Vista Integration and Equipment De-duplication

What is this?

When equipment data comes from multiple sources (Vista, GPS trackers, manual entry), the same machine can end up in Clue more than once. A dump truck might appear as "DT-42" from Vista and "42" from Samsara. Clue's de-duplication system merges these into one record so your team sees one truck, not two.

This article explains how de-duplication works alongside the Vista sync.

How it works

The problem

A typical fleet has equipment data arriving from three or more sources:

• Vista: Equipment master with full details (make, model, VIN, department)
• GPS/Telematics: Samsara, John Deere, CAT sends location and engine data, often with a different equipment ID
• Manual entry: Someone adds an asset in Clue before the Vista sync runs

Without de-duplication, the same machine gets 2 or 3 records. Work orders go on one record, GPS data on another, and meter readings on a third. Nothing connects.

The solution

Clue's EquipmentDuplication table links duplicate records to a single "original" asset. When Vista syncs an asset that matches a duplicated record, Clue knows to update the original instead of creating another copy.

The process:

• Detection: During Vista sync, Clue tries to match incoming equipment against existing records by equipment number, VIN, and the udCleanEquipNo UDF
• Linking: When a match is found, the records get linked in EquipmentDuplication. One becomes the "original" (usually the Vista record), the others become duplicates.
• Selective updates: For duplicated records, only specific fields update from Vista (controlled by vista_equipment_metadata_fields_from_duplicated). This prevents Vista from overwriting GPS-sourced data like location or hours.

What gets merged

When a Vista asset links to a GPS-tracked asset:

• From Vista: Make, model, year, VIN, department, category, ownership status, UDFs
• From GPS: Location, engine hours, odometer, fault codes, idle time
• From Clue: Work orders, PM schedules, inspections, timecards

Everything shows on one asset record. One place to see the full picture.

The full details

• De-duplication is per organization. Each company's equipment is matched independently.
• The original record keeps all history. Work orders, inspections, and fault codes stay on the original asset.
• Selective field sync: The parameter vista_equipment_metadata_fields_from_duplicated controls exactly which fields update from Vista on linked records. This prevents overwrites.
• Pre-loaded at sync time: The dedup mapping loads once at the start of each sync cycle for performance.

Tips

• Check EquipmentDuplication when an asset seems to have missing data. If GPS shows on one record and work orders on another, they may not be linked yet.
• Match by VIN when possible. Equipment numbers change between systems. VINs do not. VIN matching is the most reliable way to catch duplicates.
• Review the metadata fields parameter. If Vista is overwriting data you want to keep from another source, adjust vista_equipment_metadata_fields_from_duplicated to exclude those fields.