A07 - Best Practices for Asset Reporting (MCU)

Editor's Notes

• #3: Introduction: In the following presentation we will be discussing Asset data and Asset Hierarchy Setup and their effect on reporting including Classifications, Hierarchy Structure, and utilizing the Asset Hierarchy Configuration Tool, as well as providing some helpful and practical Asset specific reporting examples. Asset Data and Setup: Effects on Reporting: Utilizing Classifications for standardization of Assets, Asset Hierarchy structure and setup and relationship to reporting, as well as utilizing the Asset Hierarchy Configuration Tool. Asset Specific Reporting Examples: Practical Asset reporting examples to help with understanding how to utilize Asset reports to get the most out of your system.
• #4: SECTION OVERVIEW
• #5: Bullet 1: Asset Classifications are important for allowing organizations to standardize display data, and collect report data, for specific groups of Assets. Classifications are designed to define and maintain standard information for these groups of Assets. Bullet 2: By standardizing information for Assets, criteria, grouping, and sorting options by Classification and other standardized Asset details become very useful. This allows organizations to quickly gather information in report format on larger groups of similar Assets.
• #6: Bullet 1: The Classification Explorer is similar to an Asset Hierarchy structure. There are typical and suggested ways to setup the Classification Explorer, and this should be done with care to ensure that it is done correctly. If you need assistance setting up your Classification Hierarchy it is recommended to reach out to your Implementation Consultant. Bullet 2: The Classifications stored in the Classification Explorer hold the template information that populates over to the Assets when the Classification is added to an Asset. The “Class” field on the Asset is one of the primary fields that can be used for Report criteria, grouping, and sorting (for example, a report listing only Assets that have a class of “building”). However the template information populated over to the Assets is also extremely useful for reporting, as it is standardized information.
• #7: Bullet 1: The Classification Hierarchy itself should be configured specifically to your organization’s needs. It is very important, however, that the Hierarchy is configured in a way that is consistent and makes sense to all users who will interact with the Classifications. Bullet 2: There are, however, typical structures that should be followed to ensure Reporting and overall consistency needs are met. Just like the Asset Hierarchy, if configured incorrectly this can greatly inhibit the reporting options that are available for Assets. In this example, you can see that this Classification Hierarchy is setup correctly for consistency. The values listed (car, flatbed, etc.) are appropriate as children to the Vehicle Parent as they are types of Vehicles. This logic can be applied when setting up the Classification Hierarchy.
• #8: Bullet 1: When Asset Classifications are configured correctly, the following reporting options and features become available: Sub-Bullet 1: Data consistency is going to drive the accuracy of reporting, and utilizing Asset classifications (standardization of data across multiple records) will help ensure that this is achieved. Sub-Bullet 2: When running reports, utilizing Report Criteria options is an important part of being able to define what records are going to be visible. Being able to define the report by Classification (such as our earlier example of selecting only Assets with a classification of “Building”) will allow for quick and easy limiting of records. Sub-Bullet 3: There is also the ability to sort / group a report by class, which makes it simple to see at a glance the amount of records or detail per Class of Asset. For example, you could select “buildings” in the Report Criteria (which would show only data for Assets with a Class of “building”), while viewing the rooms as the records. If you then grouped by Class, the result would be viewing the detail for each room, grouped by building (which is the Class you defined in the Criteria). Sub-Bullet 4: There are standard reports already available for Asset counts and list reports by Classification. These reports are designed to give you at a glance information (counts) about the groups of standardized records.
• #9: Bullet 1: There are many different ways that you can setup your Asset Hierarchy. The way that you define and structure the Asset Hierarchy will depend on your organizational needs and possibly even your industry. In the screenshots shown, an example of a typical Facilities structure (AOC Resins) and a typical Plants structure (ADS) are shown. Both have differing ways of defining the structure of their Asset Hierarchy – neither of them are “wrong” or “right”, simply different per organization and industry! Bullet 2: Most applicable to today’s presentation, the way that you structure your Asset Hierarchy will take some thought to ensure all of your reporting goals are also met. Note: If you have questions regarding your current setup of your Asset Hierarchy, or would like to make changes, please discuss with your Implementation Consultant. This is important as changes made to your Asset Hierarchy can alter entire business practices for your organization, so this needs to be handled with care.
• #10: Bullet 1: The Asset Hierarchy Configuration Tool allows you to specify the Classifications which represent levels in the Asset Tree. Bullet 2: By following this structure, it allows you to sort and group Assets by Classification when using the Reporter. The first two or three classifications listed are often used as default groupings on many Asset reports.
• #11: Bullet 1: There are two columns listed under the Set Asset Structure, the Available Column and the Selected Column. Sub-Bullet 1: In the left hand Available column, the Classifications that are available for Report groupings are shown. To add a Classification to the Selected column, simply click and highlight, and using the right arrow to move over to the Selected column. Sub-Bullet 2: To change the order of the Classifications in the selected column, highlight or select the Classification to be moved and use the up or down arrows to the right of the list to move it.
• #12: Bullet 1: For example, if the first level of the Asset Tree represented Site, then you could specify the Site classification as Level 1, which would set the Report grouping to Site as a default grouping.
• #13: SECTION OVERVIEW
• #14: Bullet 1: There are many different standard (base) Asset reports that come out of the box with MC, meaning that these reports are already readily available for use! Bullet 2: All of the base Asset Reports are located in the Asset Reports folder once the Report Lookup has been run.
