TECHNICAL OBJECTS (CS-BD/PM-EQM)

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
1 Technical Objects (CS-BD/PM-EQM)
1.1 Equipment (CS-BD/PM-EQM-FL)
1.2 Functional Locations (CS-BD/PM-EQM-FL)
1.3 Configuration Control
1.4 Object Networking (CS-BD/PM-EQM-ON)
1.5 Maintenance Bills of Material (CS-BD/PM-EQM-BM)
1.6 Additional Functions
1.6.1 Measuring Points and Counters (CS-IB-MC / PM-EQM-SF-MPC)
1.6.2 Warranties (CS-AG-WA/PM-EQM-SF)
1.6.3 Permits (CS-SE/PM-EQM-SF)

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 Technical Objects (CS-BD/PM-EQM)

Purpose
If DP-supported maintenance is to be set up properly at a company, it is necessary to structure the existing technical systems on the
basis of technical objects.
Advantages of structuring:
● The time required for managing the technical objects is reduced.
● Maintenance processing is simplified.
● The time spent entering data during maintenance processing is reduced considerably.
● More specific, thorough and faster evaluation of maintenance data.

When displaying and editing technical objects, you can use preconfigured side panels to display context-sensitive data and charts,
call Web services, or visualize the objects in the SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Viewer.
For more information and prerequisites, see Working with Side Panels in Plant Maintenance.

Implementation Considerations
You should allow sufficient time for planning the structure. Weigh up all the pros and cons for your company that each structuring
approach will bring. Note that it takes longer to restructure objects later than it does to structure them in the first place.

Before you start representing technical objects in the system, it is imperative that you read the corresponding texts in the
Implementation Guide (IMG).

Integration
Structuring your systems forms the basis for implementing the application components Plant Maintenance (PM) and Customer Service
(CS).

Features
Before you begin representing technical objects in the system, you should be aware of the organization of maintenance planning within
your company. You should focus primarily on the structure of the entire company. This involves defining correctly the maintenance
plants and maintenance planning plants in your system.

Maintenance Plant
The maintenance plant of a technical object is the plant at which it is installed.

Clarification plant C1 is located in plant 0001. Plant 0001 is therefore the maintenance plant of the clarification plant C1.

Maintenance Planning Plant

The maintenance planning plant of a technical object is the plant in which the maintenance tasks for the object are planned and
prepared. Maintenance planner groups work at the maintenance planning plant to plan and prepare the maintenance tasks for the plants
that are assigned to the maintenance planning plant. The following activities are performed at the maintenance planning plant:
● Definition of task lists
● Material planning based on bills of material in task lists and orders
● Management and scheduling of maintenance plans
● Creation of maintenance notifications
● Execution of maintenance orders

The maintenance plant of the clarification plant C1 is the plant 0001. The plant 0001 does not perform its own maintenance planning.
It is assigned to plant 0002, in which a maintenance planner group works, and that, for this reason, is indicated in the system as being
a maintenance plant. The maintenance planner group in plant 0002 plans for the plants 0001 and 0002.

The maintenance plant for the clarification plant C1 is therefore the plant 0002.
The way in which you represent the organization of maintenance planning in your company depends on the structure of the entire
company. You have three options:
● Centralized Maintenance Planning
● Decentralized Maintenance Planning
● Partially Centralized Maintenance Planning

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 Centralized Maintenance Planning
With centralized maintenance planning, you can have the following combinations of plants:
A The company comprises only one plant, that is both maintenance plant and maintenance planning plant for all the technical objects.
B The company has several maintenance plants, however only one plant in which maintenance planning is performed. The plant in which maintenance
planning is performed is indicated in the system as the maintenance planning plant. All other plants are assigned to this plant as maintenance plants, for
which the maintenance tasks must be planned in the maintenance planning plant.

0001, 0002, 0003

Plants:

Maintenance plants: 0001, 0002, 0003

Maintenance planning plant: 0001
Plants assigned to the maintenance planning plant:
Assigned plants: 0002, 0003

Decentralized Maintenance Planning

The company comprises several maintenance plants. Each plant performs its own maintenance planning. In this case, all the plants in
the system are indicated as maintenance planning plants.

