Core concepts
The mental model behind AssetLab - organizations, the two hierarchies every asset lives in, and how the modules fit together.
Your organization is the boundary
Everything in AssetLab belongs to exactly one organization - your tenant. Users sign in with an email one-time passcode and work inside the organization they were invited to. Data never crosses organizations: every record, document, and API call is scoped to yours.
If you operate several distinct portfolios (for example, two municipalities managed by the same firm), each one is its own organization with its own users, settings, and API keys.
The two hierarchies
Every asset in AssetLab is positioned along two independent dimensions: where it is and what kind of system it belongs to. Keeping these separate is what makes AssetLab reporting work - you can roll up costs by building, by system class, or both.
Location hierarchy - where things are
| Level | Example |
|---|---|
| Site | Main Campus |
| Building | Arena - Building B |
| Location | Mechanical Room 201 |
Each building belongs to a site, and each location belongs to a building. Assets can be placed at any level - a rooftop unit might sit at the building level, while a pump lives in a specific mechanical room.
System hierarchy - what things are
| Level | Example |
|---|---|
| System Class | Mechanical (D) |
| System Group | HVAC (D30) |
| System | Heat Generating Systems (D3020) |
System classes follow the Uniformat convention out of the box, so your portfolio benchmarks cleanly against industry standards - but the model is a choice, not a mandate. Department-organized teams restructure the tree around their divisions, and many portfolios run a hybrid; the hierarchy is fully editable on the Systems page. See choosing your hierarchy model before loading assets.
Assets reference both
An asset record points into both hierarchies at once, plus an asset type (e.g. "Centrifugal Pump") and optionally a manufacturer. That is the whole data model in one sentence:
- Where: site → building → location
- What: system class → system group → system
- Which: asset type, manufacturer, model, serial
Vertical and linear assets
The asset registry covers vertical assets - equipment inside sites and buildings. Municipalities also manage linear infrastructure: roads, watermains, sewers, sidewalks. Those live in the Infrastructure module, which adds networks, feature classes, GIS geometry, and Esri sync on top of the same organization boundary.
The modules at a glance
| Module | What it does |
|---|---|
| Asset Management | Registry, hierarchies, condition, risk, FCI, floorplans, QR codes |
| CMMS | Work orders, work requests, preventive maintenance, forms, parts, vendors, compliance |
| Projects | Capital and maintenance projects, budgets, tasks, replacement planning |
| Infrastructure | Linear assets, GIS sync, zones, routes, corridors, level of service |
| AI & MCP | Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your data through the Model Context Protocol |
| Manage | Users, roles, settings, API keys, webhooks, import/export |
How records flow
A typical operational loop looks like this:
- A requester submits a work request from the portal.
- Staff review it and convert it into a work order against the right asset, location, system, or infrastructure feature.
- Completing the work order records costs against the asset automatically.
- Condition assessments and costs feed risk scores and FCI.
- Assets that age past their useful life surface in the replacement planner, which seeds projects and budgets.
Every module reads from the same registry, so data entered once keeps paying off downstream.
Next steps
- Follow the facilities quickstart to build your first site.
- Managing roads and pipes? Start with the municipal quickstart.
- Understand who can do what before inviting your team.