An asset is a general class of an object which can be created in the FM Model, and if required, placed in the design file. Desks,chairs, PCs are all examples of common asset classes.
The specific type of asset you can create depends on the items available in your catalog. Catalogs are used to store the standard types of furniture and equipment used in the FM Model. For example, an asset class such as chair might have 10 different types of chairs stored in the catalog.Each catalog item has a set of attributes which define such items as the brand of chair, the chair's dimensions, and so on. So as you are creating a class instance, the first step is to select a class of asset, such as chair, and then select from the catalog a specific type of chair, such as Lazy Boy Recliner.
The current demonstration model delivers catalogs of furniture and equipment for placement under a set of default classes which are typical of those used in a building facilities management environment. You can add new catalog items and extend the information stored with each item if required.
Catalogs allow you to link standard attributes for an asset to the graphical element used to represent that asset in a design file. The attributes attached to assets in a catalog are only those which are common to all instances of that asset, such as supplier or purchase price. Attributes which are only relevant to a single instance of an asset, such as its bar code or serial number, are attached to it when it is placed in the FM Model.
Assets are linked to graphics by named symbologies. These are a combination of a cell and the symbology with which this cell is displayed. Each display filter used to display graphics can have its own symbology. In this way you can achieve total control over the way in which the graphics in your FM Model are displayed.
Creating a catalog entry can be split into two main activities, creating the graphics for the asset and creating the entry in the catalog. Graphics are created using normal MicroStation commands and stored in a standard Bentley Facilities Planner cell library.
You must add the cells to cell libraries included in your Bentley Facilities Planner document management system otherwise Bentley Facilities Planner will not find them when you create the catalog items.
Creating entries in the database requires three main steps:
CAUTION: When you wish to add entries to a cell library, you MUST check the cell library out before entering them and then check the library back in when you have finished. If you do not, the entries are simply added to the local copy of the cell library, which cannot be returned to the central storage area. The next time the library is copied or checked out from the central store, these entries will be over written.
| Note: There are three display filters in the demonstration model, each of which can display an object using a different symbology, Sparse (displays an object with little detail), Detailed (displays an object in more detail) and Model (displays an object in 3D). |
When you first create an FM Model, it may be useful to assign the same symbology to a number of display filters (for example, the Sparse and Detailed filters might be the same). You assign a filter to the current symbology by selecting it and clicking Set. You can deselect a filter previously selected for assignment by selecting it and clicking Reset.
Bentley Facilities Planner is delivered with three display filters: Sparse, Detailed and Model. Each display filter can display a different cell and it may be necessary to create three cells for each asset, one for each of the filters. Although these cells can all be stored in the same cell library, it is recommended that separate libraries be used to store the cells for each display filter. Generally, 2D cell libraries will be used for the sparse and detailed cells. The model cells must be stored in a 3D cell library.
The graphics are created using standard MicroStation commands and the cells created using the MicroStation Cell Library dialog box.
Assets are stored in the database, and using Bentley Facilities Planner, drawn in the design files on request.
Under normal circumstances an asset is located in only one area and linked to other areas through the area links in the location hierarchy. However, there may be situations where an asset is located in more than a single area, either of the same class or of two or more different classes.
If area overlap is permitted in a class which has direct links to assets, it is possible for the asset to occupy two or more areas. The position of an asset in the model is the location of the origin of the cell used to represent it. If area overlap is permitted, it is possible for this to be located in multiple overlapping areas. Similarly, if the FM model is configured to allow direct links between assets and a number of area classes, the same situation can occur.
Provided that you are careful in preparing asset reports, this should not be a problem, but you must be aware that in the situation described above, it is possible for the same asset to be listed more than once.
| Note: You can open the Create Asset wizard from various locations in Bentley Facilities Manager; for simplicity, the following procedure only documents opening it from the right-click menu. If you open the Create Asset wizard from the Commands Class List, the wizard automatically opens to the Modify Instance screen for the selected object. |
| Note: Certain classes of asset, such as Employees, do not have a catalog. When creating these asset classes, you simply enter the attributes directly into the Create Asset wizard. |