Asset Register

The Backbone of Any Maintenance

Management System
Summary
Any organization's maintenance program will require a detailed
understanding of the task at hand. A complete and up-to-date list
of equipment to be maintained is obviously a prime requirement.
However, a simple equipment list does not, in itself, constitute an
asset register. In addition to being a pre-requisite for any
maintenance optimization process, a well-constructed and
maintained asset register will form the basis of an efficient
storage system for all machinery information. The critical role of
the maintenance asset register is discussed and the differing
needs of the finance and maintenance functions of an
organization are considered.

MB03011
Mel Barratt
8 pages
August 2003
SKF Reliability Systems
@ptitudeXchange
5271 Viewridge Court
San Diego, CA 92123
United States
tel. +1 858 496 3554
fax +1 858 496 3555
email: info@aptitudexchange.com
Internet: www.aptitudexchange.com

Use of this document is governed by the terms

and conditions contained in @ptitudeXchange.

Asset Register

Introduction

Vendor technical manuals

Inaccurate and out-of-date plant records are a

principal characteristic of poor maintenance
management. When an organization's
maintenance function operates in fire-fighting
mode, then record keeping activities are
frequently relegated to a low priority. Any
maintenance performance measures that may
have been in place will usually fall by the
wayside as a direct consequence of this poor
record keeping. Many such organizations also
harbor a belief that introduction of a
Computerized Maintenance Management
System (CMMS) is a panacea for all of their
maintenance ills. Implementation of a CMMS
is typically expected to have an impact upon
the effectiveness of maintenance, whilst at the
same time reducing costs by, for example,
improving inventory turns and resource
utilization. However, many CMMS
implementations fail to live up to these
expectations. Experience shows that one of the
major reasons for this is failure to compile an
accurate and up to date "asset register." This
article explores the definition and varieties of
an asset register.

Piping and Instrumentation Drawings (P&

IDs)

Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)

Current maintenance program including

any inspection / surveillance activities
carried out by plant operators

Component corrective maintenance history

Importance of an Asset Register

Any thorough overhaul of an organization's
maintenance program will require a detailed
understanding of the task at hand. A complete
and up-to-date list of equipment to be
maintained is obviously a prime requirement.
However, a simple equipment list does not, in
itself, constitute an asset register.
Depending upon the formality and rigor of the
optimization, a wide range of additional
information will be required, perhaps
including:

System process description

Chemical hazard information

Operating and technical manuals

The asset register provides the structure for

classification of all of the information that is
needed to plan and perform maintenance
activities. This function is key to effective
maintenance management, irrespective of
whether this is achieved through
implementation of a CMMS or a more simple
paper / card based system.
In addition to being a pre-requisite for any
maintenance optimization process, a wellconstructed and maintained asset register will
be the basis of an efficient storage system for
all machinery information. This will enable
speedy retrieval of information as and when
required and thus be of significant benefit in
implementation of the selected maintenance
tasks.

Definitions
Examination of various glossaries of business
and asset management terms might reveal a
variety of definitions including the following:
Asset

Tangible or intangible item of value

owned by the business (cash, land,
equipment, inventory) [1].

Any possession that has value in an

exchange [2].

Generally, any item of economic value

owned by a corporation, including items
that are outstanding and intangibles. On

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Asset Register
the balance sheet, the opposite of liability
[3].

Either a machine, building, or system. It is

the basic unit of maintenance [4].

An entity with monetary value. In

maintenance context an asset is commonly
considered to be any component of a plant
or equipment. For example, a spindle is an
asset as it is a component of a motor. A
motor is also an asset as it is a component
of a manufacturing unit [5].

An accounting term for any physical thing

owned by a plant, such as buildings,
equipment, desks, software, computers,
etc. [6].

Unlike in the accounting definition, in

maintenance this is commonly taken to be
any item of physical plant or
equipment [7].

Asset Register

A list of all the assets in a particular

workplace, together with information
about those assets, such as manufacturer,
vendor, make, model, specifications, etc.
[7].

