Skip to main content

Lesson 4 · Master data: Assets, Products, Entities and Statuses

M
Written by Mairu

Path

Duration

Level

Before you start

🔵 Configurator · Level 1

45 min

Starter

[[03 · Preparar el entorno - módulos, perfiles y usuarios

Preparing the environment - modules, profiles and users]]

Master data is what your company already knows: its machines, its products, its reference lists and the phases of its processes. If they are well defined, forms will be quick to fill in and reports will add up. If not, each user will enter things their own way.

🎯 By the end you'll know

  • How to choose the right master data for each type of information.

  • How to create an asset hierarchy and its Assets.

  • How to create Products and Product types.

  • How to create an Entity and load it in bulk.

  • How to create Statuses and a Status group for a process.

🧠 The idea: which master data do I use?

Ask yourself this: what does the information represent?

If it represents…

Use

Why

Something physical on the plant (area, line, machine, component)

Asset

It has a hierarchy, stoppage cost and linked documentation

Something that is manufactured, consumed or stored

Product

It has a type, cost and stock

A person, their area or their function

User / Department / Job position

Lets you assign tasks and notify

Any other list that gets reused

Entity

Suppliers, shifts, priorities, rejection reasons…

A phase a record goes through

Status (within a Status group)

Lets you track where each response is

What if the list only makes sense in one form? Then you don't need master data: a Single-choice selector with its own options is enough.

💡 The key question: am I going to need this same information in other forms or in Power BI? If the answer is yes, create it as master data. Entities also generate a common table that lets you relate several forms in Power BI.

🛠️ Guided practice: the data for the Packaging control

Step 1 · The hierarchy and the lines (Assets)

  1. In Settings > Assets, open the hierarchy and check that you have at least the levels Area and Line (create them if they don't exist). Configure the hierarchy first and the Assets afterwards: the type of each Asset depends on the level at which you create it.

  2. Create the Area Packaging and, inside it, the lines Line 1 and Line 2. Give them a unique reference (ENV-L1, ENV-L2).

  3. Optional: specify the cost per minute of stoppage for each line. We won't use it now, but it's what later lets you calculate the financial impact of a stoppage.

Step 2 · The products

  1. In Settings > Products, create the product type Finished product.

  2. Create two products with their reference: PF-001 · 250 g can and PF-002 · 500 g can.

Step 3 · An Entity: Shifts

  1. In Settings > My Entities, click New entity type and create it with the name Shifts. Enable colors.

  2. Add three records: M · Morning, T · Afternoon, N · Night, each with a color.

Also create a second Entity, Rejection reasons (PESO, SELLADO, ETIQUETA, TEMPERATURA). This time try the bulk load: in the three dots at the top right use Import with a spreadsheet (Excel or LibreOffice). From the same menu you can Export the values to review them.

Step 4 · The statuses of the control

  1. In Settings > Statuses, create three statuses: Pending review (orange), Compliant (green) and Non-compliant (red).

  2. In Settings > Status groups, create the group Packaging control with those three statuses, in that order.

  3. Mark Compliant and Non-compliant as finalizers (flag icon): they indicate the control is closed.

🔍 Check that it works

  • In the Assets view you see Packaging with its two lines hanging off it.

  • In Products the two products appear with their type.

  • The Shifts Entity shows each record with its color.

  • The Packaging control group contains the three statuses and two of them have a flag.

⚠️ Common mistakes

  • Using an Entity for machines. It works, but you lose the hierarchy, the stoppage cost, the linked files and the task assignment per Asset.

  • Creating a form to store a catalog. If the information is a reference list, it's an Entity. A form captures new facts each time it's used.

  • Not being able to delete an Entity. Mairu does not allow deleting an Entity that still has records: empty it first.

  • Modifying a Status group without checking where it's used. Check its Usage history first: the change affects every form that uses it.

  • Needing more data than the master supports (for example, a supplier's payment terms). The solution is not to force the Entity, but a Masterdata form: you'll see this in lesson 10.

🏋️ Challenge

In the Packaging area, Line 1 has two machines: Filler and Sealer. Create them at the appropriate level and upload to the Sealer a PDF as a linked file with the label Manual. From where will an operator be able to consult it without going into Settings?

📚 Learn more

➡️ Next lesson: Your first form

Did this answer your question?