How to Link Assets to Work Orders in EAM?

[oliviacooke]

Hi everyone,
I’m working on setting up asset relationships in ServiceNow EAM and I’d like to know the best practice for linking assets to work orders. Should this be done manually, or is there a recommended automated process within the platform? Also, are there specific tables or relationships I should be aware of when setting this up?

Thanks in advance!

[Community Alums]

Hi @oliviacooke ,

Please follow the link : Create a work order for an enterprise asset 

[edneyimme]

Automation of Linkage
Ideally, you want to automate the process of linking assets to work orders. This ensures that assets are automatically associated with work orders based on predefined criteria, such as asset type, location, or asset status. Manual linking is often error-prone and time-consuming, so automation is more efficient and reliable. Automation can be set up using:

Business Rules: You can create business rules that automatically associate assets with work orders based on conditions such as asset category or location.

Work Order Templates: If you're creating work orders from templates, you can set up templates to automatically pull in assets associated with the maintenance tasks.

Maintenance Schedules: If the work orders are being generated from maintenance schedules (e.g., preventive maintenance), you can configure the schedule to automatically associate assets based on criteria such as the location of the asset or the asset type.

ServiceNow Flow Designer: For more complex scenarios or if you want to have more control over the process, ServiceNow Flow Designer can be used to automate the creation and association of work orders to assets.

Linking via Related Records
If you're manually associating assets with work orders (for instance, in scenarios where you’re handling individual requests), you can link them via the Asset field in the Work Order form. However, this should be done carefully to ensure that the association is correctly reflected in the system.

Key Tables and Relationships to Be Aware Of
alm_asset (Asset Table)
This table stores information about individual assets. This is where you’ll be pulling assets from when associating them with work orders.

work_order (Work Order Table)
This table stores information about work orders. You'll use this table to track the maintenance and repair work associated with assets. The Asset field in the Work Order table is key for linking work orders to specific assets.

task (Task Table)
The Task table is the parent table for work orders. Work orders are tasks, so this table has information that can be used to link tasks to assets. The Task table can be used to track the status of work orders and how they are related to assets.

cmdb_ci (Configuration Item Table)
Assets are often tied to Configuration Items (CIs) in the CMDB (Configuration Management Database). If you want to track relationships between assets, work orders, and other CIs (e.g., software or network devices), the cmdb_ci table plays a role in creating a broader picture of your IT environment.

Asset and CI Relationships: Use the cmdb_ci table to define relationships (like depends_on or connected_to) between assets and other configuration items. For example, if a piece of hardware (asset) requires software or network components, those relationships should be represented in the CI class.

cmdb_rel_ci (CI Relationship Table)
This table holds relationships between configuration items (CIs), which might also be useful for linking assets to other parts of the infrastructure, such as dependencies or services. You could leverage this table to create specific links between assets and other elements that are part of the work order.

How to Automate Asset-Work Order Linkage
Here are a few methods for automating the linkage between assets and work orders:

Using a Business Rule
A Business Rule can be created to trigger when a work order is created or updated, and it can use conditions like location or asset type to auto-link assets to the work order.

Example:

When a work order is created, the business rule can look for the asset type and location and then automatically populate the asset field with the correct asset.

Using Flow Designer
If you are working with complex workflows (e.g., preventative maintenance), you can use Flow Designer to create flows that automatically associate assets with work orders based on triggers like the creation of a maintenance task.

Using Maintenance Schedules and Templates
If you are generating work orders from a Maintenance Schedule, you can configure the maintenance schedule to include a list of assets that need to be worked on, which are then linked to the generated work orders. In this case, use the Work Order Template to define assets that should automatically be associated with the scheduled work.

Key Relationships to Set Up
Asset → Work Order: Ensure the Asset field on the Work Order form is correctly populated.

Work Order → Task: Work orders are tasks, so there’s an inherent relationship that will track the status and activity on the work order.

Asset → Maintenance Schedule: If you are running preventive maintenance, assets should be linked to maintenance schedules to trigger automated work orders.