The lift inspection certificate expired. Not because nobody serviced it — the contractor came, they did the work, they left — but because nobody updated the record and nobody knew when the next service window was. The same generator that powers the server room got its last logged service three years ago. The BMS that controls HVAC for the entire facility has a model number that nobody on the current team can identify because the person who commissioned it left in 2021.
This is what unmanaged facility asset registers produce: a building full of equipment that exists but isn't known.
The Identification Stack That Makes Equipment Auditable
Each asset record carries Manufacturer, Model, Serial #, and Tsebo # — the internal asset tag scanned via barcode. That combination is the minimum viable identification for any piece of equipment: the manufacturer and model tell you where to get parts and who to call for specialized service; the serial number is the OEM reference; the Tsebo barcode tag is the internal tracking identifier that stays consistent even if the equipment changes locations or service providers.
Building and Location together establish physical position within the facility portfolio. For a Tsebo-managed multi-tenancy commercial complex in Nairobi, the asset might be in Building C, Level 4, Server Room — or on the rooftop of Tower B. When the BMS throws a fault and the engineer needs to physically locate the affected unit, the location field is the dispatch data.
Size/Capacity captures the engineering parameter that drives replacement specifications. A 7.5kVA UPS and a 30kVA UPS are both in the Inverter/UPS category, but they're not interchangeable. An air conditioning unit rated at 5TR serves a different load than one rated at 20TR. Storing capacity alongside the model means a replacement query returns equipment that actually fits the load requirement.
The Age Problem and Why Source Matters
Year of manufacture and Year of installation are both captured, and both include a Source field with three options: Label (read directly from the equipment nameplate), Records (taken from existing documentation), or Estimate (inferred from context).
That three-state source field is a quality marker. An asset whose year of manufacture says "2009, Source: Label" is a different confidence level than one that says "2009, Source: Estimate." In a facility that took over management from a previous contractor without complete documentation — which describes most Tsebo Kenya handovers — many assets will initially have Estimate as their source. Over time, as service contractors confirm serial numbers and manufacturer records are retrieved, those estimates get upgraded to Label or Records.
The gap between manufacture year and installation year tells its own story. Equipment manufactured in 2015 and installed in 2019 sat in storage or was repurposed from another site. Equipment manufactured in 2007 and installed in 2007 has been in continuous service for eighteen years. Both scenarios affect maintenance frequency, parts availability, and replacement planning in different ways.
Service Records and Replacement Planning
Last Service, Service Provider, and Condition (Good, Fair, Poor) form the maintenance audit layer.
For fire detection alarm systems and fire suppression equipment, Last Service combined with Condition = Fair or Poor is a liability flag. These aren't convenience items — they're statutory safety systems with mandatory inspection intervals. A database that surfaces all fire systems with Last Service older than twelve months and Condition ≠ Good is a compliance dashboard.
Current Value in USD enables depreciation tracking and capital replacement budgeting. A generator valued at $45,000 new, currently assessed at $12,000 with Condition = Poor and a manufacture year of 2009, is a replacement candidate that finance needs to budget for. The field doesn't calculate depreciation automatically — it records the assessed current value as determined during the audit, which is updated at each subsequent inspection.
Qty handles installations where multiple identical units serve the same location — twelve fan coil units of the same model across one floor, for instance. One record with Qty = 12 is more maintainable than twelve separate records unless the serial numbers differ, in which case individual records are warranted.