0001, 0002, 0003

Plants:

Maintenance plants: 0001, 0002, 0003

Maintenance planning plants: 0001, 0002, 0003

Partially Centralized Maintenance Planning

The company comprises several maintenance plants. Some of the maintenance plants perform their own maintenance planning, others
do not. The plants without their own maintenance planning are assigned to maintenance planning plants in which planning is also
performed for them, whilst the plants in which maintenance planning is performed are indicated in the system as being maintenance
planning plants.

0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005

Plants:

Maintenance plants: 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005

Maintenance planning plants: 0001, 0004
Plants assigned to the maintenance planning plant 0001
Assigned plants: 0002, 0003
Plants assigned to the maintenance planning plant 0004
Assigned plants: 0005

Once you have represented the organizational structure of your company, you can choose between three different options for
representing technical objects:
● Functional structuring (only functional locations)
● Object-related structuring (only equipment)
● Combination (equipment at functional locations)

Functional Structuring
With this type of structuring, you subdivide your technical system into functional locations. For example, when you subdivide a
production line into functional locations, you can represent the individual function units as functional locations in the system.
If you use functional locations when structuring your technical system, you can also take into account the process-oriented or spatial
structure of the system.
For more information, see Functional Location and Reference Functional Location.

Object-Related Structuring
With this type of structuring, you subdivide your technical system into pieces of equipment. A piece of equipment is an individual,
physical object that is to be maintained independently, and that can be installed in a technical system or part of a technical system.

Combination
You can combine object-related structuring using pieces of equipment with functional structuring using functional locations. In this case,
the pieces of equipment are installed at functional locations (installation/dismantling of individual objects at a functional location).

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 ● The functional location represents the site where the technical tasks are performed.
● The piece of equipment represents the object with which the technical tasks are performed.
Within the framework of a damage analysis, you will then be able to recognize, for example, whether or not damage occurring
repeatedly is linked to the usage site, or is specific to the objects made by a particular manufacturer.
For more information, see:
Equipment
Hierarchical Equipment Structure
Equipment at Functional Locations

Structuring From a Technical and/or Accounting Perspective

When you perform structuring from a technical perspective, you assign the technical objects of the system to particular object classes
(equipment, functional location and assembly classes).
You can use this type of structuring in addition to structuring from a functional and/or object-related perspective.
For more information, see Classification of Technical Objects.

When you perform structuring from an accounting perspective, you assign the system and its technical objects to certain cost centers
or tangible assets.
You can use this type of structuring in addition to structuring from a functional and/or object-related perspective.
For more information, see Equipment as Units of Tangible Assets.

1.1 Equipment (CS-BD/PM-EQM-FL)

Purpose
A piece of equipment is an individual object that is to be maintained independently. Each piece of equipment is managed independently in the system, so that
you can:
Manage individual data from a maintenance perspective for the object
Perform individual maintenance tasks for the object
Keep a record of the maintenance tasks performed for the object
Collect and evaluate data over a long period of time for the object
Pieces of equipment can be installed and dismantled at functional locations. The usage times for a piece of equipment at a functional location are documented
over the course of time.

Implementation Considerations
You should always create an equipment master record for a technical object if:
Individual data is to be managed for the object (for example, year of construction, warranty period, usage sites)
Maintenance tasks are to be performed for the object, either regular, planned or resulting from damage
A record of the maintenance tasks performed for the object must be kept (for example, for insurance or compulsory annual inspection purposes)
Technical data on the object is to be collected and evaluated over a long period of time
The costs of maintenance tasks are to be monitored for the object
Records of usage times at functional locations are required for the object

Integration
You can use pieces of equipment by themselves (pure object-related structuring), or in combination with the component Functional locations (function and object-
related structuring).
You can create warranties in the system using the Customer Service (CS) application component.
You can also use pieces of equipment in the following application areas:
Production Planning and Control (PP):
Production resources/tools
Quality Management (QM):
Test equipment
Materials Management (MM): Serialized material
Sales and Distribution (SD):
Customer devices

