Is it best practice to assign a Work Order ALWAYS to EQ, or sometimes to FL?

[AartVoorrips]

We are configuring our SAP EAM assets in such a way that Equipments (EQ) always have a corresponding Functional Location (FL), so that we assign functional attributes to FL and physical attributes to EQ.

Question: is it advisable to assign Work Orders (for inspections, maintenance etc) always to the EQ, or maybe sometimes to the FL? My guess would be to the EQ (since you can always find the statistics over time on the FL, even when the EQ has been replaced, by seqrching for all current and hisotric EQ's on the FL). But I am interested in whether anyone has different views.

[memem]

Greetings,

I would say that it depends on in how much detail you want to monitor your processes. The more detail you want the more "deep" in the technical system you need to open your work order. It also depends on the actual process. For example:

- in preventive maintenance you can have regular check on the level of functional location - you would include all equipment that is installed in the functional location. If any breakdown is detected then you can open a breakdown order on the level of specific equipment

- in case of manufacturer prescribed maintenance you would need to plan preventive maintenance in the level of equipment if you do not want to have any warranty issues

- in case of breakdown maintenance it makes sense to open work orders on the level of equipment just so that maintenance personnel know exactly which piece of equipment if faulty

I would say that in general it is best to find balance between administrative overhead (the more work orders you have the more interaction your users will have with the system) and monitoring requirements. 

Bests regards, Matjaž.

[AartVoorrips]

Hi Matjaz, thank you for your suggestions, that helps! I am particularly interested in the level where we have (at a specific time) exactly 1 equipment for 1 Functional location. In that case the administrative overhead seems to be the same and it is probably best to relate the order to the EQ. But in case a FL is higher in the hierarchy and contains multiple EQ's, it can make sense to relate the order to the FP, so as to reduce the administrative load.