An equipment maintenance log lists each piece of equipment, the jobs it needs, how often, when each was last done and when it's due next, with who did it and what it cost. A second page records repairs: what broke, when, how long production stopped, and the fix. The schedule part is planned maintenance: oiling the filler's seals every week, descaling the steam kettle every month, cleaning the walk-in's condenser coil every quarter. The repair part tells you which planned job was missing, because the same machine breaking twice is often a job nobody had on the list. For a food business there's a rule behind it too: FDA's food manufacturing rule says equipment is to be cleanable and adequately maintained, and the plant kept in repair. Put the due dates in the sheet and let it flag what's overdue, so the log tells you what to do this week. In the example below, a sauce maker builds its log after a filler fails mid-run.
The short version
- List each piece of equipment, each job it needs, and how often.
- Record when each job was last done; the next due date follows.
- Flag what's overdue and what's due this week.
- Keep a repair log: what broke, downtime, cost, cause.
- A repeat repair is usually a missing planned job.
- FDA's food rule asks for equipment that's cleanable and adequately maintained, and a plant kept in repair.
- TaroStack keeps the production records and the capacity plan that maintenance fits around. More below.
What to record
| Column | What to put |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Name and where it is: steam kettle, 60 gal |
| Job | What's done: descale, replace gaskets, clean coil |
| Every (days) | How often the maker's manual or your experience says |
| Last done | The date |
| Next due | Last done plus the interval, worked out |
| Status | Overdue, due within 7 days, or OK |
| Done by and notes | Who, and anything they found |
| Cost | Parts and service |
The rule for keeping equipment and buildings in repair is in what is a food safety plan, and checking the thermometers on the same line in thermometer calibration log.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Adequately cleanable, and adequately maintained to protect against allergen cross-contact and contamination (21 CFR 117.40(a)) |
| Plant | Kept clean and in repair adequate to prevent food from becoming adulterated (21 CFR 117.35(a)) |
Neither rule sets intervals; the equipment maker's manual is the place to start. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a sauce maker's line
Mile High Green Chile Co., a made-up green chile sauce maker in Denver, Colorado, hot-fills jars for grocers. In September its piston filler started dripping halfway through a run and stopped the line for three hours. Afterward the owner listed every job on the line:
| Equipment | Job | Every | Last done | Next due | Status on Oct 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piston filler | Lubricate and inspect seals | 7 days | Oct 13 | Oct 20 | Due within 7 days |
| Piston filler | Replace seal kit | 90 days | Sep 24 | Dec 23 | OK |
| Steam kettle, 60 gal | Descale jacket, check safety valve | 30 days | Sep 10 | Oct 10 | Overdue |
| Capper | Check torque setting | 7 days | Oct 13 | Oct 20 | Due within 7 days |
| Walk-in cooler | Clean condenser coil | 90 days | Aug 1 | Oct 30 | OK |
| Walk-in cooler | Check door gasket | 30 days | Oct 1 | Oct 31 | OK |
| Chest freezer | Defrost and clean | 90 days | Jul 15 | Oct 13 | Overdue |
The repair log for September reads: filler seals worn, three hours down, $140 for the seal kit and a technician. The seals had no job on the old list; the 90-day seal kit is on it now. The kettle and freezer were overdue the week the list was made, so both got done on Monday before the next run. The walk-in's daily readings are in temperature log template.
Get the template
Download the equipment maintenance log. Two sheets: the schedule, where you type each piece of equipment, its job, how often in days, the last date it was done, who did it and the cost, and the next due date and status fill in, red when overdue; and a repair log with the date, equipment, problem, hours down, cost, cause and the planned job that would have caught it. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The log says the kettle is due on Monday. It doesn't know Monday is the day the grocer's order has to be made, and a service visit in the middle of a production day is how the order goes out late.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't schedule maintenance. It keeps the production records and the plan that maintenance has to fit around.
Batch records with your own fields. A batch record can carry fields of your own, like "filler seals checked" with the initials, recorded on a phone at the line.
Capacity against the hours you have. Work centers have hours, so a week's production plan doesn't promise more kettle time than you have.
What could be made right now. When a machine is down, the recipes and what's on hand show what can still be made by another route.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A check done during a run | Initials on paper | A field on the batch record |
| A week that fits the kettle's hours | Guessed | The capacity schedule |
| What to make when a machine is down | Memory | What could I make right now |
Batch records with your own fields are on every plan, from $49 a month; the capacity schedule is part of planning, on Standard at $99 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.