Good morning and welcome to Maximo Bite Size, a podcast on the functionality of Maximo Manage. Today is the fifth episode in the series on Inventory and the third article discussing the features of the Item Master application.

In this episode we will focus on Rotating Items and how they affect assets, we call these rotating assets. A Rotating Item can also be referenced on a location, notice we try not to call these locationsA physical place where assets exist and where work can be performed. More, rotating locations.

A rotating item is used when you need to hold serialised assets in a storeroom. The term rotating is used because you track an asset when it is issued from a storeroom to an operating location, at some later date it is swapped out with another asset that references the same rotating item, and it is sent to a workshop to be repaired or refurbished. After repair the asset is tracked to the inventory bin where it waits to be issued again. The assets are referred to as rotating assets. The balance of the rotating item is controlled by the movement of rotating assets in and out of the storeroom.

A rotating item is an item where the checkbox – Rotating? – is set on the Item Master or Tools applications; a Service Item cannot be marked as rotating. If the item exists in any storeroom, then you will not be able to change an item to become rotating unless all the balances for the item are zero. Similarly, you will not be able to uncheck the Rotating field making the item a non-rotating item, unless all the balances for the item are zero. However, even if the balances are zero you may still find the Rotating field is read-only, that is because there is an additional check to ensure that the rotating item has not been referenced on an asset or location. An asset at Decommissioned state that references a rotating item is enough to mean that the Rotating field on the Item Master remains read-only.

The Rotating Item field exists on both a Location and an Asset. You can change the Rotating Item field on a Location by simply editing the field. Not so on the Assets application, the Rotating Item field is read-only after first save. You change the Rotating Item reference for an asset by using the Change Item Number action. You can also use this action for turning a rotating asset into a non-rotating asset by removing the rotating item reference or turning a non-rotating asset into a rotating asset by referencing a rotating item.

You use the – Add Items to Storeroom – action to add a rotating item to a storeroom, but in the dialog that opens the Current Balance field will be read-only and null. You cannot change the balance of a rotating item by adding a new inventory balance record; by making a Current Balance adjustment or a Physical Count adjustment, all the techniques used with non-rotating items. Incidentally, if you perform a Physical Count on a Rotating Item and find that the current balance is incorrect, then you will need to identify the missing assets and change their status to MISSING, a synonym of DECOMMISSIONED.

For rotating items, the current balance is modified by moving assets to the storeroom using the Move/Modify Assets action in the Assets application or using the Move/Swap/Modify action in the Work Order Tracking application. These actions can be used on multiple rotating assets. If you are starting out in Maximo you obviously need to generate the asset records first, which you can do with a data load or using the Application Import feature on the Assets application. You could create the first rotating asset and then duplicate it several times, which could work for a small number of assets.

You can also create asset records using an Asset TemplateA template for generating and updating similar assets. More. There is no Rotating Item field on the Asset Template, but it exists in the PLUSCTEMPLATE object and can be easily added into the user interface of the application. You will need to create a crossover domain to copy over the Rotating Item field and its Item Set Identifier and place it on the TEMPLATEID field of the asset. This will create rotating assets when the Generate New Assets action is used. Note. There is some conflicting functionality between using Asset Templates and Rotating Items which is probably why these fields were hidden in the Asset Templates application.

There is another way of creating rotating assets and that is by receiving a purchase order where a purchase order line references the rotating item. As part of the Receiving process, you will need to serialise the quantity received which creates the asset records. If the purchase order line was for a storeroom, then after asset serialisation the assets are moved from the holding location into the storeroom and the current balance is adjusted by the quantity received.

There is a set of functionalities associated with rotating items to be aware of:

Classifications – The classification and specification of a rotating item is used for the assets and locations that reference the rotating item. Make a change to a specification attribute on the rotating item and all the rotating assets and locations will be updated with the same value. Change the classification on a rotating item and the new classification will be used for all the referenced locations and rotating assets, which means that existing asset specification values will no longer exist. Perhaps you might not have noticed it before but the Classification on an asset that references a rotating item is read-only. When you use the Change Item Number action on an Asset, this is also changing the Classification and the Asset SpecificationThe Asset Specification is a set of attributes associated with the Asset Classification that describe the asset. More.

There are two hidden fields on the Asset Specification:

• Inherited from Item? – is set when the asset’s specification value was inherited from the item’s specification value.
• Item Specification Value Changed? – is set if you change the value of the attribute from that which is on the item’s specification.

