Last Updated on February 29, 2024 by maximosecrets

Asset Manager is a Maximo Mobile application which will also be found on the desktop in the Assets module and Role Based Applications. There may be some differences between the mobile application and the role-based application, and I aim to uncover those differences. Maximo Mobile aims to be an offline solution, the Role Based Application performs the same functions, but only works online from a browser.

This is the article on the Role-Based Application – Asset Manager and the screenshots have been taken with an iPad in landscape mode. The article will cover more details than the Maximo Mobile article for Asset Manager which will be focused on an end-user, for example, this article will also review the Object Structures and Queries that support the applications.

The Asset Manager application was first released in MAS 8.9 as a read-only application to view the asset details, similar functionality was being added into the Technician application. In MAS 8.10 there became the ability to create and edit assets as well as changing the status. In MAS 8.11 you can update the asset specification attributes, including classifying the asset while offline, view the assets on a map, and there is also support for attachments.

The environment I am using is MAS 8.11.0, Maximo Manage 8.7.2 and Maximo Mobile 8.11.0.

My Assets

When you first open the Asset Manager application you are presented with the results of a query called My Assets. In my case there is just a single record for asset 11470 – Centrifugal Pump 100 GPM, 60 FT-HD. Two things struck me immediately, there is no plus sign for creating assets, we’ll see later this is not currently performed from within the Asset Manager application. The second thing was that there is what looks to be a Map view, we’ll also explore the Map View a little later.

For each asset record there looks to be the ability to display an Image and the Service AddressA Service Address is a postal address and/or a record that positions a point on a map. More and a series of buttons below this, my guess from the icon’s, location or map details, meter readings and create an inspection. I will see whether I can add another record with an image and service address.

There is a search bar with the ability to scan for an asset, if the asset number has a barcode, or QR code. I’ll leave a test to see if the Asset Manager application finds assets using an NFC tag to a later date. You’ll only be able to search on the asset number, its description, or the service address, i.e. the fields which are visible.

Incidentally, to have the barcode scanner working on an iPad there is an addition which is needed to the System Property mxe.sec.header.Content_Security_Policy it requires the addition of “worker-src ‘self’ blob: ;“ (without double quotes) adding to the end of the current value.

The My Assets query is looking for assets from the users Default Insert SiteA structural element of a Maximo database that is used for data separation. More as defined in their Profile – Default Information. It is also restricting to records where the user has been defined in the Users and Custodians action and as a Custodian. It doesn’t matter whether they are marked as Primary or not, but being defined just as a User, then it won’t find the asset record.

I’ve added user WILSON to asset 11430 as a custodian and now I have two records in my list. 

From the previous screenshot the first button was enabled, but for asset 11430 it is disabled. Asset 11470 has a service address defined with latitude and longitude, Asset 11430 doesn’t have a service address or latitude/longitude references.

On asset 11470 the first button is enabled; it has a latitude/longitude as provided by a Service Address. When you press the button, it opens a map with the map position of the asset highlighted. We’ll investigate some of the mapping features later. The asset record’s details below the map are the same as was previously shown. 

As you can see, I tracked down what populates the Service Address field, it is the Formatted AddressThe Formatted Address is the address returned by a map provider when a location is found on a map. More – my text being an uninspired ‘this is a test’. This is the address which comes from a map integration, and it is the nearest address that the GIS provider can find to the map point. It is not the description for the service address which is shown when you are trying to add a service address to a record. If you do not create service addresses from Maximo Spatial integration but from within the application then you probably want to change this to the Service Address Description, this can be easily configured, however I have raised an IBM Idea (RFE) for this, and you can find the link at the bottom of this article.

There is a button to go back to the List view and a button to navigate to the Asset Details.

The second button shows the current meter readings and their meter reading dates. I’ve switched to asset 11430 because there are two meters, O-PRESSUR is a gauge type meter and RUNHOURS is continuous. The display is read-only. For the gauge meter there is nothing to indicate how close the measurement might be to the warning/action limits of its associated condition monitoring point, but then Maximo desktop doesn’t show this either.

