How to Import Asset Data into Nuvolo: A Step-by-Step Guide
Preparing and importing healthcare equipment records into Nuvolo Connected Workplace
Nuvolo's import process is more forgiving than most CMMS platforms, but it still requires clean, structured data to succeed. This guide covers the full preparation workflow — from field mapping to GMDN classification — and the common errors that cause Nuvolo imports to fail.
Key Takeaways
- Nuvolo's Equipment record requires at minimum: manufacturer, model, serial number, and location. Missing any of these fields will create incomplete records that fail compliance checks.
- Nuvolo uses a manufacturer-model hierarchy — the model must be linked to a manufacturer record before assets can be imported against it.
- GMDN codes can be stored in Nuvolo's 'Product Classification' field, enabling regulatory reporting and benchmarking.
- Location records must exist in Nuvolo before assets can be assigned to them — import sites, buildings, and rooms before importing equipment.
Before You Import: Data Preparation
Nuvolo's import process is more forgiving than some CMMS platforms, but it still requires clean, structured data. The most common cause of Nuvolo import failures is not a technical problem — it is a data quality problem. Manufacturer names that do not match existing records. Model names that have not been pre-created. Location strings that reference rooms that do not exist in Nuvolo yet.
The preparation workflow has four steps: clean the source data, create the reference data (manufacturers, models, locations), map the source columns to Nuvolo fields, and run a test import on a small subset before committing the full dataset.
Step 1: Clean the Source Data
Before touching Nuvolo, normalise the source data. This means:
Manufacturer names — resolve all variants to a single canonical form. "Philips Healthcare", "Philips Medical Systems", "PHILIPS", and "Philips" should all become "Philips Healthcare". The canonical form should match what you intend to create in Nuvolo's manufacturer library.
Model names — expand abbreviations to full model names. "B650" should become "CARESCAPE B650". Use GMDN classification and FDA GUDID cross-referencing to confirm the correct model name for medical devices.
Serial numbers — remove spaces, leading zeros, and formatting characters. "SN: AB-12345" should become "AB12345". Nuvolo uses serial number as the deduplication key, so inconsistent formatting creates false duplicates.
Location strings — parse free-text location strings into structured fields: site, building, floor, department, room. A string like "Main Hospital / 3rd Floor / Cardiology / Room 3C" needs to become four discrete fields that map to existing location records in Nuvolo.
Step 2: Create Reference Data
Nuvolo uses a hierarchy of reference records: manufacturers, models, and locations must all exist before assets can be imported against them.
Manufacturers — create a manufacturer record for each unique manufacturer in your dataset. Nuvolo's manufacturer library is separate from the asset records, so you cannot import an asset against a manufacturer that does not exist.
Models — create a model record for each unique manufacturer-model combination. The model must be linked to the correct manufacturer. If you have 50 unique models across 15 manufacturers, you need 50 model records before the asset import can proceed.
Locations — create location records in hierarchical order: sites first, then buildings, then floors, then rooms. Nuvolo enforces the hierarchy — you cannot create a room without a floor, or a floor without a building.
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Step 3: Map Source Columns to Nuvolo Fields
Nuvolo's import template uses specific field names. The key mappings are:
| Source field | Nuvolo field | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | u_manufacturer | Must match an existing manufacturer record name exactly |
| Model | u_model | Must match an existing model record name exactly |
| Serial number | serial_number | Used for deduplication |
| Asset tag | asset_tag | Secondary identifier |
| Location | location | Must match an existing location record name exactly |
| Department | department | Can be a free-text field or linked to a department record |
| GMDN code | u_product_classification | Optional but recommended for compliance |
| Criticality | u_criticality | Values: Critical, High, Medium, Low |
Step 4: Test Import
Before importing the full dataset, run a test import on a representative subset of 50–100 records. Review the import log for errors and warnings. Common errors include:
- "Manufacturer not found" — the manufacturer name in your CSV does not match any existing manufacturer record. Check for trailing spaces, encoding issues, or capitalisation differences.
- "Model not found" — the model name does not match any existing model record under the specified manufacturer. Verify the manufacturer-model combination is correct.
- "Location not found" — the location string does not match any existing location record. Check that the location hierarchy has been created correctly.
- "Duplicate serial number" — a serial number in your import already exists in Nuvolo. Review whether this is a genuine duplicate or a data quality issue in the source.
After Import: Quality Checks
After a successful import, run three quality checks. First, verify record counts — the number of records in Nuvolo should match the number of rows in your import file (minus any intentional deduplication). Second, spot-check a sample of records to confirm field mapping was correct. Third, review the pending review queue — records that Struktive flagged as low-confidence during normalisation should be reviewed and completed before the asset register is considered production-ready.