Maximo "Meter New Reading" attribute length must be validated against domain being associated

1. Why is it useful?

Characteristic‑type meters in Maximo allow users to record descriptive or qualitative meter readings (e.g., inspection observations or condition categories).
This functionality is useful because it lets maintenance teams capture condition-based information using predefined characteristic values instead of numeric readings. For certain asset conditions, these descriptive values provide clarity and context that numeric values cannot.

However, the current implementation restricts the LASTREADING attribute in the ASSETMETER object to a maximum length of 18 characters. While this is how the system is designed today, it becomes problematic when characteristic values exceed this limit. This behavior, although aligned with the original design, now represents a defect because real-world characteristic values often require more descriptive text.

2. Who benefits from it?

This functionality primarily benefits:

• Maintenance technicians, who rely on characteristic readings to record asset condition accurately.
• Asset managers, who use this information for analysis, maintenance planning, and compliance reporting.
• Maximo administrators, who configure meter templates, characteristic values, and condition-based monitoring rules.
• Inspection teams, who need to log observations using meaningful and descriptive predefined options.

Because the current limitation blocks users from entering longer characteristic values, all of these roles experience disruption when attempting to save valid readings. This makes the limitation a functional defect rather than a deliberate business rule.

3. How should it work?

Under expected behavior, users should be able to select any valid characteristic value even if the description exceeds 18 characters and save the new meter reading without encountering a field‑length validation error.

This means:

• The system should allow the selected characteristic value to be stored fully.
• The LASTREADING field (or another appropriate field) should support the complete characteristic value length.
• No validation error should prevent saving legitimate characteristic readings.
• Meter readings should be recorded consistently regardless of how long the characteristic description is.

Although the system currently uses the LASTREADING attribute (with its 18-character limit) to store characteristic readings because that is how the design originally defined the data model this design is insufficient. Since valid characteristic meter values exceed this limit, the current behavior is considered by customers as a defect rather than an intended business rule.