Within InfraLink, an Asset represents material property that may be purchased, stored, moved, installed, or otherwise used, repaired or disposed. This article discusses the following topics related to Asset records.
It is important to distinguish between an Asset and a System Element. System Elements represent the functional decomposition of the System, typically reflected in the System design (e.g., single-line drawings, logical diagrams), and each System Element has a specific function and Location. On the other hand, Assets are the physical components that are installed against (i.e., associated with) the System Element. An Asset typically has a manufacturer, model, and serial number.
The following chart illustrates some differences between the characteristics of System Elements and Assets:
| Characteristic | System Element | Asset |
|---|---|---|
Has installation location | Yes, optional | Optional, Inherited from the associated System Element. |
Has operational status (Up, Down, etc), may be monitored | Yes | No |
May be controlled | Yes | No |
May be subject of a Preventive Maintenance | Yes | No |
Has manufacturer, model | Defined by installed Asset | Yes |
Has purchase date and other procurement information | No | Yes |
Has warranty | No | Yes |
Replaced when physical hardware fails | No | Yes |
InfraLink separates Assets into two principal categories: Trackable and Consumable.
Trackable Assets are serialized items, which typically have a higher cost and are often repairable and re-deployable. Each Trackable Asset is uniquely identified using a manufacturer-assigned serial number and/or an owner-assigned Asset Tag (i.e., barcode). Trackable Asset Example: Sony SNCCH240 High Definition camera for general purpose
Consumable Assets are items that cannot be identified or tracked individually. Consumable Assets typically have a lower cost and are not usually repaired. Consumable Assets are not typically assigned Serial Numbers or Asset Tags. Instead, Consumable Assets are tracked by lot or quantity. Consumable Asset Example: Pack of 15 Generic 20’ power cords, USA 3-pin plug NEMA 5-15P to IEC C13 connectors.
Beyond an Asset being categorized as either a Trackable Asset or a Consumable Asset, InfraLink maintains pertinent Asset attributes ranging from physical attributes to configuration properties (e.g., MAC address) to functional attributes. Below, we discuss the Asset attributes supported by InfraLink, including Identification, Contract, Location, Type, Status and Condition, as well as unlimited Custom Field attributes.
The ability to establish and maintain unique identification of Trackable Assets is critically important to satisfy by configuration management and compliance requirements. InfraLink supports several identification attributes for each Asset, including the Manufacturer, Model, Serial Number, Owner and Asset Tag.
Taking into account operational limitations, sometimes all identification details are not readily available for an Asset. To ensure unique identification of Assets and Asset data integrity, InfraLink enforces the following business rules:
The Instance Administrator defines and configures Asset Types, which enable InfraLink to manage the nomenclature and inventory of Assets purchased, stored, shipped, installed and maintained throughout a project lifecycle. The Asset Type, a required Asset attribute, defines a collection of similar Assets that, in some cases, may be used interchangeably. The Administrator determines how narrow or broad the Asset Type definitions are during configuration. Typically, an Asset Type represents a group of Assets that:
When defining the Asset Types in InfraLink, the Administrator will also define the Custom Field attributes that will apply for each Asset Type. (For more information, see the Custom Fields section below.)
InfraLink maintains two Location databases:
Similar to the Installation/Service Locations tracked as part of the System configuration database, InfraLink provides the capability to define and maintain the hierarchy of Storage/Warehouse Locations. The Administrator will define the hierarchy of the stored Warehouse/Storage Locations to:
In general, a Location must be specified for each Trackable Asset, and this should be the Asset’s current or last known Location. An Asset’s assigned Location may be an Installation/Service Location or a Storage/Warehouse Location depending on whether or not the Asset is deployed. Trackable Assets often change Location as they are deployed and then later moved back into inventory.
InfraLink enforces certain rules to maintain the integrity of Asset Location information:
Assets may be associated with, thus available to, one or multiple Contracts in InfraLink. InfraLink enforces restrictions on Contract-Asset associations:
The Contract association(s) controls Users’ visibility and access to the Asset based on User Permissions.
Assets have a workflow with a set of fixed statuses. The Asset Status is driven by the Asset Lifecycle parameters. (See Asset Lifecycle section.)
The condition of an Asset is tracked in accordance with the Government standard defined by Federal Acquisition Regulation 45.606-5. An asset may be in one of the following key conditions:
Asset Custom Fields are defined globally at the Instance level by the Administrator. Asset Custom Fields support a wide range of data types (e.g., text, numeric, date/time, file upload, etc.) and may include both optional and required data fields. Required data fields are always denoted with an asterisk (*). The Administrator may use Custom Field validation rules and default values, and Custom Fields may also have custom behaviors (e.g., hidden, read-only, optional, required) based on the Asset Status.
For Trackable Assets, Custom Fields can be assigned at the Type or Model levels. However, when a new Asset is entered into InfraLink, editing is permitted only within the Custom Fields set at the Type level.
Note: The values specified at the Asset Model level will not be copied to the individual Asset records. However, they will be displayed as read-only (unless hidden) on all Asset views, including grids, details, and create/edit forms, and they are available as filtering criteria.
For Consumable Assets, Custom Fields can only be configured at the Model level. This is because the Model of a Consumable Asset fully defines that Asset. There is no distinction between items or batches of a Consumable Asset.