Spare Parts

Spare parts are the consumable and replaceable components that keep building equipment running: ventilation filters, drive belts, valves, sensors, UPS batteries, door operators, and everything else that wears out on a schedule. Spare Parts Management tracks these parts in one place — what exists, where it is installed, when it was last replaced, and when it is due again.

Why track parts?

Without part tracking, replacement knowledge lives in people's heads and old invoices. With it, every replacement recorded during normal work automatically builds up:

• A replacement schedule — each installed part carries an expected lifetime, so you can see which parts across your portfolio are approaching the end of their life.
• An installation history — when a part was installed, what it replaced, and which work order did it.
• Cost visibility — parts used are recorded on work orders with quantity and unit cost.
• Documentation at the point of work — datasheets and replacement instructions attached to a part are available to whoever is doing the replacement, including service providers.

Key concepts

The parts catalog

There is no separate catalog administration page — the catalog grows as you work. Whenever you pick a part (on a technical system or a work order), the picker searches your existing catalog by name, code, EAN, and manufacturer, and offers to create a new entry when nothing matches.

• Barcode scanning — tap the scan button in any part picker to scan an EAN barcode with your device camera. A match selects the part instantly; an unknown barcode opens the new-part form with the EAN pre-filled.
• Part details — open any part to edit its details, upload a cover photo, and attach documentation (manuals, datasheets, replacement guides).
• Products and consumables — the catalog keeps the two apart: pickers show products when installing to a system and consumables when recording a cost-only line, and a part created on the fly lands in the right group automatically.
• Expected lifetime — the default lifetime (in years, and optionally runtime hours) copied to each new installation. It can be overridden when recording the part and adjusted on the installed unit afterwards.

Installed parts on a technical system

Open a technical system and switch to the Parts tab to see what is currently installed.

Each installed part card shows the part identity (photo, name, code, manufacturer, EAN), the installation date, optional serial number, and a lifetime progress bar projecting the replace-by date from the installation date and expected lifetime. Parts nearing or past their replace-by date are highlighted.

From the card menu you can:

• Replace — mark the current unit removed and install a new one in its place. The replacement is pre-filled with the same part; the history chain between old and new unit is preserved.
• Edit installation — adjust the installation date, serial number, or per-unit expected lifetime.
• Edit part details — open the catalog entry (photo, documentation, identity fields).
• Change status — mark a unit failed (broken but still physically installed) or removed.

An installed part is always in one of three states:

• Active — installed and in service
• Failed — broken or worn out, awaiting replacement
• Removed — no longer installed; kept as history with its removal date and reason

The list hides removed parts by default — use the status filter to see the full history.

Parts on work orders

Work orders show a Parts used section where parts consumed during the work are recorded — by your own staff or by the assigned service provider. See Work Orders for the service provider's view of the same workflow.

Adding a part opens a short wizard:

1. Install to — pick the technical system the part is installed to, or Consumable for material not related to any system
2. Install or replace — when the system already has installed parts, choose between installing a new part and replacing an existing unit (shown with age and lifetime status); with nothing to replace this step is skipped
3. Details — the part (search or scan), quantity, unit cost, and for installed parts the expected lifetime and per-unit serial numbers (typed or scanned from the sticker); installing several units of the same part records one serial per unit

A consumable (cleaning supplies, oil, tape) is just a cost line — it is never installed on a system. Work orders with no linked technical systems can still record consumables.

The section totals the line count and cost, and each line links back to the part's details and documentation.

Automatic replacement planning

Maintenance plan rules (preventive maintenance) that are linked to technical systems can plan part replacements for you. With the Plan due part replacements automation rule enabled (it is on by default), every installed part that approaches its expected lifetime is added to the last scheduled visit before it expires — as a pre-filled replacement line carrying the part, the unit being replaced, and its documentation.

Because the schedule is anchored to each part's actual installation date, the plan corrects itself: replace a part early or late and the next replacement is planned a full lifetime from the day it really happened, not from a fixed calendar.

• The part card shows Replacement planned as soon as a visit carries its replacement line — click the badge (or use the ⋮ menu) to open the planned work order.
• Planned lines appear on the work order marked Planned — verify in red. They are a plan, not a record — the technician on site ticks the line's checkbox and chooses Mark as replaced or Not replaced — remove (filling in details like the serial number verifies it too).
• A work order cannot be completed — neither marked done nor closed — while it still has unverified planned lines, so nothing gets written into the installation history that a human didn't confirm.
• Parts due beyond the planning horizon (about a year of scheduled visits) are picked up automatically as the schedule rolls forward.
• Removing a planned line, or canceling or deleting the plan, releases the part again — it is re-planned onto the next suitable visit while it remains due.

What happens when the work order is closed

When a work order is closed, the platform automatically completes the installation bookkeeping for every recorded part line that is tied to a technical system:

• A new installed part is added to the system, dated to the work order's completion.
• The unit it replaced is marked removed — either the unit explicitly chosen in the wizard, or, when the system holds exactly one active unit of the same part, that one.
• The lifetime countdown restarts, and the installation and replacement are written to the work order's change log.

If a recorded line no longer adds up at closing time — for example the unit it was meant to replace has already been removed by someone else — the close is rejected with an explanation so the part lines can be corrected first.