February 2020 Update: Sub-Assets, Sub-Locations, and More!

The MaintainX product team pushes out new features, improvements and bug fixes several times per day.

Our Release Notes Series will highlight all the improvements we’ve launched, so you can easily stay up-to-date on what’s new.

Take a look at what we launched in February: Sub-Assets, Sub-Locations, and more.

Release Notes is our regular update that highlights recent product improvements we’ve made so you can easily stay up to date on what’s new.

Sub-Assets and Sub-Locations Are LIVE on Desktop and Mobile!

We are excited to share our latest update with you – Sub-Assets and Sub-Locations. These have been frequently requested features, and we look forward to hearing your feedback on how we can make them even better. With every major release, our goal is to make these improvements feel natural and unobtrusive.

Sub-Assets and Sub-Locations are designed to make it easier to structure your Asset and Location hierarchy. This will help improve searchability, reporting, and assignment accuracy.

In short, Sub-Assets and Sub-Locations will allow you to:

• Assign Sub-Assets to Assets. Eliminate confusion as to which Sub-Asset goes with which Asset.
• Assign Sub-Locations to Locations. Eliminate confusion as to which Sub-Location pairs with which Location.
• Track and monitor reporting for Assets with more granularity – easily understand which components are causing the most issues.
• Track and monitor reporting for Locations with more granularity – easily understand which Sub-Locations are causing the most issues.

What is a Sub-Asset?

Wondering what you should classify as a Sub-Asset and when you should use them? This section will help explain the best practices for this component.

Let’s say your team has a Forklift and records it as an Asset. You can track any and all Work Orders on that Forklift exclusively to the Asset. If you look back over a period of time and your Forklift has 50 reactive Work Orders, it might be useful to break down which components are causing the most issues. If Sub-Assets are used, you might be able to quickly identify that the engine is the most frequent offender and can allocate your capital planning decisions to purchase a new engine or engine parts to keep the Asset from creating more downtime.

Here is how that setup would look from our Desktop View:

From the Asset tab, you can see existing Sub-Assets nested under each Asset.

Once you select Sub-Assets, you can view all Sub-Assets or create additional Sub-Assets. To modify existing Assets, you can edit them and add them to a Parent Asset.

Sub-Assets can be edited and treated just like Assets. Attach QR Codes or Barcodes, attach files, assign unique Asset Types, and even assign specific Teams to them.

What is a Sub-Location?

Wondering what you should classify as a Sub-Location and when you should use them? This section will help explain the best practices for this component.

Let’s say your team has a Production Line and records it as a Location. You can track any and all Work Orders at that Production Line exclusively to that Location. If it would be useful to have more granularity with your Locations, it might be useful to break down that Location into Sub-Locations. If Sub-Locations are used, you can build out more complex hierarchies within your organization. In the example shown below, we highlight how a Production Line might benefit from being divided into Workstations. Sub-locations might also be a useful way to organize an Apartment Complex or Hotel, with Sub-Locations being used for individual units or rooms. You will notice that Sub-Assets and Sub-Locations work similarly, so the mobile screenshots below can help illustrate how it works on Mobile.

From the Asset tab, you can select Locations. If you have already created Sub-Locations, you will see them directly under a Location.

Once you select Sub-Locations, you can view all Sub-Locations or create additional Sub-Locations. To modify existing Locations, you can edit them and add them to a Parent Location.

Sub-Locations can be edited and treated just like Locations. Attach files, and assign specific Teams to them.

What’s Next?

• Time and Cost Tracking – This widely requested feature will allow users to track the exact amount of time spent on a Work Order and if multiple users work on the same Work Order, they can add the exact amount of time they each spent independently. Cost tracking will also be available so that your management can see how much each work order costs from a time and parts standpoint.
• Reporting 2.0 – We are working on a significant improvement to our Reporting Module that will show your Organization’s data in a whole new light and Admins will be able to easily identify areas to improve. This module will provide a much more robust overview filled with insights across Assets, Procedures, User performance, and more! Stay Tuned!
• Offline Mode – Our team is working on releasing an offline mode that will allow you to complete Work Orders, Procedures, and more when your WiFi or Cell signal drops.
• Additional Surprises Coming! – We are working on quite a few special surprises that we will be releasing over the next few months. We can’t wait to share these with you once they go live.