Asset Details

When you open the Asset Details, you’ll find there is more than one page vertically, but it is all read-only. There is a pencil button at the top-right which will take you to the Edit Asset screen.

At the top is the Description and the Asset Number, the long description is not displayed, perhaps it is on the Edit Asset screen. I did raise an IBM Idea (RFE) to display both the asset and location long descriptions from a button and you can find the link at the bottom of this article.

Below this are two buttons. The first is the asset’s up/down status which shows Up. It couldn’t be activated to change the status to Down, so perhaps not a button. The second button is the asset status, currently showing Operating, and this is a button, and you can change the status when you activate it.

Below this are two fields with an icon to their left. The top one is a reference to the Parent Asset including its description. Below this is the Service Address, in this case a concatenation of Street Address, Address Line 2, Address Line 3, City, Region/District, Country, State, and Zip/Postal Code. To the right is the image which if you double-click will open the image full size with the ability to zoom in or zoom out.

The next section of fields has two columns. On the left is the Classification Hierarchy, the Location and its Description, the Vendor and the vendor’s name, the Manufacturer, and its name. The second column has the fields Serial Number, Feature Class (this would be populated for a Spatial integrated asset), Failure ClassA Failure Class is the top-level Failure Code of a Failure Hierarchy. More and its description, and the Asset TypeThe Asset Type is used for grouping assets and is used in the Health application of the Maximo Application Suite. More and its description. 

Below this are two buttons the first of which launches the same meter reading dialog as we saw earlier. The second, a button the looks as if it will create a record, which I couldn’t get to activate, I’ve raised an IBM Support case for this. Incidentally, on the mobile application there is a third button which looks as if it sets the current location of the device as the latitude/longitude for the asset. 

When you press the status button a panel opens from the left, called a sliding drawer, and this shows the statuses which you could change the asset to. I did check this by changing status to ACTIVE and it writes a status history record. In case you were wondering this screenshot was taken when the status was OPERATING, and this is absent from the list of statuses. 

At the bottom of the Asset Details screen is a place to enter attachments, you can see that I have already entered one. We’ll discuss the process for adding attachments in the next section.

There is also the Asset SpecificationThe Asset Specification is a set of attributes associated with the Asset Classification that describe the asset. More with the ability to change the values using the Pencil button. There is just a single column for the attribute values and not separate ones for ALN, Numeric, Table and the relatively new Date attribute. Below the attribute value is the unit of measure.

The Edit Specifications sliding drawer allows you to modify the specification values. There is no support yet for Domain lookups, and I’ve raised an IBM Idea (RFE) for this. There is also an issue with Date attributes, the value you enter is added to the ALN Value and not the Date field, and an IBM Support case has been raised for this.

Incidentally, numeric attributes are center justified and alphanumeric attributes are left justified in the Edit Specifications side panel. When you have finished making your changes you use the blue button at the top.

Attachments

When you go to enter an attachment there is a button (+) with options to attach a file from the devices Photo Library, Take Photo or Video, or Choose Files. I opted for the second option, to take a photo.

The camera opened and I took a photo of some notes I had made in my notebook, for the next set of articles on the Role Based Applications.  After taking the photo you have two options Use Photo or Retake.

You will be asked to provide a File Name and a Description for the image. I entered Notes as the File Name, and as a description ‘Some notes about upcoming MaximoSecrets topics.’. You use the button at the top to save what you entered, and you will receive a blue background message ‘Attachment Added’.

After the dialog closed there was now one attachment record, with a thumbnail image on the right. You can click the thumbnail image and it will open full size with the ability to zoom in and out. The plus button at the top allows for multiple attachments to be added.

On the left is a button which deletes the file with a blue background information message which disappeared before I had time to read it. After a few repeats of this, there is an option to undo the deletion and the information message provides the name and description of the file being deleted.

After taking the photo using the option Take Photo or Video, I discovered that the photo had not been saved to the devices Photo Library. If you wish to save an image of the photo on the device then use the camera first and then the option Photo Library.

I tried attaching a file from the Photo Library, and it was a matter of selecting and using the Add button, very simple.

