Asset Tree structure

The Asset Tree is a hierarchical breakdown of the Assets” structure, and it contains all the technical information about the Assets.

The tree structure helps users to:

Locate specific Assets quickly and easily. The hierarchical tree structure of Asset items must be sufficiently shallow so that the user does not have to drill down too many levels to find a MSI (Maintenance Significant Item).
Design reports.
Analyse Assets in a specific branch of the tree structure.

If constructed correctly, the Asset Tree can be used as a powerful tool to analyse history, analyse failures, produce budgets and many other reports - the tree structure must therefore be developed to complement these items.

Assets
Locations
Cost Centres
Responsible Sections.

Three basic methods are used to develop an Asset Tree structure.

Process driven tree structures
Location driven tree structures
Responsibility driven tree structures.

Process Driven Tree Structures

This tree structure is also referred to as a functional driven tree structure.

Assets within the same process are grouped together irrespective of their location.

This is an effective structure and works well in smaller installations as the user needs to know the process well to locate the Assets.

Location Driven Tree Structures

Assets are grouped according to their location.

This is the preferred method in most cases as it is logical and intuitive as to where to find Assets. It is a user-friendly method and caters for a variety of reporting scenarios.

The lower levels of the tree can vary according to the situation, and the main driver for using this method is the number of Assets on the lowest level.

If there are several Assets on the same level then consider grouping them together to make navigation more user-friendly.

In the following example, items at Level 1 and Level 2 in the tree structure represent functional facilities or production lines within the company rather than Assets. The physical Asset used in the bottling process at Levels 3, 4 and 5, are designated as Maintenance Significant Items.

Responsibility Driven Tree Structures

Assets are grouped according to the maintenance section that is responsible for maintaining them.

This grouping is similar to the Location Driven method.