Understanding the Component Hierarchy

What is this?

Clue tracks equipment at the component level. Not just "Excavator #42 needs service" but "the hydraulic pump on Excavator #42 has failed 3 times this year." To make this work, the system needs to know what is inside each machine. That is what the Hierarchy section sets up.

There are three concepts to understand. They build on each other like layers.

The three layers

Catalog: the parts library

The Catalog is a master list of every type of component your fleet might have. Diesel Engine. Hydraulic Pump. Cooling System. Screen Motor. Think of it as a dictionary. It does not belong to any specific machine. It just defines what kinds of components exist.

Each catalog item has a hierarchy level that says where it sits in the breakdown. A Diesel Engine is a "System" (level 2). A Fuel Injector is a "Component" (level 4). This determines how the tree structure gets built.

Catalog items can also have default children. If a Diesel Engine almost always contains a Fuel Injector, Turbocharger, and Oil Pump, you set those as defaults once. Every template that uses a Diesel Engine picks them up automatically.

Template: the blueprint

A Template defines the bill of materials for a specific type of equipment. "Asphalt Plant" is a template with 9 components. "Dozer" is a template with 4. The template says: this type of machine contains these systems and components, in this structure, at these quantities.

Templates are tied to asset types or product classes. All your CAT 336 excavators share one template. All your asphalt plants share another. Build it once, use it on every machine of that type.

Instance: the real thing

An Instance is what gets created when you apply a template to a specific asset. It is the actual component record on "Excavator #42" with its own serial number, install date, and maintenance history. The template is the blueprint. The instance is the real thing bolted to the machine.

When a mechanic logs a repair on the hydraulic pump of Excavator #42, that goes on the instance. When a fault code fires for the engine, it gets linked to the engine instance. Over time, each instance builds its own history of failures, repairs, and replacements.

How they connect

Here is the flow:

• You define items in the Catalog ("Diesel Engine exists, it is a System, it typically has these sub-components")
• You build a Template using catalog items ("An Asphalt Plant has a Diesel Engine, Cold Feed System, Screening, and 6 other systems")
• You create an Instance from the template on a specific asset ("Asphalt Plant #7 now has these 9 components tracked individually")

Change the catalog, and future templates pick up the change. Change a template, and future instances pick up the change. Existing instances are not affected. This is by design: once a component is on a machine, its record stays stable.

Properties: custom fields for components

Properties are fields you can attach to any maintainable item. Serial Number. Install Date. Total Hours. Power Rating. Weight. You define properties once in the Properties tab and reuse them across any item type.

Levels: how deep the tree goes

Levels define the depth of your component breakdown. The default follows ISO-14224:

• Level 1: Asset -- The whole machine (CAT D9 Dozer, Liebherr Crane)
• Level 2: System -- Major systems (Power Generation, Hydraulic Circuit, HVAC)
• Level 3: Sub-system -- Sub-systems (Engine System, Cooling System, Fuel System)
• Level 4: Component -- Individual components (Hydraulic Pump, Alternator, Fuel Injector)
• Level 5: Part -- Smallest trackable items (O-ring, Bolt)

You can customize level names and add up to 9 levels. Most fleets use 4 or 5.

Tips

• Start simple. You do not need all 5 levels on day one. Track at the System level first (Engine, Transmission, Hydraulics). Add Components later as you need finer detail.
• Think about what you want to report on. If you want to know "how often do hydraulic pumps fail across my fleet," you need Hydraulic Pump as a catalog item with instances on your assets.
• Default children save hours. Set them up in the catalog and they cascade to every template and instance. Do this first.
• Instances are independent. Changing the template does not change existing instances. This protects your maintenance history.