Attribute Tables in Utility Network

[Laura_S811]

Hi all, 

I am a beginner in Utility Network and wanting to clarify how attribute tables are set up. 

Currently the business I am working for is migrating into UN and the attribute tables have been set up against the asset groups. This means that many feature class tables have been merged together (Which I understand is how UN works), but this means we have many fields against multiple assets that are not relevant. 

Is there a way to have attribute tables per each asset type so each asset under their respective asset groups have their own view of the larger table?

i.e. Big Table for Asset Group, subset of the table for Asset Type?

I have seen online this working for water network but seeing as we are electric the set up is maybe different?

I can see subtype is against asset group, should this be against asset type? Am I way off base?

Any help would be greatly appreciated to help my confused head!

Thanks,

Laura

[gis_KIWI4]

@Laura_S811 - The best I can think of the hierarchy is
                                               Layer -> AssetGroup (Subtype) -> AssetType

So the Electric Device Layer has all the attributes encompassing switches, fuses, transformers, etc. 
The next level of distinction is AssetGroup (subtype) like Switch, Transformers, Fuses, etc. 
AssetType Provides the next level of distinction like High Voltage Circuit Breaker or Subtransmission Voltage Circuit Breaker, single phase distribution transformer, three phase distribution transformer, etc.

Now when you add this as a subtype group layer in ArcGIS Pro you can hide/display fields at the AssetGroup Level (i,e subtype) which usually follows a logical grouping. 

Now you do have some flexibility when it comes to setting up the AssetGroup AssetTypes. 

Example A - In this setup the attribute table will show all selected attributes at the ASSETGROUP level

ASSETGROUP	ASSETTYPE
TRANSFORMER	ZONESUB POWER TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	SINGLE PHASE PAD MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	THREE PHASE PAD MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	SINGLE PHASE POLE MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	THREE PHASE POLE MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

Example B - Let's say you can move the hierarchy slightly to have a separate ASSETGROUP for POWERTRANSFORMER as it might need more fields that are relevant to this type.
and this way you can set up attribute table to show different fields for the two different subtypes. 

ASSETGROUP	ASSETTYPE
POWERTRANSFORMER	ZONESUB POWER TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	SINGLE PHASE PAD MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	THREE PHASE PAD MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	SINGLE PHASE POLE MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER	THREE PHASE POLE MOUNT DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

The way you set up ASSETGROUP and ASSETTYPE is a business specific decision.
You will need to balance it with usability and any future integrations. 

Hope this helps. Any specific example you wanted to work through? 

[JoaquinMadrid1]

@Laura_S811 ... Adding to the great feedback from @gis_KIWI4, I would encourage folks to think of the Asset Type classification not as a "type of asset", but rather as a means to support associations. Let me explain.

Following the Electric Transformer example, first consider what business classification you must satisfy: Substation? Distribution Radial? Mesh Network Underground? Not only they may require different layer properties (field visibility, symbology, scale suppression), but your users may want to hide, with a single click of a checkbox in the Contents pane, anything that is Transmission, or Substation, or Radial, or MNU... to declutter the map during specific workflows. That reasoning (or those business drivers) are the ones guiding your choice of Asset Groups and their presentation via Subtype Group Layers.

The main reasoning behind Asset Types, on the other hand, is to account for Associations and Categories. What do you want to allow connecting to your Transformer? What could be contained by the Transformer? Would your Transformer need to be contained by some other "thing", whether assembly, structure, other? This way you may be as simplistic (and efficient) as to differentiate Distribution Transformers between OH and UG (pad mounted) XFRs, so that OH attach to Poles while UG "sit" on Pads. Also, OHs tap OH Lines, while UGs split UG Lines. From this perspective, it does not matter whether the XFR is single, or three phase, or three single phases banked. From the UN point of view, this simple Asset Type differentiation is enough to support a Network Topology. Now then, do you also have a business case where via tracing you need to manage some kind of OH transformer different than the rest? If so, you may need to add another Asset Type and assign to it the business-specific Category that facilitates that analytics.

What about the physical type of asset? Well... you can always add a field (or more) such as Equipment Type (Equipment Use...). It allows you to have more granularity about the type of equipment you have in the field, from an asset perspective. Yet, nothing to do with UN connectivity, attachment, or containment. And the Equipment Type can be used for symbology, as well.

Please, just consider this as an additional recommendation. As you probably know, Esri Solutions already provides you with Foundation reference models that facilitate the task you are working on. There are several "flavors" of the Foundations to satisfy your business needs. 

I hope this helps.

[RobertKrisher]

@Laura_S811  You achieve this through the use of subtype group layers. This is one of the items you learn in the Configure a map for ArcGIS Utility Network tutorial.