Equipment Views FAQ

Overview & Use Case

Equipment views are a new way to organize and visualize your Monitoring Points. This is particularly useful if you're using a single device with dual probe replaceable sensors to monitor multiple pieces of equipment.

For example, we can think about a user who has two refrigerators that they are monitoring with a single data logger (e.g. DWE) but a replaceable sensor (e.g. RTHM2) with a probe into each refrigerator.

In this case you likely would've used the following naming conventions:

• Device Name: Refrigerator 001 & Refrigerator 002
• Channel 1 Name: Refrigerator 001 Temp
• Channel 2 Name: Refrigerator 002 Temp

Now, with equipment, you'd create two different pieces of equipment in DicksonOne that look like the following:

• Equipment 1: Refrigerator 001 with Channel 1 linked with the equipment
• Equipment 2: Refrigerator 002 with Channel 2 linked with the equipment

The new equipment allows users to think about their equipment as distinct objects that are monitored instead of working around a cumbersome naming convention with the devices and channels alone.

FAQs 

How do I configure a piece of equipment?

Equipment can be configured by going to Monitoring Points > Equipment and in the upper right there is a button that says "Create Equipment." After that you'll follow the configuration including:

• Naming the equipment
• Choosing the equipment type
• Assigning the equipment to a location
• Assigning channels to the location (note: you must start searching for devices/channels; see best practices question below for some tips).
• Save by hitting the "Create Equipment" location button

Do I have to use equipment?

No! Equipment is an optional feature that can be implemented on your timeline. We think it is a better model for thinking about and navigating your monitoring but understand that the transition may take time. 

How do alarms work with equipment?

You can apply alarm templates to equipment. We recommend you choose either equipment alarms OR device alarms as opposed to both. The one exception is in the case of not reporting alerts which will be tied to the device for the foreseeable future. 

What are best practices around naming, etc? 

We recommend you name an equipment exactly what you call it or refer to it within your organization. For some users that may be as simple as "Refrigerator" but for others it may mean a description with some asset identifier, "Vaccine Refrigerator #04251" for example. 

To make configuration of equipment easier, it is a best practice to have the existing devices and channels named in such a way that you'll be able to easily search for and distinguish them from each other. 

Are equipment-related actions captured in the audit trail?

Yes, events relating to equipment are captured in the audit trail.

Are equipment available for reporting?

Yes, you can now include equipment in the scope of a report. Note you must choose between devices OR equipment and cannot have both.