If you update an Asset Specification value, then the field Item Specification Value Changed will be set and this tells Maximo not to update this attribute if it is changed on the Rotating Item’s Specification. If you create a new attribute, then both fields will be unchecked, as it has not been inherited from the Rotating Item’s Specification, then it cannot be updated from the Rotating Item.

There are also two hidden fields on the Item Specification:

• All Asset Specs Use Value
• All Location Specs Use Value

Both these fields are normally set to 1, and they are the default value for the Inherited from Item field on the Location and Asset Specification objects, this default value is used when the location or asset references the Rotating Item. If All Asset Specs Use Value is set to 0, then Inherited from Item on a new asset will also be set to 0 and this tells Maximo not to update this attribute if it is changed on the Rotating Item’s Specification.

What you need to remember about rotating assets is that the rotating item controls the rotating asset’s classification and specification. This is why you need to be careful when using an Asset Template to generate rotating items, in this case you should not use the classification and specification on the asset template, let it be derived from the rotating item.

Meter GroupA Meter Group is a set of meters and can include all three meter types. More – The MeterA Meter is an identifier for recording meter readings, measurements and observations on assets or locations. More Group on the Item Master application is only used in conjunction with a rotating item, for non-rotating items this field will be null and read-only. When a Meter Group is referenced on a Rotating Item, then it is copied to the asset or location when the asset or location references the rotating item, and this will then generate the meters that belong to the meter group. This is another potential conflict with an Asset Template which also allows you to reference a Meter Group and modify its Meters. Use one, but not the other, I think the Asset Template Meter Group is preferable as it allows you to set up the continuous type meters, so if you are using Asset Templates to generate rotating assets, then I wouldn’t use the Meter Group on the rotating item.

Item Image – When you reference a rotating item on an asset, if the rotating item has an image, then the image is copied and becomes the asset’s image. If you update the item’s image, then it is also updated on all the rotating assets that reference the rotating item. This also applies to tools and tool assets, however this is not the case for locations, if the location references a rotating item, the image on the location is not updated from that on the item.

Item Assembly Structures – The Item Master application allows you to construct an item hierarchy called an Item Assembly Structure. The IAS may consist of rotating items, and non-rotating items. To apply an IAS to an asset or a location, the asset or location must reference a rotating item. On an asset, the Apply Item Assembly Structure action will create subassemblies if the IAS references a rotating item and spare parts for the non-rotating items. For locations, the items in the IAS must be rotating items and this creates a location hierarchy below the location where the IAS is being applied. The IAS can be 3 or 4 levels deep, more than this, then it starts to become impractical, as there is no visual presentation of the item hierarchy in the Item Master application.

During the receiving process, for a purchase order line that references a rotating item, as part of asset serialisation, the Receive Rotating Items dialog has a button, Apply IAS, which can be used for each received asset.

Attach to Parent Asset on Issue – The Item Master field – Attach to Parent Asset on Issue – can only be used when the item is marked as Rotating. On the Assets application, when the – Issue Items From Storeroom – action is used, the selected asset will be added to the same location as the current asset, but it will also be added as a child asset to this asset if the Attach to Parent Asset on Issue is selected.

When you use the Issue Item action from the Inventory application or create an Inventory Usage record of type ISSUE you will need to reference both a location and an asset, as well as selecting the rotating asset, for the rotating asset to be added as a subassembly. The location is needed when you perform an issue of a rotating asset, this is because you are creating a financial transaction for the issue, a MATUSETRANS record, and an asset move transaction, an ASSETTRANS record. A rotating asset should either exist in a location (normally an operating location) or a storeroom.

Maximum Quantity – The Maximum Quantity field is normally used with non-rotating items, that are issued to rotating assets, for example software issued to a laptop. When set to 1:00 it will stop the item from being issued a second time to the same asset. On the Spare Parts table of an asset, the Issued Qty field records the quantity of an item issued to the asset, the quantity being issued is compared with the Maximum Quantity plus the quantity previously issued, and an error will be thrown if too many of an item are being issued.

If the Maximum Quantity is used with a rotating item, then it has no effect because the rotating asset being issued will become a subassembly of the asset where the item is issued, and not a spare part.