1.2 Functional Locations (CS-BD/PM-EQM-FL)

Purpose
Functional locations are elements of a technical structure (for example, functional units within a system). You create functional locations hierarchically, and can
also structure them based on the following criteria:
Functional
Process-related
Spatial

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 Each functional location is managed independently in the system, so that you can:
Manage individual data from a maintenance perspective for the object
Perform individual maintenance tasks for the object
Keep a record of the maintenance tasks performed for the object
Collect and evaluate data over a long period of time for the object

Implementation Considerations
You implement this component if:
You want to represent systems or operational structures within your company according to functionality
Maintenance tasks (in the broadest sense) are to be performed for the individual areas of your system or operational structure
Records are to be kept of the maintenance tasks that are performed for the individual areas of your system or operational structure
Technical data is to collected and evaluated over long periods of time for the individual areas of your system or operational structure
The costs of maintenance tasks are to be monitored for the individual areas of your system or operational structure
You want to perform analyses on the influence of usage conditions on the damage susceptibility of the pieces of equipment installed
You require different views of a location structure (for example, a technical procedure view and a measurement/control technique view).

Refer to

Reference Functional Location and Functional Location, before you start representing functional locations and reference functional locations in the system.

Integration
Pieces of equipment can be installed and dismantled at functional locations. The usage times for a piece of equipment at a functional location are documented
over the course of time. If you want to use pieces of equipment, you need to implement the component Equipment.

Features
The hierarchical structure of the functional location enables you to maintain centrally data that is on higher levels for all levels located below (hierarchical data
transfer).

For more information on hierarchical data transfer, see

Data Transfer.
You can also work with reference functional locations within this component. When doing this, you only have to define each specific type of data once. The
reference location provides the corresponding locations located horizontally with the type-specific data (horizontal data transfer).
You can display the objects of the entire technical system using various structure views.
You can create functional locations and reference locations much quicker using list editing, than by creating them individually.
You can assign several labels to each functional location. You define the label that you work with the most as the primary label and all others as alternative
labels. You use this function if different views of functional locations structures are required.

Certain users then identify a functional location in the technical procedure view or labeling system 1 using label A, while other users identify the same
functional location in their measurement/control technique view or labeling system 2 using label B.

1.3 Configuration Control

Purpose
One of the top priorities of our customers is being able to ensure the safe condition of their assets and technical objects at all times. In
the maintenance process, maintenance technicians and technical planners work with objects that are characterized by extremely
complex product structures. The Configuration Control component allows configuration checks for these very diverse products. One of
the aims is to provide the roles involved in the maintenance process with information on valid parts. The whole product structure can
also be validated. The asset or a part of the asset must have a valid configuration when it is released for operation.
At present, the functions integrated in the Configuration Control component are mainly affected by the numerous maintenance activities
that are performed during the operation of an asset (for example, for an aircraft during an overnight stopover or during a stopover at the
departure gate).

Integration
The following SAP components are integrated in the Configuration Control component:
· Plant Maintenance (PM) - Technical Objects
· Inventory Management (MM-IM)
· Integrated Product and Process Engineering (LO-MD-PPE)
· Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
· Classification System (CA-CL)
· Engineering Change Management (LO-ECH)

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 Features
The Configuration Control component covers the following functions:
· Configuration Control Workbench
· Change of the Actual Configuration

1.4 Object Networking (CS-BD/PM-EQM-ON)

Purpose
The Plant Maintenance (PM) application component provides functions with which you can represent the links that exist between various technical objects or
systems (pieces of equipment or functional locations). Such links exist, for example, between production units alone, between production systems and supply
systems and between supply and disposal systems. You represent an object network using the object links. You can therefore structure your technical systems
horizontally.

Implementation Considerations
The following are reasons for using object links:
You want to see the connections between various objects, in order to be able to recognize possible causes in predefined object systems when analyzing
malfunctions.
You want to be able to see at all times the objects which supply another object, so that you know when planning a maintenance task which particular supply
systems might have to be shut down.
You want to be able to see at all times the objects which supply another object, so that you know when planning a maintenance task which particular objects
will be affected when a system is shut down.

