Object Link Master Record (SAP Library - Plant Maintenance (PM))

Object Link Master Record

Definition

Object links are stored and managed in the Plant Maintenance (PM) application component in an object link master record, by means of a unique number.

Use

You can use PM object links to represent the dependencies between particular technical objects (pieces of equipment, functional locations). Knowledge of these dependencies is important above all for electric, gas and water companies as well as the chemical industry. However, the management of PM object links also has many advantages for companies with many production lines or computer network operators connected to one another.

If you want to manage the link itself as a piece of equipment or a functional location, a master record must also exist for it.

Structure

All the essential data of an object link is shown in a single screen in the object link master record. This screen is structured in the same way for links between functional locations and for links between pieces of equipment. It consists of three blocks of data:

Data about the object link

This block contains the number and the description of the link and the ID of the network to which the link belongs.

Data about the link and linked objects

This block contains the numbers and the descriptions of the objects that are linked (= nodes), and possibly also the number and the description of the object that represents the link.

However, it is not necessary to manage the link object (for example, the pipe or the cable) as a functional location or piece of equipment in the PM System. The link between two technical objects is identified by the link number. You only need to specify that technical object A is linked to technical object B; you do not need to say what links the two objects.

Link description data

This block contains the details of the validity of the link, the medium that flows through the link, and the relation between the linked objects.

Integration

You can represent links between the following objects:

From one functional location to another functional location
From one piece of equipment to another piece of equipment

You cannot form links between different object types, for example, between a piece of equipment and a functional location.

You can enter the following information for each object link:

Multilingual texts
Data for classifying the object link

Document data from the document management system