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Configure equipment types (Administrator setup)

This page is for administrators who configure equipment categories and their default settings.

What are equipment types?

Equipment types are categories that group similar equipment and define default lifecycle settings. Examples: - Vehicles - IT Equipment - Heavy Machinery - Office Equipment - Safety Equipment

Creating equipment types

  1. Navigate to Equipment → Equipment Types in Django Admin.
  2. Click Add Equipment Type.
  3. Fill in the configuration:

Basic information

Field Description Example
Name Display name for the type "Municipal Vehicle"
Code Unique identifier (uppercase, no spaces) "VEHICLE"
Description Detailed description of this category "Cars, vans, and trucks used for municipal operations"

Lifecycle settings

Field Description Recommendation
Default Warranty (months) Typical warranty period for this equipment type 24-36 for vehicles, 12 for IT
Default Maintenance Interval (days) How often this equipment typically needs maintenance 90 for vehicles, 365 for office equipment

Status

Field Description
Status Active (available) or Inactive (hidden from new equipment)

How types affect equipment management

1) Default values

When creating new equipment of this type: - Warranty dates can be auto-calculated from purchase date + default warranty months - Maintenance reminders use the default interval

2) Filtering and reporting

  • Staff can filter equipment lists by type
  • Reports can be generated per equipment type
  • Maintenance schedules can be viewed by type

3) Inspection schedules

Types can have different inspection requirements: - Vehicles: Safety inspections every 6 months - IT Equipment: Security audits annually - Heavy machinery: Regulatory inspections as required

Best practices

Naming conventions

  • Use clear, descriptive names
  • Keep codes short and meaningful
  • Be consistent across your organization

Lifecycle settings

  • Research typical warranty periods for each category
  • Set maintenance intervals based on manufacturer recommendations
  • Adjust intervals based on usage patterns in your municipality

Organization

  • Don't create too many types (consolidate where sensible)
  • Create subtypes only if lifecycle settings differ significantly
  • Review and update types periodically

Example configurations

Municipal Vehicles

Name: Municipal Vehicle
Code: VEHICLE
Default Warranty: 36 months
Default Maintenance Interval: 90 days

IT Equipment

Name: IT Equipment
Code: IT
Default Warranty: 12 months
Default Maintenance Interval: 365 days

Heavy Machinery

Name: Heavy Machinery
Code: HEAVY
Default Warranty: 24 months
Default Maintenance Interval: 180 days

Behind the scenes (grounded in code)

  • Model: apps/equipment/models.py → EquipmentType
  • Unique constraint on code field
  • Status managed through BaseStatusModel mixin
  • Used as ForeignKey in Equipment model with PROTECT delete behavior