Integration
In addition to horizontal structuring using object networks, the PM application component also provides structuring options that allow the user to structure technical
systems vertically, in other words, hierarchically. Horizontal and vertical structuring options can be combined.
PM provides the following options for structuring technical systems hierarchically:
Functional structuring in functional locations
Object-related structuring in pieces of equipment
Technical structuring according to particular object classes
For more information on hierarchic structuring types, see
Technical Objects (Structuring of Technical Systems).

1.5 Maintenance Bills of Material (CS-BD/PM-EQM-BM)

Purpose
A maintenance bill of material (BOM) is a complete, formally structured list of the components making up a technical object or an assembly. The list contains the
object numbers of the individual components together with their quantity and unit of measure. The components can be stock or non-stock spares or assemblies,
which in turn can be described using maintenance BOMs.
Maintenance BOMs are primarily used for the following purposes:
Structure description

A maintenance BOM describes the structure of a technical object or material. Using maintenance BOMs you can specify exactly where maintenance
tasks are to be performed on a technical object.

Assignment of spare parts

A maintenance BOM is used in plant maintenance to assign spares for a technical object or material. This is shown in the figure below:

Implementation Considerations
Using maintenance bills of material presents the following advantages:
Materials planning

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 (when using maintenance task lists)

The use of maintenance BOMs is advantageous for material planning, because you can perform material planning when creating a maintenance task list.
The link between the task list and the maintenance BOM is created as follows:

Using the technical object BOM for maintenance task lists for technical objects
Using the assembly in the header for general task lists

The link to a maintenance BOM enables you to assign materials that have already been planned for the technical object or the assembly to the individual
operations in the task list. You can use the structure list or the structure graphic to do this. As both display options provide a detailed overview of all the
materials of the BOM, material planning is simplified considerably.
For more information on maintenance task lists, refer to the document PM - Maintenance Task Lists.

Materials/spares planning
(when using maintenance orders)

Maintenance bills of material support you during materials or spares planning by providing you with an overview of all materials/spare parts that could be
required in the maintenance order. This enables you to assign to the order all the materials you require and makes materials/spares planning considerably
easier.
For more information on maintenance orders, refer to the document PM - Maintenance Orders.

Locating malfunctions
(when using maintenance notifications)

Maintenance bills of material support you when locating malfunctions by providing you with an overview of all components that make up a technical object.
From this overview you can easily select the object for which you want to create a malfunction report. This enables you to locate the malfunction in the
technical object more precisely.
For more information on maintenance notifications, read the document PM - Maintenance Notifications.

Integration
BOMs contain important master data, which is used in many organizational areas, such as production, materials planning, product costing and maintenance.

Features
In Plant Maintenance, multi-level bills of material (BOMs) are usually used. They can have as many levels as required. The highest level in a multi-level BOM
(Level 0 in the figure below) represents a piece of equipment or a complete technical object. The lower levels of the BOM (Levels 1 and 2 in the figure below)
represent the components making up the technical object, and their components:

The BOM structure is reflected in the different technical categories of BOM provided in the PM system:
Simple BOM

The first BOM that you create for a technical object or material has no defined technical category and a simple structure. It is described as a "simple
BOM".

Variant BOM

Variant BOMs have a more complex structure. They are used to group together several BOMs to describe different objects that have a high proportion of
identical parts.

Multiple BOM

Multiple BOMs have the most complex structure. They are used to group together several BOMs to describe one object, for which different combinations of
materials are used for different production methods. Multiple BOMs are usually used in production planning and have little or no use for plant maintenance.
For more information on multiple bills of material, refer to the document PP - Bills of Material Guide.

1.6 Additional Functions

Purpose
This component comprises the management of additional functions for pieces of equipment and functional locations.

