MAINTENANCE GUIDE · 8 MIN READ
What Should Be Included in Machine Maintenance History?
Maintenance history should help the next person diagnose, plan and justify decisions. A long list of entries saying 'checked' or 'fixed' creates volume without knowledge.The minimum useful record
Identify the date, work-order reference, asset, reported symptom, confirmed finding, action taken, person completing the work and resulting status. Add parts, labour, readings and evidence where they support future decisions.
- Symptom
- Failure mode or finding
- Corrective action
- Parts used
- Labour time
- Test result
- Follow-up required
Use consistent language
Standard asset codes, failure categories and completion fields make history searchable. Free text still matters for diagnostic nuance, but it should complement structured data rather than replace it.
Connect planned and reactive work
Review whether preventive tasks found deterioration, whether failures happened soon after service and whether repeat defects share a cause. History becomes valuable when those records sit against the same asset.
Protect integrity
Retain who changed status, who signed completion and when evidence was recorded. Corrections should be auditable rather than silently overwriting the past.
| Record | Useful detail |
|---|---|
| Finding | Drive-end bearing rough; 8.2 mm/s vibration |
| Action | Bearing replaced and coupling realigned |
| Verification | Test run 20 min; vibration 2.1 mm/s |
| Follow-up | Recheck after 100 operating hours |
PUT THE PROCESS INTO PRACTICE
See connected asset maintenance records
Explore the product page →COMMON QUESTIONS
Clear answers.
How long should history be retained?+
Set retention around legal, contractual, safety and operational needs. Critical equipment often benefits from retaining its full active-life history.
Should photographs be mandatory?+
Only where they provide proportionate evidence, such as condition, damage, installation or compliance-critical completion.