Edit Asset

You navigate to the Edit Asset screen from the Pencil button at the top right of the Asset Details. At the top is the Asset’s Description and Long Description field. It looks as if the long description is being restricted to 200 characters. I did do a test of this by entering a longer description in the desktop Assets application and the long description was indeed truncated at 200 characters. Note. Rich Text Formatting will not be displayed, and you will get the HTML tags which reduces the amount of real text that can be displayed.

Below this is the Asset Number, which cannot be changed, and Serial Number with the ability to scan the value.

Below the Serial Number are fields for the Asset Type, Vendor, Manufacturer and Parent Asset.

There is no search on the Asset Type lookup, and it is not sorted alphabetically. If you have a lot of asset types, then finding the right one could be a little problematic. I raised an IBM Support case for this as it looks like an oversight, all other fields have a search bar.

The Vendor and Manufacturer lookups both have a Search bar, and the lookups are restricted by Company Type, ‘V’ for Vendors and ‘M’ for Manufacturers.

The Parent lookup also has a Search bar, and it shows as columns the asset number, description, and location. Scanning is also possible. Only assets that are not DECOMMISSIONED or a synonym are shown. Searching by the same location would be useful as assets in a hierarchy often exist at the same location.

Further down still (not shown) in the section called Classifications are two fields, Failure Class, and Classification. The Failure Class has a lookup with search bar. The Classification has a classification drilldown. If you change the classification the attributes are changed. I did notice that you could change the classification of a rotating item which isn’t allowed in the desktop Assets application, so I raised an IBM Support case for this.

At the very bottom of the Edit Asset screen is the Locations section with the one field showing the Location. It would also be useful to show the Location’s Description and Long Description. The Location field can be modified and there are two options to Scan or Search. The Search is only showing locationsA physical place where assets exist and where work can be performed. More at a status of OPERATING or a synonym, so it would show locations at ACTIVE status but not at NOT READY or DECOMMISSIONED. There is a further filter to exclude locations of type LABOR or COURIER, which are the transit locations used with moving assets between sites.

You’ll find later that the Create Assets screen has the same fields. There is no ability to set, change or view the Priority, Installation Date, Estimated EOL (end of life), or to create a tag number. There is no reference to the Rotating Item, so you do not know whether the asset is a rotating asset or not, or whether it is a tool asset. The two fields Asset Department and Model Number which were part of Calibration (now part of MAS) have often been configured onto the Assets application in my experience and these would also be useful when creating the asset.

Map View

When you click the map button at the top of the My Assets screen, it loads a map showing your current location as a green dot. I’m in Twickenham, London, and the river Thames is about 0.5km away. There are no assets displayed on the map because there was only one with a latitude/longitude and that was somewhere near Tampa, Florida. The list of assets which belong to the My Assets query are shown in the bottom panel with a search bar.

The black hamburger button (top right) is a map tools button.

I changed the query at the top to Assets Created by Me, there are a lot more records which the user WILSON created, but unsurprisingly none around the Twickenham area.

I’ve opened the Map Tools button and there are five options, Layers, My Location, Identify, Query, and Results. There is also the ability to Create Asset by clicking on the map until you get a blue circle, then click and briefly hold (a long press), and the menu with Create Asset action will appear, this also works on the desktop version of the application. Note, you should zoom in first before clicking to get the blue circle as that will give you much greater precision to where you are creating the asset.

A dialog will open to allow you to create an asset, I’ll describe that in the next section.

After you have created the asset, you can find it by changing the query to Assets Created By Me, it would not appear in the My Assets query because you do not have the ability to set Users and Custodians for the newly created asset. The colour indicates the status of the asset, yellow is NOT READY which is the default status for a new asset.

If you click the asset, it changes colour to blue and the table below the Search record list will jump to the asset, and you can navigate into the asset and change its status. For Operating status or one of its synonyms you will find the colour changes to green and for Decommissioned or a synonym it will be red. If there are multiple assets at the same point the symbol colour will be black.

The Layers button has a few options, this may be different depending on whether you have Maximo Spatial installed, and it may look different if you have Spatial configured. I do have Maximo Spatial installed, but there has been no configuration.

The BaseMap option shows the map. I can’t imagine you would ever turn this off as otherwise you will just get a series of symbols showing each asset. 