In maintenance, this term usually refers to

a formal, structured listing of the plant and
machinery at a given location [5].

Real Assets

Identifiable assets such as land and

buildings, equipment, patents, and
trademarks, as distinguished from a
financial investment [2].

It is evident from the above, that accountants

and engineers do view the world differently. A
company's assets can include a number of
aspects that are not the direct responsibility of
the maintenance department, for example,

trade marks, intellectual property (such as

patents), etc. For the purpose of the discussion
that follows the term "asset" is taken to refer
to physical assets, (i.e., real assets in financial
jargon).

Financial vs. Functional

Viewpoint
The information held within a CMMS can
have wider application than simply helping to
"manage maintenance." In organizations
where maintenance management is a subset of
a strategic "asset management" approach then
the maintenance data is linked to other
strategic systems of the business and provides
a basis for a variety of business and asset
planning and modeling techniques.
Recent years have seen the emergence of
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems
that include CMMS functionality [8]. EAM
systems are usually focused on the need for
financial control. Furthermore, EAM system
vendors sometimes lack specialist expertise
with a maintenance focus, and so their CMMS
functionality may not be "best practice" and
may be a bad fit with the functional needs of
the maintenance department. In the absence of
a high level of integration then disparate
financial systems, perhaps from a number of
vendors, are often interfaced with an external
CMMS package.
A fundamental difference between most EAM
systems and CMMS is often the viewpoint
from which the asset register is compiled.
Engineering and maintenance costs are for
many companies a major component of the
operating budget. From a financial
management standpoint companies need to
have access to such information as:
a. Original purchase cost of assets
b. Current value of assets, after depreciation
c. Operating and maintenance costs

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Asset Register
d. Spare parts costs
For these reasons the financial department of
every organization must maintain a "fixed
asset register."
Maintenance activities directly affect items b.,
c., and d. above. There is therefore much
commonality between the needs of the
maintenance manager and his financial
counterpart. To avoid confusion and to ease
communication it is therefore desirable that
the "plant maintenance asset register" should
be reconciled with the "fixed asset register"
that is employed as a foundation stone of the
organization's financial reporting.
Furthermore, if maintenance performance
indicators are to be successful and meaningful
then they must be firmly rooted in the
business goals of the enterprise. This
reinforces the need for reconciliation between
the financial and functional views of the asset
base.
Hierarchy
The number of assets being handled in the
CMMS will be such that individual items will
need to be grouped together in some sort of
classification system, normally referred to as a
"plant hierarchy."
The need for reconciliation between the
"maintenance" and "financial" asset registers
does not mean that the terminology and
taxonomy employed in both must be the same.
Indeed, it will be beneficial to devise an asset
register structure that allows individuals to
view the plant in the manner that they are
most familiar and comfortable with.
Despite the importance of the maintenance
asset register, and its pivotal role in asset
management, there exists no definitive
standard to guide organizations in the
construction of an appropriate taxonomy, or
plant coding convention. This is reflected in

the disparate structures offered by various

CMMS vendors. Variation exists in the
number of levels of hierarchy provided, and in
the lengths of the data fields provided to
accommodate the information at these various
levels. Some systems allow users a degree of
customization to align the labeling of the
levels to their established way of looking at
the plant. Other systems are less flexible and
require the user to adapt to a fixed, predefined
labeling system.
ISO 14224 [9] may be of some interest as a
starting point. Its primary objective is to
ensure comparability of reliability data in the
petroleum and natural gas industries, but in
doing so, it offers guidance on establishing
equipment taxonomies.
At a pragmatic level financial, operations, and
maintenance staff typically view the plant
differently. The accountant's world is typically
one of profit and cost centers, whilst
engineering and operations personnel tend to
recognize machines in terms of their function
within the manufacturing or production
process.
Structuring the asset register so that
individuals can view the plant in the most
familiar and comfortable manner will result in
greater user friendliness. This saves time by
making it easier and quicker for required
information to be located and retrieved. It also
helps reduce the likelihood of errors and
duplications arising as the databases
associated with the asset register grow and
evolve with use. Such errors can compound to
cause loss of time and money. For example,
inability to easily locate a system record for
updating with receipt of goods to stores may
result in a new record being created to
accommodate the relevant data. This will
represent a duplication (probably incorrectly
labeled) of the proper record. In consequence,
when the materials are required for use, time
is lost in searching for them and correcting the

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Asset Register
records. Worse still, perhaps the initial error
may not be detected and the goods are reordered on the supplier, in consequence of
which additional downtime is incurred in
waiting for parts that are already languishing
unnoticed in the stores.

