For practitioners
Standards and practice
We apply as much of each standard as the organisation needs and can keep up with, worked through one cooling water pump in a district heating plant.
How we use the standards
We work within ISO 55000, ISO 19650 and ISO/IEC 81346, and apply as much of each as the organisation needs and can keep up. A simpler structure that people maintain will serve operations better than a complete one that drifts out of date within a year.
Where each standard applies
The ISO 55000 series gives the reason for managing asset information at all; ISO 19650 covers how it is required and delivered, and ISO/IEC 81346 how the assets themselves are structured. Select a standard to see how we use it and what we usually leave out.
Worked example
Function, product and location
The object is a cooling water pump in a district heating plant. Its function aspect says what it does, the product aspect what it is, and the location aspect where it stands. Each aspect is its own structure, and they meet in the object.
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Reference designations use a prefix per aspect: = for function, a hyphen for product and + for location. Each level carries its own prefix, as in the base standard, so =HP1=WC2=GP1 reads as the pump function GP1 in cooling water circuit WC2 in heat production unit HP1.
A type describes a kind of product, and an occurrence is the place in the structure where that type is used. The functional location is the occurrence; the individual is the serial numbered unit installed there.
ISO/IEC 81346-10 gives classes for power systems. ISO/IEC 81346-12 covers construction works. For buildings in Sweden, CoClass builds on the same principles.
- =HP1Heat production 1
- =HP1=WC2Cooling water circuit 2
- =HP1=WC2=GP1Pump function
- =HP1=WC2=QM1Shut off valve
Function
=HP1=WC2=GP1
Location
+B2+R014
Product
Centrifugal pump, model CR 64, Serial no. 11 23 078
A new individual takes over the same functional position.
Mapping from KKS and other legacy tags
KKS and the new reference designations can run side by side for as long as needed; we only make the new structure master once it has been verified against the plant.
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We write the mapping rules down before any data is moved, and aim for each legacy tag to map to one reference designation.
Where one tag covers several objects, the tag is kept on the parent and the children get new designations. Where several tags describe one object, one is chosen and the others become aliases.
Legacy tags stay searchable as attributes, so history recorded under them is not lost.
- 01 Legacy only
- 02 Parallel designations
- 03 New structure as master, legacy kept as attribute
Linking documents to objects
We classify documents by main class per IEC 61355-1 and give them metadata per IEC 82045, so the P&ID, the data sheet and the maintenance instruction for the pump all point to the pump.
Ask for the information before the project starts
Organisational requirements drive the asset and project requirements, and those become the exchange requirements written into the tender documents. The contractor delivers against them, and we check the delivery before it is accepted.
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In Swedish procurement this means the information delivery requirements go into the förfrågningsunderlag as a deliverable with the same standing as the plant itself, with a named format, structure and verification method.
We recommend tying acceptance of the information delivery to the final payment milestone. It is the one point in the project where the contractor has a reason to finish the documentation.
Ownership of attributes
Each attribute should have exactly one source system and one owner. The values in the table are examples.
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Changes to the structure go through a change process, with the information owner approving.
We write quality rules per attribute and measure completeness, validity and the share of values verified in the field.
| Attribute | System of record | Owner role | Updated when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference designation | Maintenance system | Information manager | At structural change |
| Technical data | Maintenance system | Maintenance engineer | At replacement or modification |
| Condition | Maintenance system | Maintenance engineer | After inspection |
| Maintenance history | Maintenance system | Maintenance planner | At work order close |
| Drawings | Document management | Document controller | At approved revision |
| Location geometry | GIS | GIS coordinator | At as built handover |
What it costs and what it gives back
The cost is mostly people. A structure for one plant takes an information owner part time, a few field days for verification, and our team for the steps described below. The return shows up in four places. Decisions get sized on what is installed instead of on a safety margin. Stops get shorter because the search for the right drawing disappears. Project handovers get cheaper because the requirements are written down before tendering. And the questions that come with NIS2 and säkerhetsskydd get easier to answer, because the register already knows what is where and who may see it.
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We size the first pilot so the return can be measured on that plant alone, usually on search time in the maintenance organisation and on the share of records verified in the field.
One designation across your systems
The maintenance system is master for the structure. Every other system carries a copy of the designation and is synchronised one way, so a work order, a drawing and a GIS object all refer to the same pump.
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A separate structure register becomes worth having when an organisation runs several maintenance systems or heavy CAD and BIM flows. We decide that in the target state step, and the default is the maintenance system.
Hover, tap or tab to a system to see what it is master for.
Security and access
- ISO/IEC 27001
- NIS2
- CER
- Säkerhetsskyddslagen
A complete, linked description of a plant is as useful to an attacker as to the maintenance team. We classify the information attribute by attribute, set access by role, and keep the classification in the same register as the structure so it follows the object into every system. The classification is designed to fit ISO/IEC 27001, NIS2, CER and säkerhetsskyddslagen, and we involve the organisation's security function from the first step.
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Typical classes are open, internal, restricted and security protected. Location geometry, control system addresses and protection settings usually land in the two upper classes. Reference designations and function descriptions usually stay internal.
Engagement steps and deliverables
An engagement runs three to nine months, in the four steps described on How we work.
01
Shared picture
- Current state assessment
- Gap and cost estimate
Steering group checkpoint
02
Target state
- Structure principles
- Ownership model
- Information requirements
Steering group checkpoint
03
Implementation
- Pilot on one plant
- Field verification
- Rollout plan
Pilot
Steering group checkpoint
04
Lasting capability
- Trained owners
- Governance in operation
- Handover
Steering group checkpoint
What we need from you
A named information owner with a mandate from management. Access to the maintenance system, the document system and the drawings. Two to five field days on the pilot plant for verification. A steering group that meets at each checkpoint.
Questions we get
We are mapping how Swedish plant owners handle this today. Taking part takes fifteen minutes and everyone who does gets the results.