Definition
The distinction between asset and component is what makes condition-based maintenanceA maintenance tactic: continuously monitor a component's condition and intervene when the data shows a deviation - not on a fixed calendar. What FRAMSYN does in practice. possible at all. A transformer from 1998 may have had a new bushing in 2019 and a new cooling system in 2023. Ask how old the transformer is and the answer is 1998 - but ask how old its weakest part is and the answer is entirely different. Without component level you must treat the whole asset as being as old as the oldest thing in it, and you are back in age-based maintenance: either things that work get replaced, or something fails unexpectedly because the fixed cycle never caught that one part had been exposed to something the others had not. The component register is also what lets you answer how many units of a given type you own when the manufacturer issues a notice.