• #15: Bullet 1: These base Asset reports can be copied and further modified to create new, unique reports for your organization for your Assets. It is very important to COPY base reports when creating new, as this will preserve the original base report for future use. Bullet 2: In the Report Lookup when the Reporter is run, there is a left-hand column next to the report names that will help to identify specifics about each report. One of the more helpful icons is the left hand column icons, which help identify a base report or a copied report. Sub-Bullet 1: The blue icon will identify a base report which should be LEFT ALONE, and only used to make additional copies. Sub-Bullet 2: The green icon will identify a copied report, which most likely has been copied from one of the base reports.
• #16: Sub-Bullet 1: Asset data tables are what drives the records and fields that are available for Asset reports. Sub-Bullet 2: You will most likely hear these data tables referenced as “SQL” tables.
• #17: Bullet 1: When utilizing standard Asset reports, tables needed are already joined to the reports, making it very simple to add fields to the reports from the already joined tables. However there are times when Asset data from other tables need to be utilized, which in turn means they must be joined to the report. In order to Join additional Asset tables to reports, there is some SQL knowledge required. However it is important to note that many times simply analyzing the SQL of other reports can help to understand and begin joining SQL tables. To access the SQL of the report, go to the report Setup  Advanced tab  SQL structure sub-tab. Bullet 2: There are many different Asset data tables that can be joined to Reports to allow for more Display Fields, Sorting and Grouping options, as well as Criteria options. The Tables used for Available Fields is where these additional Asset tables are stored. It is important to note that simply selecting one of these Asset tables will not join the table to the report – the appropriate Join SQL has to be used in conjunction with selecting the appropriate Asset table. Note: Because of the complexity in nature of the different types of Joins, this will not be discussed in detail in this presentation. Also, not every user has access to the Advanced tab of the Report Setup (this is an Access Group permission that must be given).
• #18: Bullet 1: The following screenshots provide an example of a report called Asset Status History by Location. For this report, it is necessary to see information from both the Asset table (for example, seeing the Asset ID) as well as seeing misc. details / data for the associated downtime (such as the Shutdown date and reason). To be able to utilize the AssetStatusHistory table and add these fields to the report, it must be Joined by entering the correct SQL to the Join (SQL) field. Lastly, the Table must be selected from the Tables used for Available fields. The fields will then be available for use under the Available section of the Report Setup. Note: It is very common for Asset reports to already have the AssetHierarchy table joined to the report, as this is typically used in standard grouping / sorting.
• #20: SECTION OVERVIEW
• #21: Bullet 1: The Asset List by Classification report is going to provide the detail that is needed to see specific data about the Asset records listed. Often these types of List reports are grouped with totals, which is why this particular report is grouped by Class – allowing the user to see specific detail about each grouping of Assets. For example, the screenshot shown shows Assets that have been sorted by Classification (sort 2 on the report). AIRPUMPS are what are currently being grouped / sorted, so all AIRPUMPS data is going to display beneath that header. Details about the Asset records such as the Asset ID, Asset Name, and Shop Name are all added to the report and will display for each individual Asset record displayed (this is called a Detail Report).
• #22: Bullet 1: The Asset Count by Classification report has pre-created Custom Expressions for the Asset COUNT field to count the number of Assets per Classification. This makes it simple to run the report based off of a specific Classification, for example “Buildings”, and get an immediate count of how many Assets have that specific Class. This type of report is called a Summary report, as it is best used as a Summary of data. For example, the screenshot provided shows a typical Asset count by Classification report, where the primary Classifications (depicted by ARM, PIPE LINE, etc.) are on the left hand side of the report and the counts associated are listed on the right side of the report.
• #23: Bullet 1: The Asset Meter History by Location report is designed to keep track of all Meter History. This report typically shows the Reading Date (date that the Meter reading entry was done on the Asset) and the readings for Meter 1 and Meter 2 (there are two Meters available for every Asset). Something important to note is that the only way Meter Readings will appear on this report is to ensure that the Track Meter 1 and / or Track Meter 2 History indicator is checked, allowing the historical data to be tracked.
• #24: Bullet 1: The Asset Costs and Charges by Location report is a standard report that tracks all types of Labor, Material, and Other costs added to Work Orders with the associated Asset. This report is a one-stop-shop to view at a glance Cost information. This report has two options, a life-to-date and a year-to-date. This offers the flexibility to quickly run reports based off of the life cost of an Asset vs a year-to-date version of the same report.
• #25: Bullet 1: The Asset Preventive Maintenance Schedules by Location report shows a list of all PMs grouped by their associated Assets (Locations). This report can be helpful, for example, for seeing which PM schedules need to be removed for specific Assets, or to simply check up on last generated / completed dates. Because this report is a Detail report, there are many different fields available to view important Preventive Maintenance details such as Last Generated Date and PM ID.
• #26: Bullet 1: For organizations that utilize Warranties for their Assets, it is critical to be able to tell when these warranties have expired. The Asset Warranty by Expiration by Location report assists in tracking Assets that have Warranty dates less than the current date (expired). Criteria can also be used for narrowing down Warranty results – for example, searching for expired Warranties between two specific dates. Note: In order to report off the Asset Warranty date, this field must be filled in from the Asset Details (Details Sub-Tab) section for Warranty Ends.
• #27: Bullet 1: The Asset Status History by Location tracks Assets going Out-of-Service and back In-Service via the Status indicator on the Asset record. Typical data that is tracked is the date and time of the Shutdown (set to out-of-service), the date / time the Asset was set back In-service, the amount of time that between the Out-of-Service and In-Service (Down Time), Units of measurement for the Downtime, and the Reason behind the Asset being taken out of service. These types of reports are very beneficial to organizations that need to track carefully the values and reason behind Assets being Out of Service. This type of report can be used to see trends in data for specific Assets – for example, grouping the shutdown records by Asset (Location) will allow you to see all of the downtime that has been accrued for each Asset all at once, making it easy to distinguish patterns.