Job Plan Work Asset – A Rotating Item can be referenced on the Work Assets tab of a Job Plan. It performs two functions:

• The Select Value on the Job Plan field in the Work Order Tracking application will filter for Job Plans that reference the asset or location referenced on the work order, or if either is marked as rotating, then it will also find Job Plans that reference the rotating item as a work asset.
• In the Purchasing Details section of the Work Assets tab, the field – Create WO When Purchasing This Item – when set will create a work order for each rotating asset as part of the receiving process of a rotating item. This is used for inspection or installation/commissioning of the received asset. The field – Work Type of Created Work Order – sets the work type for these work orders.

Lot Items, Item Kits and Condition Enabled Items – These are the next three subject areas for the Inventory Podcast episodes, but which can be used with a Rotating Item?

When you mark an item as rotating, then the Lot Type will be set to NOLOT, and you will not be able to change this to LOT. Lot Items are those with a shelf life, consumables rather than assets or tools.

An Item Kit can only consist of items that are non-rotating, and they cannot contain lotted items or condition-enabled items. You’ll find the Kit field is read-only when an item is marked as rotating, and the Rotating field is read-only when the item is marked as a Kit.

This leaves us with Condition Enabled Items, can these be used with Rotating Items? Absolutely, and this is normal. A Condition Enabled Item is an item where the issue cost of that item differs according to its condition. Rotating Assets become worn, are repaired or refurbished. The issue cost of a refurbished item is likely to be different to one that is new. If you didn’t have lower issue costs for repaired or refurbished items, than one which was identical but new, then everyone would opt for the new item, and you’d have to ask yourself why you went to the effort and cost to have worn items repaired or refurbished.

Asset Issue Cost – The Issue Costs which are normally used are Average, Standard, LIFO or FIFO (Last In First Out, or First In First Out). For Rotating Items, when you use the action – Add Items to Storeroom – a fifth option will appear in the Issue Cost Type field – ASSET. When chosen each asset has an Inventory Cost and this is used to charge the work order, location or asset during an inventory issue, and once issued the Inventory Cost is reset to zero. The Inventory Cost on the Asset can be incremented when the Charge to Store feature of Maximo is used, and then these costs are recovered when it is next issued. This allows costs of repairs or refurbishment of rotating assets to be charged to inventory and then later recovered when it is issued again, this is part of the 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 Accounting functionality of Maximo. Using an Asset Issue Cost will accumulate repair and other costs on individual assets instead of being recoverable through an average costing method.

Capitalized Assets – Items can be capitalized, meaning that you are recovering the purchase cost of the items through depreciation. This makes sense for assets and setting the Capitalized field initially or through the Change Capitalized Status action will tend to be used when the item has been marked as Rotating.

Tools are a great example of this, as all tools in Maximo are capitalized and this cannot be changed. Tools are often set to be rotating and assets created for each tool. Tools are charged to work orders, locations or assets through an hourly rate. Hand tools which are kept by technicians and not returned to inventory except when the technician leaves employment, should be handled through a regular item, instead of a tool item.

Why are locations referenced against a rotating item?

There are two reasons why a location may be referenced against a rotating item.

An operating location that references a rotating item restricts the assets that can be held at the operating location to assets that also reference the same rotating item. If you try to move an asset with a different rotating item to an operating location, you will receive an error like – BMXAA0139E – Asset item FIRE-100 does not match location item PUMP100 and is not an alternate item. In this message both FIRE-100 and PUMP100 are the Rotating Item references. While the location is expecting an asset that is referencing the same rotating item, PUMP100 in this case, if that rotating item has an active alternate item, then an asset that references the alternate item can be placed at the operating location.

There is a second validation that is performed, the operating location can only have one asset that references the rotating item. If you try to move a second asset to the operating location, you will receive an error like – BMXAA0137E – Location BR430 is currently occupied by asset. However, you can issue a rotating asset from a storeroom to the operating location, so that you temporarily have two assets at the operating location, and then you can perform an asset swap, for example, to move the existing asset to a repair shop and replace it with the newly issued asset.

The second reason why locations reference a rotating item is because you want to be able to use the action Apply Item Assembly Structure. In this case all the items in the IAS must be marked as rotating, but when applied it creates a small hierarchy within the primary location hierarchy. This is very useful if the same small hierarchy exists many times, for example a small substation in an electric utility, there could be many of these across a region.

I hope you enjoyed this podcast and I look forward to seeing you back on the next episode when we will discuss Lot Items.

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Until another time, goodbye.