even include codes to indicate component modification states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This information is critical when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/fmea-and-fmeca\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">analyzing failure modes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, calculating reliability, or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/maintenance-cost-explained\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">understanding maintenance costs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 6: Define operating attributes<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There will be specific data that applies to a sub-unit. This data might include pressure and flow rates for hydraulic components, or voltage and current for electrical devices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Define standard units of measure you&#8217;ll need to enter for such information. Is the energy consumption in watts, kilowatts, or megawatts, or will all three need to be offered as a choice? There is a standard terminology that you should use: W, kW, or MW.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where units are case-sensitive, having one component shown as 10 kW and another incorrectly as 10 KW counts as two different units, with any search or analysis potentially missing one component.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 7: Integrate the asset hierarchy into your CMMS<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the asset hierarchy is in your CMMS, it becomes the standard to which everyone must conform. When a new asset is purchased and loaded into the system, the only selections you can make will be those identified in the hierarchy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CMMS will not allow everyday users to invent new classifications or attributes. Those permissions can be enabled\/disabled for different CMMS user roles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For<span id=\"benefits-of-asset-heirarchy\"><\/span> this reason, be rigorous in designing the structure to encompass all current requirements. An administrator will have to edit the structure if you buy new equipment that doesn&#8217;t fit into the current hierarchy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In these cases, review the entire asset hierarchy to avoid isolated changes to the existing structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimize your asset management hierarchy with Limble CMMS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The combination of a well-structured asset hierarchy and a CMMS is important for every business seeking to optimize its asset management processes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While creating an asset hierarchy involves forethought and rigorous discipline, flexible <a href=\"\/cmms\/cmms-software\/\">CMMS software<\/a> like Limble makes sure the whole process is very straightforward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t hesitate to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reach out<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/demo-request\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">schedule a quick product demo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to learn more about Limble CMMS and its ability to simplify and streamline your asset management operations.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]Defining your asset hierarchy is not difficult, but it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asset-maintenance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Steps for Creating an Asset Hierarchy | Limble CMMS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everything you ever needed to know about asset hierarchy and how it can help improve your maintenance operation today. 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