Equipment baseline
The equipment baseline consists of templates that represent the various models of assets, such as aircraft and engines, for which you want to plan and track maintenance activities in Maintenix.
In Maintenix, you model these assets as assemblies, define their structure as hierarchies of systems and components, select the usage values and measurements to track for the inventory matching the assembly, specify the parts that are allowed in the assembly hierarchy, and set the details about the applicability and compatibility of parts.
Baseline data consists of collections of templates that are used repeatedly in Maintenix. You create templates to represent different types and models of assets you have, and the maintenance work to be performed on these assets. Templates also include rules. For example, rules that govern which parts are allowed on specific assets and where they fit, and rules that dictate which maintenance tasks are required and when they should be performed.
Baseline data is essential for Maintenix to create tasks that are relevant to the assets, to request parts that are compatible with the asset undergoing maintenance or repair, and to provide the traceability required to verify compliance with directives issued by equipment manufacturers or regulatory bodies.
- The types of complex assets you have in your fleet. These are your assemblies.
- The structure of each type of complex asset—the functional systems and physical components that make up the asset. For each assembly, this is defined by creating the assembly hierarchy. The hierarchy consists of configuration slots, to which part groups are assigned.
- The parameters with which to measure and track the accrued usage of each assembly and subcomponent.
- The allowable configuration of each assembly, which identifies the components and parts that can be used on the assembly, where they fit in the assembly hierarchy, and what information should be recorded in Maintenix throughout the life of these components and parts. The allowable configuration information is captured as part numbers organized in part groups.
Once the equipment baseline is defined, you use the templates to create inventory records that correspond to real physical assets that exist within your organization. Inventory items can be purchased, shipped, transferred, stored, issued, installed, removed, repaired and scrapped. At every stage, the rules that are set up in the equipment baseline guide how Maintenix controls the inventory item. For example, if the baseline rules specify that when you receive a specific part, it must be inspected before being considered serviceable, Maintenix automatically sets the condition of new inventory of that part to inspection required (INSPREQ). Other baseline rules specify incompatibilities between certain parts; Maintenix prevents the installation of such a part on an asset when the incompatible part is already installed elsewhere on the same asset.
The equipment baseline templates are also associated with the maintenance programs and tasks that are relevant to the assembly. Maintenance programs and tasks are defined in the maintenance baseline.
For example, the equipment baseline template for an engine is associated with the maintenance plan for the engine, and for all of its components. The maintenance plan defines tasks such as inspections, corrective tasks, life-limited discards, and overhauls. This engine template is used to generate an inventory record for each actual engine of that kind that exists in the fleet. Each inventory record made from the template is assigned the serial number of the corresponding engine. The configuration of a specific engine is tracked under that engine's serial number. Information that is tracked includes the maintenance performed, the usage accrued, the individual parts that are installed on it, and those that were removed from it.
These inventory-specific details—serial number, maintenance performed, and so on—are unique for actual inventory items in Maintenix.