Replacing an asset by using Swap Asset
When an asset stops functioning in the field, you can replace the asset in the system by using the Swap Asset action on your mobile device.
Overview
You can use a mobile device to relate broken assets with incidents, change requests, or other ticket types. You could also open the profiles for the broken and replacement assets and update the status, location, and relationships for each asset individually.
You can open the profile of a broken asset on a mobile device, choose Swap Asset from the menu, and then scan (or search for) the replacement asset. When the swap is complete, the broken asset is taken out of service (the status is set to Down). Depending on the options you select, the broken asset's people and group relationships, status, and location are also transferred to the replacement asset. A record of the swap is added to the Activity notes for each asset for tracking purposes.
Before you begin
- Field agents performing swap actions must have sufficient access to assets and companies. For example, the field agent must have Asset User or Asset Admin permissions, must be a member of all support groups related to the assets, and must have access restrictions defined for all companies related to both assets (or unrestricted access). For more information, see Smart-IT-roles-and-permissions.
- Make sure that asset profiles are already created for any replacement assets. You can only choose replacement assets from among existing assets in Remedy IT Service Management suite that are in the production dataset. For more information, see Creating-and-updating-assets-in-Smart-IT.
- If you plan to identify the broken and replacement assets by scanning, each asset must have a QR code or barcode that is encoded with the value from an identifying field in the asset profile, such as the Serial Number or Tag Number. Your mobile device must also have a scanning app installed. For more information about creating QR codes and barcodes for assets, see Scanning-assets-in-Smart-IT-using-mobile-devices.
Swap Asset options
After you identify the replacement asset (usually by scanning), you can select any of the following options:
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Update Status | Sets the status of the replacement asset to the same status as the broken asset. For example, if the status of the broken asset is On Loan before the swap, then the status of the replacement asset changes to On Loan after the swap. The swap always sets the status of the broken asset to Down, even if you do not select the Update Status option. |
Copy People and Group Relationships | Copies owner and support group information from the broken asset to the replacement asset, and removes these relationships from the broken asset. If the replacement asset already has a primary owner, this information is not overwritten. Instead, the primary owner of the broken asset is added to the replacement asset as a secondary owner. Copying people relationship also depends on the access you have to other companies. You could either have restricted access to few companies or have unrestricted access to all the companies. If a user with restricted access swaps asset and selects the Copy people and group relationships option, then only those people relations are copied to which the user has access to companies. On the other hand, users with unrestricted access can copy relations to people and group associated to all companies. You may consider the following example:
There is an asset that belongs to Petramco which has relationship to people and groups belonging to all the 3 companies.
Note that when this option is selected, all people relations are removed from old asset, and only relations based on Asset administrator's access are added to the new asset. |
Copy Location | Copies site information from the broken asset to the replacement asset. Site information is preserved on the broken asset. Note: If the broken asset and replacement asset belong to different companies, the Copy Location option is disabled. |
Example: Replacing an asset in the field
Mary is a field agent working on a ticket for a broken projector in a conference room. She brings the replacement projector that the manufacturer sent to replace the broken projector, which was under warranty. An asset manager has already received the replacement projector.
- From her Apple iPhone, Mary logs on to Smart IT.
- She scans the barcode on the back of the broken projector to open the asset profile.
- Mary taps Swap Asset from the Action menu.
The system prompts her to search for a replacement asset. - She taps Scan codes to find assets, and then scans the barcode on the replacement projector.
- She selects all of the available options to copy the status, people and group relationships, and location from the broken projector to its replacement, and then she completes the asset swap.
The asset profile for the replacement projector appears. - Mary refreshes the replacement asset profile to display any new Activity notes.
There is a new Activity note that says this asset replaced the broken asset. From the link in the Activity note (or by pressing the Back button on her phone), Mary opens the profile for the broken asset, so she can access the ticket she is working on.
A link to the ticket appears under Related Items in the broken asset's profile.- Mary then disconnects the broken projector and sets up the replacement.
- Finally, Mary updates the ticket to change the status to Completed.