About Assets

In Oracle Utilities Customer To Meter, an asset is any operational device used in a metering system, such as a smart meter, analog meter, communication component, or communication relay.

The status and location of assets are carefully monitored and recorded as they move in and out of service or go for maintenance or repair. This type of asset will be tracked at a location with a disposition such as in receipt, in stores, in repair, retired or rejected. If the tracked asset is installed, or put in service, it will be related to an asset location. Tracked assets utilize more statuses and a status reason to more carefully track the asset as it moves from receipt to retirement.

Assets are defined by the following:

Asset Type: The asset type on which the asset is based.
Status: The current status of the asset (In Receipt, In Stores, Installed, In Repair, Retired, Rejected, or Pending Disposition)
Device: The device associated with the asset. When assets are created (either manually or through asset replication), a corresponding device is created (see Assets and Devices below for more information).
Specification: The asset’s specification. This is used to determine the template device used when creating devices based on the asset or its asset type.
Identification: Identifiers (such as Badge Number or Serial Number) and other information used to identify the asset
Settings: Firmware and configuration settings used with smart meter assets
Asset Disposition Detail: Details regarding the disposition and location of the asset.

Note: The Asset portal may display information beyond that described here that is not used with Oracle Utilities Customer To Meter.

Components

Components are devices or other objects that are attached to another device, usually an asset.

One of the most common examples of components are the electronic reading devices (ERTs) that are often attached to analog meters. However, a component can be any asset attached to another asset.

Example of components in Oracle Utilities Customer To Meter include:

Communication Relays: Communication relays transmit messages between various points to facilitate communication between units. These typically use the same fields and statuses as meters.
Communication Components: Communication components are devices that can be attached to an analog meter to connect the meter to the “smart” communication grid. These use the same fields and statuses as smart meters with the exception that they are never installed directly at a location, but are instead attached to another asset.

Since they are always attached to another device, components cannot be installed at a location. However, they may be received, tracked, maintained and inspected like any other device. Given this, activities and work orders can be created to perform these tasks on components.

Detaching components involves either moving the component to a new asset or transferring to a storeroom. The process within the system is to search for and select the component and then "detach" it from the asset where it currently resides.

Asset Hierarchy

Assets typically exist within a structured relationship based on the relationship between the asset and its locations and organizations, or “nodes”. The hierarchy is represented in a nested format on the Tree View tab on the Asset portal. This view displays which assets are in a location, which assets are attached to other assets, and where assets belong within organizations. Clicking the broadcast icon next to any element within the tree displays a list of assets and components related to that element in the hierarchy. Clicking the actual link for an element navigates to the associated record for the element.

Assets and Devices

When assets are created (or replicated) in Oracle Utilities Meter To Customer, a related device is created. The way in which the device is created is based on the configuration of the asset, its asset type, and its specification.

For assets with specifications that include Configuration Mapping details, the type of device created is based on the template device identified in the Configuration Mapping section of the specification referenced on the asset or associated with the asset type.
For assets that have no template device configured, the type of device created is based on the asset type of the asset and the Value Mappings defined for the “Asset Type/Device Type” value of the ODM-MDM Mapping Field Values extendable lookup.

Device identifiers for devices created via an asset can not be changed in the Device portal. These identifiers must be changed in the Asset portal.

Note: If an asset is deleted, its related device is also deleted.

Asset Status and Disposition

An asset’s Status defines it’s current state in the system (In Receipt, In Stores, Installed, In Repair, Retired, Rejected, or Pending Disposition).

An asset’s Disposition indicates where the asset is and what is being done to the asset. This includes its status and location, as well as the date/time at which the asset was moved to its current location. In the case of components, disposition is also used to track the assets to which a component is attached.

The Mass Asset Disposition Update portal can be used for moving many assets of the same type from one location to another location.

The disposition of assets with related devices is updated to “Installed” when their related device is installed at a service point. The update to the device’s install event triggers the update to the asset disposition, changing its Status and Asset Disposition to “Installed” and its Location to the service point with an effective date matching the install event’s Installation Date/Time.

Pre-Assembled Meters

Assets received with communication modules already attached are known as “pre-assembled meters”. When a pre-assembled meter asset is installed at a service point, the attachment date and time of the equipment, which is effectively the device installation date and time, will not be reflected on the asset component. This means that the asset component retains the original attachment date time upon its receipt and storage. Subsequent online user actions such as updating the attachment date and time deleting equipment deletion from the device (undo attachment), are also not reflected on the asset component.

However, removing the meter from the service point is considered the same as detaching equipment and is are reflected on the asset component, regardless of whether the equipment is physically detached from the meter in the field or not. Recording the equipment detachment in this manner is done to support potential equipment reuse on a replacement meter.