In this guide 6 sections
Key one record to each machine’s serial number. Hold the as-built bill of materials, software version, spares fitted, every visit and warranty status, and when a customer calls the engineer arrives with the right parts and laptop. Engineers read it before leaving the depot.
Key everything to the serial number
The serial number is the spine. Quotes, dispatch notes and service reports all mention a machine, but only the serial number tells two identical models apart, so capture it at dispatch and again at commissioning.
Add the customer site, the commissioning date and the signatory, and where a machine moves between plants, record the move instead of overwriting the old address. Location history explains many faults.
One serial, one record, for life. Copy the number from the stamped nameplate, not the order, because control panels get swapped and drives get renamed during a busy week. Check it twice, always.
Record what was actually built
The design bill differs from what shipped. Substitutions happen when stock runs out, and a drive from another supplier goes in without a drawing change or a note to the office. Trust the as-built list.
Log every firmware version. A field engineer who knows the machine runs an older PLC program avoids a wasted trip with the wrong file on the laptop.
Update the record after every retrofit. Add the servo drive, encoder type, gearbox model and lubricant grade wherever the machine needs them, since the wrong grease turns a ten-minute job into a seized bearing.
- Component part numbers and suppliers
- Controller and drive firmware versions
- PLC and HMI program revision
- Options fitted at the factory
- Optional batch or lot numbers
Log every visit and every spare
A service report lands in the same record with date, engineer, fault, cause, action taken and parts fitted, plus a fault category so patterns show across the fleet. Free text is fine.
Spares fitted matter twice. They explain why one machine behaves differently from its twin, and they feed warranty claims against your own suppliers, so record the part number. Note if the old part was scrapped.
A bearing replaced twice in a year is a design question, not a service routine, so attach photographs, torque readings and calibration certificates to the visit. File returned parts by authorisation number.
- Fault category and symptom
- Root cause as found
- Parts removed and parts fitted
- Hours on site and travel
- Customer sign-off
Show warranty and contract status plainly
State the warranty start date, the end date and the terms in one visible line, and add any service contract with its visit schedule. Dispatchers should never dig through old emails to learn whether a call is chargeable or free, because the customer is already on the line waiting.
Warranty often depends on use. Record whether wear parts were genuine and whether the operator followed the maintenance plan, because disputes end sooner when the evidence sits with the machine.
Flag machines nearing expiry so sales can offer an annual maintenance contract in time, and show the supplier claim deadline on the same screen.
Make the record work before the call
The aim is the first minute. The service manager opens the serial, sees the software version, the last three visits and the spares fitted, and the engineer packs the van accordingly.
Start with a small pilot. Pick twenty machines, build their records by hand from old reports, and note which questions engineers ask that the record cannot answer yet.
Fix those gaps first. Then extend to the installed base in batches by model, and review the pilot with two engineers and one dispatcher, because each of them reads the record differently.
Installed machine record sheet
One page serves one serial number, with a top block for customer, site, commissioning date and warranty dates, then middle blocks for as-built parts with versions and spares fitted. The bottom table has one row per visit, covering date, engineer, fault category, cause, action taken and parts fitted, and ends in a customer signature line.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Why not track service by customer instead of by machine?
A customer may own several machines of one model, yet faults, software and warranty belong to each individual machine, so the serial number is the right key. Always use the serial.
Do we need software, or will a spreadsheet do?
A sheet works at first. Beyond a few dozen machines, linked records, visit history and warranty reminders need a proper database with search by serial number and model.
How do we handle machines sold before we kept records?
Start with active service customers. Rebuild each record from old reports and the next visit, then complete the remaining machines one by one as calls arrive from customers.
Who should update the record?
The engineer updates it before leaving site. The office then checks the serial, parts and warranty fields before the report is closed, and sends the customer a copy of the final visit page.