Throughout the hundred-plus buildings that comprise Rensselaer are millions of dollars worth of capital equipment — some purchased, some on loan, some donated and some fabricated on campus.
Rensselaer's various departments are responsible for overseeing their own equipment; the Controller's Office is responsible for keeping an accurate up-to-date master inventory. The following procedures describe how the Controller's Office manages and tracks the Institute's capital equipment inventory, and what the Institute's departments can do to help make the inventory system work in the best possible way. We urge the responsible individuals in each department to become familiar with the procedures outlined in this manual.
Capital Equipment Included in the Property Management System
The Controller's Office inventories all movable capital equipment having a value of $3,000 or more, and an estimated life of one year or more. These inventories include capital equipment such as office furniture, scientific equipment, teaching aids, computers, vehicles and machinery, as well as components (children) to existing pieces of capital equipment which will be linked together with the masters (parent) in the capital equipment inventory system.
Inventory Acquisition Processes and Procedures
The Controller's Office is responsible for keeping a capital equipment inventory system current with all capital equipment. Concurrently, the Controller's Office depends upon the cooperation of the responsible individuals in the various departments, offices, centers, etc. to assign the correct account codes for purchases, know the location of all equipment within their responsibility, and notify the Controller's Office of any changes in status or location of that equipment.
The Controller's Office has established the following procedures to ensure that the capital equipment inventory system works efficiently:
When a department enters a requisition for capital equipment, they are required to select the Special Approver box - Asset Management in OSCAR, which routes the requisition through the Controller's Office for proper account code review and approval, or for rejection and return to the department for correction. Procurement processes the requisition and a purchase order is generated. When the invoice is paid, it then appears on the Controller's reconciliation report. A record is created in the capital equipment inventory system and a tagging sheet and red bar coded capital equipment tag is sent to the department to attach to the purchased capital equipment. The capital equipment tagging sheet is required to be completed with the appropriate information and returned to the Controller's Office.
Fabricated Equipment
Rensselaer researchers often have a need to fabricate specialized laboratory or training equipment in order to conduct their research projects. Anyone planning to fabricate capital equipment with an estimated completion value greater than $3,000 and a useful life of more than one year should contact the Controller's Office, and request a red bar coded capital equipment tag so that all subsequent requisitions can note the red bar coded capital equipment tag on the requisition.
Prior to receiving gifts-in-kind of capital equipment, departments need to file the appropriate "Gift Transmittal" form, and an "Evaluation of Personal Property Gifts" form with the Office of Development in the Department of Institute Advancement. When these forms have been completed, the Office of Development forwards a copy to the Controller's Office.
Any government-owned capital equipment purchased or acquired on a research fund is tagged and inventoried. Responsibility for the maintenance and use of this capital equipment resides with the principal investigator in conjunction with the Office of Research and Financial Administration.
Responsibilities of the Controller's Office and Departments
- Maintain accurate, current records for each piece of capital equipment. These records include the red bar code capital equipment tag number, serial number, model number, PO number, FOAPA, description, department, responsible person, location, and the capital equipment's acquired and depreciated value.
- Ensure that capital equipment records agree with financial records.
- Conduct on-site capital equipment inventories, and provide lists and statistical analyses when required by Institute policy, special requests, or government agencies.
- Maintain the capital equipment in their possession, and keep it in a safe location.
- Assign correct account codes for all purchases.
- Know the location of all capital equipment within their responsibility at any given time.
- Cooperate with the Controller's Office to tag newly acquired capital equipment.
- Notify the Controller's Office if capital equipment is moved, sold, traded in, disposed of, or is otherwise no longer under their responsibility.
- Idle equipment: Capital equipment which is currently idle but may be used in the future is still tracked in the capital equipment inventory system. The department/principal investigator is responsible for the care and safekeeping of capital equipment for which they are responsible within their department.
- Items having no value: Capital equipment which is fully depreciated and in use is still tracked in the capital equipment inventory system, regardless of age. The department/principal investigator is responsible for the care and safekeeping of capital equipment for which they are responsible within their department.
- Loaned equipment: The Controller's Office does not track capital equipment on loan to Rensselaer. The department/Principal Investigator has the responsibility for the loaned capital equipment.
