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Asset Management - FAQ'S

Can Broken Equipment be thrown away?

No, this is against UMASS policy. The appropriate form, AI Moving Form must be processed to maintain accuracy of the inventory database and for physical inventory purposes.

Can working equipment be transferred to another person within the institution?

Yes, as long as it is a UMASS department. Also, all equipment that is moved or transferred must be reported to Asset Management and an AIF form must be completed for inventory and tracking purposes.

Can Surplus Equipment be given to a non-profit organization?

All donations to non-profit organizations are to be processed through the Purchasing Department in conjunction with Asset Management. The Purchasing Department is the gate-keeper and insures that proper donation form(s) are retrieved. The donation process to non-profits through Purchasing can only begin after Asset Management has received a Moving/AIF form for inventory purposes.

What is needed to facilitate an equipment transfer for a PI transferring to a new institution?

The Equipment Transfer Form must be completed and forwarded to Asset Management for processing.  Asset Management obtains the signature approval from both Financial Services and Research Funding Services. The approved (or disapproved) form is returned to the department after completion. Equipment cannot be removed from UMASS without this approval.

What is needed to facilitate equipment transfers for PI's transferring to UMass from another institution?

The Equipment Receipt Form must be completed, and appropriate backup paperwork provided to Asset Management. This is necessary in order to have the equipment tagged by Asset Management and for the Research Funding Services office to grant signature approval of receipt of the equipment.

What is the Computer Asset Tagging Procedure?

Responsible Offices:

Financial Services/Asset Management
Information Technology/Productivity Services

Responsibilities:

All computers purchased by or officially transferred to UMMS must be asset tagged and inventoried per BOT Doc. T96-073 Capitalization and Inventory Control Policy and UMMS Fixed Assets Inventory Policy 05.03.02

bigstock-Inventory-Clipboard-1235668-resized.jpg

Computer assets to be asset tagged:

Computer equipment is defined as: desktops, laptops and tablets having a purchase value of $500 or greater and have been purchased with University funding or have been officially transferred to UMMS.

Procedures:

1) Procurement
Purchase with University funds - All computer purchases must be made through the UMass BuyWays. The use of procards, personal funds or personal credit cards to purchase computers is prohibited. The purchase is identified as a computer asset by account number 741980. The requisitioner must choose this account on the requisition, enter the custodian name and final location for the computer in the comments section of the requisition.

2) Receiving
Computers are purchased from several vendors. These purchases are received in two different manners.

Purchases from Whalley - Computer equipment is delivered to a secure IT designated location at each facility: Worcester - Main Campus / Shrewsbury - South Street / Charlestown. Productivity Services assigns the computer to the deployment technician. The deployment technician retrieves the computer from the secured location.

Purchased from vendors other than Whalley - Computer equipment not procured through Whalley is delivered directly to the individual assigned on the purchase order. The IT designee assigns the computer to the deployment technician. The deployment technician contacts the department and retrieves the computer for processing.

3) Asset Tagging
Asset Management provides UMMS asset tags to IT. Asset Tags are the official university identification decals. The unique barcode number assigned to the equipment is the official identifier used in the Asset Management (“AM”) database for tracking the item throughout its lifecycle.  The IT deployment technician will affix an asset tag to the computer in a visible location before it is deployed.

An IT employee is designated for each location: Worcester, Shrewsbury, Charlestown, to safeguard the tags and notify Asset Management when supplies of asset tags are low.   All asset tags must be accounted for.  If an asset tag is missing or destroyed, it must be recorded on the designated tab on the computer log described below.

Asset Management will set up and maintain a Computer Tagging Log for each of the 3 locations.  The log consists of 3 tabs: Whalley purchases / Purchases other than Whalley / Asset tags Destroyed or Missing.

The Computer Receipt Log includes the following fields:

  • PO#
  • Item description
  • Item type
  • Serial number
  • Invoice number
  • Ship to city
  • Receipt / invoice date
  • Receipt / invoice number       

Upon deployment, the IT tech verifies the computer serial number to the computer log and completes the following fields:

  • Tag#                                
  • Custodian name (last name, first name)
  • Exact location as defined in PeopleSoft (room or cube # - required for desktops only)
  • Date of deployment
  • Deployment technician name
  • Comments *optional (may be used to provide additional details for tacking purposes)

The IT tech must complete the pertinent information for all computers. Any computer on the log without the required data must have an explanation for the exception.

If the required information is not available at the time of deployment, the deployment technician is responsible to follow-up with the department to obtain the missing information.

4) AM Inventory
The official system of record for tagged equipment at UMMS is PeopleSoft Asset Management module.

The CPU, monitor, keyboard and mouse are considered part of a workstation if purchased as a bundle in a single requisition. The total cost is tagged and tracked as a single item.

The computer assets will be added to the AM Module in PeopleSoft by the Asset Management team via a script on a monthly basis. It will include the custodial name, location and tag number provided from the log.

The fields listed below are mandatory for the property record and will be included in the upload script:

  • Tag#                               
  • Business unit
  • Description
  • Cost
  • PO#
  • Vendor #
  • Voucher #
  • Invoice #
  • Invoice date
  • Acquisition chartstring
  • Manufacturer
  • Model
  • Serial #
  • Profile code
  • Custodian name
  • Custodian employee ID
  • Custodial department
  • Location
  • Comments *optional (may be used to provide additional details for tracking purposes)

Once the computers are added to PeopleSoft, they will be removed from the computer log and archived separately by Asset Management.

5) Contact Information
For questions and concerns, please contact:

Financial Services/Asset Management

Michele Landry
Asset Management Supervisor
(508)856-4148
Michele.Landry@umassmed.edu

Information Technology/Productivity Services

Joe Bowden   
Director of Productivity Services & IT Help Desk
(774)455-4355
joseph.bowen@umassmed.edu                                                                

Doug Hancock
Manager of Productivity Services
(508)856-8027
doug.hancock@umassmed.edu                                                                                    

IT Designee Worcester Location                                
Thomas Kontos
Sr. Productivity Services Engineer
(508)856-5142
Thomas.Kontos@umassmed.edu

IT Designee Charlestown Location 
Randall Browne
Engineer, PC Svcs
(617) 886-8163
Randall.Browne@umassmed.edu

What is the website for the State Surplus Property Office (SSPO)?

The State Surplus Property Office is a website that lists surplus equipment available to all State agencies.

State Surplus Property Office