Features

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 More specifically, it handles the additional functions of the following components:
Measuring Points and Counters
Warranties
Permits

Measuring Points and Counters (CS-IB-MC / PM-EQM-SF-MPC)

Purpose
You use this component in Plant Maintenance (PM) or Customer Service (CS) to enter measurement and counter readings for
technical objects. This can be of use in the following situations:
· You want to document the condition of a technical object at a particular point in time.
Documenting the condition of a particular object is of great importance in cases where detailed records regarding the correct condition have to be kept for
legal reasons. This could involve critical values recorded for environmental protection purposes, hazardous working areas that are monitored for health and
safety reasons, the condition of equipment in hospitals (intensive care units), as well as measurements of emissions and pollution for objects of all types.
· You want to perform counter-based maintenance.
Condition and counter-based maintenance tasks are forms of preventive maintenance. Generally, these tasks should reduce the number of breakdowns for
your objects.
In the case of counter-based maintenance, maintenance activities are always performed when the counter of the technical object has reached a particular
counter reading, for example, every 100 operating hours.
· You want to perform condition-based maintenance.
In the case of condition-based maintenance, maintenance activities are always performed when the measuring point of a technical object has reached a
particular state, for example, every time a brake pad has been worn away to the minimum thickness permitted.

Integration
This component is composed as follows:
· You enter data manually into the SAP System using the SAP user interface.
· You use the Internet Application Component (IAC) to enter data in an entry screen in the browser and transfer this data to the SAP System using the
Internet.
· You can enter data using a barcode reader and transfer it to the SAP System using the PM-PCS interface.
The PM-PCS Interface is an interface between the SAP System and external systems, such as a Process Control System (PCS).
· You can enter data using a laptop and transfer it to the SAP System using the PM-PCS Interface.
· Data from a process control system is data that arises during the monitoring, control, regulation, and optimization of a technical process. You can transfer this
data to the SAP System using the PM-PCS Interface.
When doing this, you can use a SCADA System (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System) which filters the data from the process control system
and only transfers to the SAP System the data that is actually relevant.
· You can use the customer exit to automate your business processes.

Overview of all Elements of the Component Measuring Points and Counters

For more information on the maintenance planning functions in the SAP System (for example, creating a maintenance plan, scheduling)
see Maintenance Planning.

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 Features
Within the components PM and CS, the component Measuring Points and Counters is divided into:
· Basic functions, which are the prerequisites for using measuring points and counters
· Additional functions, whose use is optional

1.6.2 Warranties (CS-AG-WA/PM-EQM-SF)

Purpose
Warranties define the scope of the services that a company performs at a technical object in the event of damage or problems.

Integration
You can assign warranties to pieces of equipment, functional locations, or serial numbers.

Features
Using this component, you can cover the following warranties from the viewpoint of the system user:
Warrantee (inbound) (for example, manufacturer or vendor warranty)

Example:
You buy a new piece of equipment and receive a warranty from the manufacturer that covers a certain period or usage (manufacturer warranty).

Guarantor (outbound) (for example, customer warranty)

Example:
You sell or lease a piece of equipment and concede a warranty to your customer.

1.6.3 Permits (CS-SE/PM-EQM-SF)

Definition
Agreement required depending on setting before an order may be released or technically completed.
Permit Status: Condition:
Created The permit has been created as a master record.
Deleted The master record for the permit has been deleted.
Assigned The permit has been assigned to either a technical object or an order.
Not relevant The assignment of the permit to a technical object or order is currently not
effective.
Issued The permit has been issued by an employee responsible for it.
Canceled The permit was canceled by an employee, after it had already been issued.

Use
You can use permits to ensure that special approval must be obtained before orders are executed.
Permits can be assigned to the following objects:
Technical objects – functional locations and equipment
Orders

Structure
Permits can cover the following areas:
The way the order is executed or the safety aspects involved

Safety precautions for the employees and surroundings: Providing ear protection for employees or acidproof equipment, safeguarding the work area,
installing a flame-proof zone, work clearance certificate

How the execution of an order is organized

Budget guarantee, approval of plant manager

It is therefore advisable to group permits into permit categories, for example, safety permits or work permits.

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