Revolving Inventories
The Controller's Office conducts revolving physical inventories on a two-year cycle. As a result, the Controller's Office visits each department or center to verify the tag numbers and capital equipment descriptions that are carried in the database for that department. After each visit:
- Capital equipment that has not been tagged and identified is logged into the database.
- Records are adjusted to show capital equipment that has been relocated.
Each department is responsible at all times to account for its capital equipment, and must be able to tell the Controller's Offfice whether the department has moved, sold, or disposed of any such equipment. The department must also submit the appropriate forms to record the disposition of capital equipment.
Missing Equipment
Rensselaer's departments, centers, and offices are responsible for the capital equipment in their possession. If an item is stolen, or a faculty or staff person discovers something missing, the department must report the situation to the Department of Public Safety immediately so that the Department of Public Safety can investigate.
If the capital equipment still cannot be found, or if it is discovered damaged, an important second step is to notify the Controller's Office, which will update its inventory records accordingly to reflect the loss or damage.
Removing Property from Campus
The Controller's Office conducts revolving physical inventories on a two-year cycle. As a result, the Controller's Office visits each department or center to verify the tag numbers and capital equipment descriptions that are carried in the database for that department. After each visit:
- Capital equipment that has not been tagged and identified is assigned a red bar code capital equipment tag and entered into the capital equipment inventory system.
- Capital equipment records are updated and adjusted to show capital equipment that has been relocated.
The department is responsible at all times to account for its capital equipment, and must be able to tell the Controller's Office whether it has been moved, sold, or disposed of. The department must also submit the Capital Asset Change Form to record the disposition of capital equipment.
Capital Asset Changes and Transfers
Departments wanting to trade in a piece of capital equipment must prepare a Capital Asset Change Request Form prior to the new purchase. This will ensure that the capital equipment being traded in is removed from Rensselaer's database.
- From one Rensselaer department to another: Any Rensselaer department wanting to transfer capital equipment to another department must prepare an Capital Asset Transfer-In Notification form. The original owner of the capital equipment may fill out the form, but must obtain approval signatures from both the originating and receiving departments.
- From another Institution to Rensselaer: The department/ principal investigator receiving the capital equipment must forward a list of the transferred capital equipment to the Controller's Office. This list should include the description of the capital equipment and its location, as well as the acquired date and appraised or estimated value for each item. The Controller's Office will contact the department to coordinate tagging the capital equipment.
- To another Institution from Rensselaer: The department/ principal investigator transferring the capital equipment must prepare a Capital Asset Change Request Form prior to transferring the capital equipment to another university. Doing this will ensure that the capital equipment being transferred is removed from Rensselaer's capital equipment database.
Also note that the department/Principal Investigator returning equipment to a vendor or sponsor must prepare a Capital Asset Change Request Form to ensure that the capital equipment being returned is removed from Rensselaer's capital equipment database.
The department/Principal Investigator wanting to donate capital equipment to a party outside the Rensselaer community must contact the Controller's Office to ensure that the capital equipment is no longer useful to another campus department. After contacting the Controller's Office, the department/Principal Investigator must prepare an Capital Asset Change Request Form to ensure that the capital equipment being donated is removed from Rensslaer's capital equipment database.
Additional Directions for Completing the Capital Asset Change Request Form
Section I
- Select the appropriate action code from the list displayed at the top of the form. (For example, the T1 code would indicate a transfer, D2 indicates that obsolete capital equipment that will be discarded, and so on.)
- Locate the RPI tag number on the piece of capital equipment. This should be in the form of a red or silver barcode that the Controller's Office placed on the piece of capital equipment when the item was originally purchased.
- Be as complete as possible when describing the relevant item or capital equipment.
- Provide information on the capital equipment's new location, department, building, and room number.
Section II
- Obtain signatures from both the originating and receiving departments and include them in the approval section of the Change Request/Notification form if the transaction is a transfer. Otherwise, only the originating department must sign.
- Note that such approval signatures are normally given by a dean, director, or department head.
Be sure to type or print the name of the person who has signed his/her authorization.
The Controller's Office will ensure that the appropriate signatures were received prior to processing.