Use cases by capability
The file for a machine
One piece of equipment, a long service life, and everything you must be able to show about it.
A machine, a vehicle, lifting gear or an installation share something with a person: they accumulate documentation over years, and that documentation is always requested by equipment, never by the date the paper arrived.
What an equipment file contains
| Block | What it includes | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Invoice, declaration of conformity, manual | No |
| Certification | Mandatory inspections and examinations | Yes, and it weighs most |
| Maintenance | Preventive, corrective, parts fitted | No, but it accumulates |
| Use | Who is authorised to operate it and their training | Yes |
Important
The second and fourth blocks are what generate penalties: equipment without a current inspection, or operated by someone without evidenced training. The other two generate quieter losses, like being unable to claim under warranty.
What makes it work
- 1
One file per item, identified as on the shop floor
With the same number or name people use, not a new code.
- 2
Everything done to it, inside
Including third-party interventions, which are the ones that get lost.
- 3
Due dates with warnings and an owner
Each mandatory inspection with its date and who arranges it.
- 4
And a live list of authorised operators
With their training; if someone falls out of date, they stop being authorised.
Watch out
The commonest mistake is filing by maintenance contractor instead of by equipment. It works while the contractor stays the same; the day it changes, the machine's history is split in two and neither half tells the whole story.
What it is for besides compliance
Worth knowing
The same scheme suits fleet vehicles, medical equipment, refrigeration plant and pressure equipment. Which inspections are mandatory changes; that the file belongs to the equipment and follows it for life does not.
›What if the equipment moves site?
The file travels with it; it belongs to the equipment, not the site.
›Should old history be loaded in?
Whatever exists and is relevant. From today, everything.
›Does it suit hired machinery?
Yes, and it is advisable: you will be asked for its documentation even though it is not yours.
A real case
The situation
A plant files maintenance by contractor and then changes maintenance company.
What you do
- Reorganises by equipment, using the identifier people actually use
- Links due dates and authorised operators
What you get
Each machine's history stays whole and inspections stop lapsing unnoticed.
The situation
A machine has been on the plant floor for fifteen years and its documentation sits in three drawers and an email.
What you do
- Gathers manual, certificates and inspections into one file
- Records the inspections due by calendar
- Notes which components have been replaced and when
What you get
Faced with a breakdown or an inspection, the machine's history reads in one place.
The situation
A unit still under warranty is repaired.
What you do
- Records which warranties are live
What you get
The avoidable cost is avoided.
The situation
A component is replaced and the documentation still describes the old one.
What you do
- Updates the file with every change
What you get
The paper describes what is installed.
The situation
The machine is sold and its documentation stays behind.
What you do
- Hands over the file with the machine
What you get
The buyer receives what covers it.
The situation
Inspections are remembered from memory.
What you do
- Records each due date with a warning
What you get
The calendar stops depending on remembering.
This article answers
- machine documentation
- equipment maintenance history
- machinery inspection certificates
- industrial equipment file