Assets vs. Equipment

Each asset recorded within the register will
need a unique identifier. In defining the
system for allocating these the difference
between "assets" and "equipment" need to be
considered.
Typically, assets are fixed items, existing in a
specific location within a plant or process.
However, the equipment that comprises the
asset often changes location. For example,
consider a simple pump-set comprising motor
and pump. It has a fixed place in the process
and a fixed physical location. These are
referred to by means of an "asset number."
However, the individual equipment items that
comprise this asset may move around the plant
from time to time. For example, the motor
may be replaced with a spare, the original
being refurbished, and then perhaps used
elsewhere on the plant on a different pump-set
perhaps in a very different part of the process.
In such an instance, the motor would typically
be identified by its "equipment number."

such as spares lists and condition monitoring

data. Spares management system then, should
be linked into the asset register at "equipment
level."
There is also an argument for linking
condition monitoring data at that level too,
especially where sophisticated vibration
monitoring tools are being employed that
require detailed knowledge of bearing
geometry. Some companies, however, choose
for simplicity to regard the asset as being
unaffected by such equipment replacements,
and to only concern themselves with the "fine
detail" when the monitoring system suggests
that a problem is developing. As monitoring
systems become more sophisticated and fault
sensitive, so the need increases to take account
of factors such as this.

Asset / Equipment Numbering

The principal purpose of a maintenance asset
register is to provide a basic classification
structure within which:

An accurate and complete list of the items

that require maintenance is evident.

All of the information required to properly

manage that maintenance activity can be
stored for easy retrieval by the people who
plan and undertake the required activities.

This mobility of equipment items within a

All of the information that results from the
plant has implications in terms of the data that
maintenance activity may be stored for
is associated with an asset. An important
future analysis as required.
consideration here is the manner in which
The manner in which the assets are named
changes in the equipment that an asset
within a system (sometimes referred to as
employs can affect the information needs for
"data configuration") should be clearly
the asset. Consider further the pump-set motor
defined and consistent. Paper / card-based
discussed above. Items that are considered for
systems offer great flexibility in this respect,
functional purposes to be "equivalent and
since they are not confined by limits on the
interchangeable" are not necessarily identical
"field length" imposed by a computerized
in terms of their construction. For example,
system.
motors from different manufacturers may be
dimensionally the same, but use different
bearings. This will have impact upon other
issues with which the CMMS concerns itself,
2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved
5

Asset Register
This means that the user can describe an asset
almost in plain language, with a high level of
user-friendliness.
In the case of computerized systems, however,
it is typically necessary to devise some sort of
"coding" system to abbreviate this information
in order to accommodate the limitations that
may be imposed by the database field lengths.
Typically, the labels given to assets within
such a system will employ a combination of
these codes that collectively identify a
machine's location, function, and individual
identity. For example, 03 FA ACUN04 may
denote:
03 = Building 3
FA= Final Assembly area
ACUN02 = Air conditioning unit 02
Although perhaps appearing unfriendly at first
sight, users of the system will soon adapt [10].
Another aspect of a well-designed coding
system is the way in which it is constructed to
enable speedy location of data when the
individual identity tag for a machine is not
known. In the simple example given above the
location and machine labels employed,
become increasingly specific from left to
right.

03 denotes a building containing perhaps

many machines.
FA denotes a more specific area within the
building, with fewer machines of various
types.

ACUN denotes one of a small number of

air conditioning units.

02 identifies the particular machine.