The Assets option shows the assets on the map, again I can’t image that you would ever turn this off. The chevron button to its left shows the symbology of the asset symbols, the colour coding depending on status.

The Device Position toggles off the display of the green dot indicating your current position. The chevron button shows the symbology.

I did manage to perform a query with the fourth tools button and see the results of the query in the fifth tools button, but to demostrate this I need access to a system with a lot more asset records.

Create Assets

The Create Assets button will be found on the Mobile Applications page, the plus button at the top right. This will launch the Create Assets page. 

I wondered why you need to navigate here to create an asset, and my guess is that there will eventually be a menu of different records that you can create from this button, perhaps Create Service Request and/or Create Work Order. Hopefully there will be an option to create assets from within the Asset Manager application, so that several assets can be created easily. Note. When I checked the mobile application, I found there are four options for Create work order, Create Service Request, Create Inspection and Create Asset.

The Create Assets page starts with fields for you to enter the short and long description, a 200-character limit for a long description might not be enough for many. The short description has a 100-character limit which aligns with the ALN 100 defined for the attribute in Database Configuration.

In the details section is the Asset Number, a mandatory field indicated by the blue dot, when a value is entered the Save button at the top right will be activated. You cannot allow Maximo to create an asset record applying an autokeyed value. I think this would be needed by several clients, so I have created an IBM Idea (RFE) for this.

There are other fields for Serial Number, Asset Type, Vendor, Manufacturer and Parent. Apart from Serial Number these fields all have a simple lookup allowing you to at least search by the description. The exception is Asset Type which has no search, and I raised an IBM Support case for this. The parent lookup allows you to filter by location, often the parent and child assets are at the same operating location.

In the section on Classifications, you can select a Failure Class and a Classification. The Classification field is set read-only but you can select a classification by using the button to the fields right.

The Classification select button does allow you to navigate down the Classification Hierarchy. At the first level I picked PUMP and the screenshot shows the child classifications of CNTRFGL, RECPRCTN and ROTARY. As you navigate, the buttons will just be an arrow if you can navigate down another level, for the 3 records found they are all at the bottom of the classification hierarchy and the button shown is different. 

There is no Classification Description and I’ve raised an IBM Support case for this. After you have selected a classification and before you save you cannot clear the classification field and I’ve also raised an IBM Support case for this.

At the very bottom of the Create Asset page you can select the location, there are options to scan or search. The lookup shows the location, description and location type and there is a search bar. When you have filled out all the fields you use the Save button and the new asset record is created. This will take you to the Edit Asset screen, which is where you can add an attachment, for example a photo, and fill out the Specification.

The advantage of creating an asset via the map is that it will automatically have a latitude/longitude setting which will not be the case when using the (+) button on the main application page. You will need to set the location using the button which looks as if it is only active from the Maximo Mobile application and not when using a browser. 

A tip – if you change your query to Assets created by me before creating the asset, then when the asset is created and you go back to the list of assets, then you will find the asset you just created, if the query is My Assets, then it will disappear as you are not the custodian of the asset.

There were a few things that you can’t yet do when creating assets:

• There is no rotating item field, so no ability to create a rotating asset.
• No ability to add a photo of the asset as the asset’s image
• No ability to create a Service Request or Work Order
• No ability to enter a user, custodian, or person group.
• No ability to create a Service Address and associate with the asset.
• No Asset Auditing functionality where the purpose is to check whether you can find the assets that are supposed to be at a location. 

I’ve added the first three as IBM Ideas (RFE). If you feel strongly about the others, then I will leave that to you to create the idea.

Enhancement Ideas

While writing this article it became apparent that some information that is useful during asset creation or modification has not been included yet in the application, and I have raised some IBM Ideas for these:

Option on which field derives the Service Address description.

