Assets / Asset Portal

Asset Portal Application Overview

Note: All of the features of Asset Portal are available in the Assets, Enterprise Assets, and Telecom Assets applications, which offer console interfaces for easy data development and access. Most users will find it convenient to create and work with their asset inventory using the consoles available in Assets, Enterprise Assets, and Telecom Assets. For your convenience, these applications do contain the Asset Portal views. See Accessing the Asset Portal Views.

Note: Some of the Asset Portal telecom elements – such as cables, punch blocks, and positions--originated from the Archibus for Windows (Client/Server) Telecommunications & Cabling Management module are not used by the Telecom Console or the Assets, Enterprise Assets, and Telecom Assets applications; these use newer methodologies that do not require this data entry. Sites that need views into these elements will find them in the CAD/BIM Overlay application, which was designed for use with Windows Client/Server. However, beginning with V.25.1, you need to use a pre-V.25.1 version to work with these features. Beginning with V.25.1, Archibus Windows Client/Server compatibility is not supported.

Displaying the Asset Portal application on the Navigator

Beginning with Archibus V.23.2, the Navigator does not automatically display the Asset Portal application. Follow this procedure if you wish to display the Asset Portal application within the Assets domain:

Change the Asset Portal application from inactive to active:

  1. Log into Web Central using AFM.
  2. Navigate to System / Add In Manager
  3. Select View Applications
  4. Sort the grid on Application
  5. Select the Edit button for Application = AbAssetManagement Title= Asset Portal
  6. Change Active? to Yes and select the Save button

Assign the Asset Portal Processes to a user or role:

  1. Navigate to System / Archibus Administrator – User and Security
  2. Select Assign Processes to Roles or Users
  3. Select ACTIVITY LICENSEE
  4. Restrict the Available Applications and their Processes panel to Application Title = Asset Portal
  5. Select the check box in the title bar to select all rows in the Available Applications and their Processes panel
  6. Select the Assign button, answer Yes to the confirmation prompt
  7. Navigate to Assets / Asset Portal.

All processes for Asset Portal are now available to user AFM.

Overview

Having an accurate electronic inventory of your tagged furniture, office, and telecom equipment enables you to track and manage these assets, to calculate depreciation for them, and to integrate this asset data with your facility management data entered in other Archibus applications.

For example, having an accurate equipment inventory is an important part of the maintenance process. If users reporting problems can select from a complete and accurate list of equipment items, they will more quickly and accurately report their problems, and the system can more effectively route the problems to the appropriate approval and execution processes. Or, the assets you enter using the Asset Portal application can be included in moves you manage through the Moves application.

Using the Asset Portal application, you can create a tagged furniture and equipment inventory that includes the disposition of these items - the asset's location, division, department, and employee assignment. The inventory can also include insurance and warranty data, and the software that is used on your workstations or servers.

Once the inventory is developed, you can calculate depreciation for your tagged furniture and equipment, and generate reports to analyze and review your data.

The Asset Portal application enables you to document your furniture and equipment assets with alphanumeric database records only, or to represent your furniture and equipment assets in CAD drawings, and link these representations to database records to form asset symbols. See Getting Started with the Assets Domain for a discussion of when you might want to create a CAD inventory.

Typical workflow process

A typical workflow process for asset management includes the following steps.

  1. Determine the inventory type. Decide whether you want to document your furniture and equipment assets with alphanumeric database records only, or to represent your furniture and equipment assets in CAD drawings, and link these representations to database records to form asset symbols. See Getting Started with the Assets Domain for information to help you decide.
  2. Develop background data. Develop background data, such as locations and standards for your equipment and furniture, depending on the inventories you have decided to develop. Standards are optional, but help you track and update your assets. See Background Data: Process Overview.
  3. Create an equipment and telecom inventory. Create an equipment and telecom inventory. You can create either an alphanumeric inventory or an inventory that includes floor plan drawings. See Equipment Process Overview
    • Review and track your equipment using reports such as, Equipment by Department, Equipment by Rooms, Equipment by Warranty, the Equipment Standards Book, (if you have developed standards and assigned them to your equipment), or Equipment Plan (if you have drawn your equipment on CAD floor plans.) See Equipment Reports.
  4. Create a software inventory. Optionally, once you develop an inventory of your data equipment, you may want to document the software installed on each machine, as well as the software that each machine can access through the network. See Software Process Overview.
  5. Create a furniture inventory. Decide whether you want to develop a tagged furniture or furniture standards inventory. See Choosing a Furniture Inventory Method.
    • Create the furniture inventory working from either the Smart Client or Web Central. See Furniture Process Overview.
      • You can create a tagged furniture inventory from either Web Central or the Smart Client.
      • You create a furniture standards inventory from the Smart Client.
    • Generate the furniture standards Inventory reports, or tagged furniture reports to review, analyze, and print your data. You can review the count of furniture by standard to assess your inventory, or the count of standards by division and department to assess how you have allocated your furniture.
  6. Calculate depreciation. Once you develop an equipment or furniture inventory, you can add cost information and calculate depreciation for it using the Depreciation process. See Depreciation Process Overview.
  7. Use mobile app to maintain your inventory. Maintain your inventory over time as conditions change in the field. Users with the Asset & Equipment Survey mobile app can periodically survey their facility and update the inventory accordingly. For information, see Asset & Equipment Survey Mobile App and Manage Asset & Equipment Surveys task.