Creating Custom Categories

If the system default categories don't cover all the types of equipment your organisation manages, you can create custom categories or subcategories.

When to create a new category

Create a new parent category when:

• You have a broad type of equipment that doesn't fit existing categories
• You need a separate code prefix for identification
• You want to apply specific check templates to a group of assets
• You need to restrict who can inspect certain equipment types via authorities

Create a new subcategory when:

• You need to distinguish specific equipment types within an existing parent category
• You want to apply a check template to a specific type of equipment rather than the whole parent category

How to create a parent category

1. Navigate to Asset Categories from the main menu
2. Click Create Category
3. Fill in the details:

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	A descriptive name (e.g. "Marine Equipment")
Code Prefix	No	A short code for asset numbering (e.g. MAR). Auto-generated from the name if left blank.
Description	No	A brief explanation of what this category covers
Default Criticality	Yes	The criticality level assigned to new assets in this category

4. Click Save

How to create a subcategory

1. Navigate to Asset Categories from the main menu
2. Find the parent category you want to add a subcategory to
3. Click the Add Subcategory button next to the parent
4. Enter the subcategory name (e.g. "Lifeboat" under Marine Equipment)
5. Click Save

Subcategories inherit the code prefix and default criticality from their parent category.

Choosing a code prefix

The code prefix should be:

• Short — 2 to 4 characters works best
• Unique — no two categories should share the same prefix
• Meaningful — someone should be able to guess the category from the prefix

Examples: LIFT for Lifting Equipment, HVAC for Heating/Ventilation, COMP for Compressors.

Criticality levels

Choose the default criticality based on the general risk profile of assets in the category:

Level	When to use
Critical	Failure could cause serious injury or death (e.g. fire safety, fall protection)
High	Failure could cause significant harm or major operational disruption
Medium	Failure causes moderate inconvenience or minor safety concern
Low	Failure has minimal impact on safety or operations

TIP

The default criticality is just a starting point. You can override it on individual assets if a specific piece of equipment is more or less critical than the norm for its category.

Editing and deleting categories

You can edit a category's name, code prefix, description, default criticality and custom fields at any time. Changing a category's details does not retroactively change existing assets — it only affects new assets created in that category going forward.

System default categories can be edited (label, code prefix, criticality, custom fields) so you can tailor them to how your organisation talks about its equipment. They can't be deleted — only custom categories can, and only when no assets are currently assigned to them. Deleting a parent category also removes all of its subcategories.