When there is Maximo Spatial then the Formatted Address will be derived from ESRI as part of Service Address integration. If you are not using Maximo Spatial and entering service addresses in the Service Address application, then it is more likely that the Service Address Description is used, and the Formatted Address may be blank. The Service Address Description is the description field used in Select Value lookups. Therefore, there should be an option to say which field should be used to derive the Service Address description either Description or Formatted Address.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-430

Display Asset and Location Long Descriptions

The Asset and Location Long Descriptions regularly contain extra information about the asset or location that isn’t contained in the Specifications. This should be viewable (not updateable) from a button below the asset record with the display showing two tabs Asset Long Description and Location Long Description. The Edit button is useful for entering or modifying the Asset long description, but this may be restricted as to who can update.

The Location Long Description can provide instructions on how to find the location, including contact details or warnings of hazards. It can also contain information about the top-level asset when viewing a record which is a component of the asset, as they tend to share the same location reference.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-431

Domain Lookups for Specification Attributes

When you have gone to the effort of setting up domain values for attributes where there should be a restricted set of values, then you want that also to appear on your mobile application. Date fields should also have a date lookup.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-432

Create a Rotating AssetA Rotating Asset is an asset that is tracked between operating locations, repair workshops, and can be added to a storeroom ready to be issued again. More

When you create an asset, you may wish to identify it as belonging to a rotating item, i.e. the ability to create a rotating asset. This will most often be used when creating the assets for a storeroom, a quantity already exists but you must create the assets first before you can move them into the storeroom. It would also be used when creating tool records, or in pharmaceutical environments for creating assets that need to be calibrated or are Measurement or Test Equipment, these are often marked as rotating assets.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-436

Add an Image

When you are creating an asset or modifying an existing asset there should be the ability to add a photo so that it becomes the image of the asset. It helps the technician to validate they are at the right asset. The photo could be a picture of the name plate.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-437

Create asset using the Autokey

When you are using the Create Asset action you should be able to leave the Asset Number blank so that when the asset is created it uses the autokey value. The Inventory Receiving mobile application supports this. If there are multiple people creating assets, then obtaining an asset number that is unique when it is saved to the database could be problematic.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-438

Additional fields for Creation/Modification of asset

When creating or updating an asset there are a few fields which are commonly used which should be considered for inclusion in the Create Asset and Edit Asset screens. These include Priority, Installation Date, Tag Number, Asset Department and Model Number. The Asset Department and Model Number are Calibration fields, but they are commonly added as custom fields, no need now that Calibration is part of MAS. The Tag Number although hidden in desktop Maximo is often used as the number on the asset tag used with scanning.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-439

Create Service Request or Work Order

There should be the ability to Create a Service Request or Create a Work Order when a technician is creating an asset or when an asset is being reviewed as part of another activity or as part of an asset audit. It could be a nearby asset that is not in the context of a work order being performed and so wouldn’t be linked to any work order.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-440

Display Classification Descriptions

When finding the classification to add to an asset the classification description should be displayed with the classification code. A numeric classification hierarchy cannot be currently traversed you need a description.

A coding structure for a global system would only work if everyone could understand and interpret the codes in a single language (likely English). Ideally for global clients they would want users to be able to see the classification description originating from a language table.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-465

Asset Type lookup should have a search function

In the Asset Manager role-based application and the Edit Asset screen, the Asset Type has a lookup, but it has no Search capability, all the other fields on the screen do have a search bar. This looks to be an oversight. 

Asset Type while a domain, there can be quite a lot of records with some clients having >50 records, this would be common. There is no sort, therefore a search should be normal, and a natural thing to expect.

https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-479

Object Structures

This section explains the Object Structures and Queries that are being used in the Asset Manager application.

My Assets

The Asset Object Structure is MXAPIASSET and the query is MOBILEMYASSET with a Query Clause of siteid = (select defsite from maxuser where userid =:USER) and exists (select 1 from assetusercust where ((personid = (select personid from maxuser where userid=:USER)) and (assetnum=asset.assetnum and siteid=asset.siteid and iscustodian=1)))

Returns assets from the default insert site of the user and where the user is referenced as a custodian.

Assets Created by Me

The Asset Object Structure is MXAPIASSET and the query is CREATEDLOCALLY with a Query Clause of (siteid = (select defsite from maxuser where userid =:USER) and changeby=:USER and changedate > sysdate-30)

Returns assets from the default insert site of the user where the user was the last to modify the record and this occurred in the last 30 days.