Consistent use of a well-defined naming

convention such as this will enable speedy
searches of a system, and facilitates analysis /

comparison of data from groups of similar

machines. This can be of significant help
when reliability studies of various kinds are
being undertaken.

Basic Information in the Register

The financial asset register will concern itself
with information that relates to the current
worth of assets, and the total ownership costs.
This typically includes information such as:

Original acquisition cost

Current value (allowing for depreciation)

Operating costs (personnel, spares, etc)

The maintenance asset register will provide a

structure for handling a wide range of
information required to support the
maintenance function. Especially at equipment
level this will typically include:

Machine type (fan, pump, gearbox, etc.)

Vendor

Size / power / capacity

Nameplate details

Other relevant information is also stored,

sometimes within the equipment record, and
sometimes by linking to records in other
systems. Such information may include (but is
not limited to):

Hazards and safety information, regulatory

compliance details

Manuals, drawings, etc. (identification and

location)

Spares

Maintenance history

Failure history

Some predictive maintenance practices may

also require information relating to machine

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Asset Register
construction (e.g., number of blades on a fan,
bearing types, number of gear teeth, etc.).

Asset Knowledge
A recent innovation in the field of CMMS and
EAMS is the introduction of decision support
functionality [8, 11].
Particularly when seen as a reactive activity
maintenance decision-making is often
considered to be unsuited to automation.
Developing faults generate symptoms in a
variety of ways. Traditionally the engineer
employs his skills and experience to recognize
these as to formulate a diagnosis, based on
which he then implements appropriate
corrective actions. The often-cited "80-20
rule" is as applicable to maintenance as to any
other area of business. Around eighty percent
of maintenance decisions can probably be
regarded as "routine," being guided by a
combination of common sense and good
engineering practice, tempered with past
experience [7].
In managing the information required to
support a Decision Support System (DCS), an
accurate and up-to-date asset register is again
a pre-requisite. A recording system must be
created to capture and store the knowledge
required for fault recognition, diagnosis, and
corrective task selection. These records must
be linked to assets or equipments as
appropriate.

Conclusion
An asset register is much more than a list of
equipment upon which maintenance is
required. It is the spinal cord of any
maintenance system, be that system
computerized or not. The ability to locate
important machinery information quickly
when needed is crucial in planning effective
maintenance by whatever means.

The asset register is a dynamic document

requiring constant updating if it is to be
effective. Although the basic structure of a
process may be unchanged, there will usually
be frequent changes to the equipment that
constitutes the assets. These changes, brought
about, for example, by replacements in normal
operation, must be reflected in the information
stored in the asset register.
The asset register is also a pre-requisite of any
Maintenance Strategy Review (MSR),
ensuring that the information (or the gaps in
information), required for effective
implementation of the selected optimization
tools, can be speedily identified.

References
[1] Financial terms glossary, http://www.fccsca.ca/english/financial_tools/financial_glossa
ry.shtml
[2] Harvey, C.R. Hyper textual Finance
Glossary.
http://www.duke.edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/b
fglosa.htm
[3] Zurich Financial Services,
http://www.zurich.com/zfs/educationcenter/ed
u_home.jhtml
[4] Wolfson Maintenance, glossary,
http://www.wmeng.co.uk/resources/asset.html
[5] Aptitudexchange glossary,
http://www.aptitudexchange.com
[6] IDCON Inc., glossary,
http://www.idcon.com/reliability/definitiona.htm

[7] Plant Maintenance Resource Center,

http://www.maintenanceresources.com/Reference
Library/MaintenanceManagement/KeyTerms.htm

[8] Barratt, M. CMMS and EAMS. MB02022.

http://www.aptitudexchange.com

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Asset Register
[9] ISO-14224:1999(E), Petroleum and natural
gas industries Collection and exchange of
reliability and maintenance data for
equipment. http://www.iso.org
[10] Weir, D.B. CMMS Naming Convention
and Data Configuration Simplified.
http://www.reliabilityweb.com/articles/cmms_
naming_convention_01.htm
[11] Huston, E. Intellectual Asset
Management. MB03010.
http://www.aptitudexchange.com

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved