Documentation in Maintenance: Examples of forms and documents in the work of UR departments

Documentation in maintenance departments has several important functions. It is not only formalities – it is also real support in current operations. What is the documentation responsible for? It is it that determines the course of service work, defines inspection criteria and facilitates the planning of inspections. In the digital era, paper documentation is becoming a thing of the past in favor of advanced systems – such as CMMS. What do the most important forms and documents used in the daily work of maintenance departments look like?

Work orders in the CMMS system – the basis of documentation

One of the basic elements of the UR department documentation are work orders. In the CMMS system, this is a digital representation of paper documents of this type. In both cases, they contain similar data – machine name, description of the fault, requirements for parts, deadline. However, thanks to CMMS, the scope of the document can be significantly expanded. You can easily add, for example, the location of the device on the hall, order priority, estimated time of task completion, references to previous services or connections to the parts warehouse.

How does it work in practice? It’s very simple. The operator or planner assigns a task in the system, and then the technician – using a mobile app – scans the QR label on the device. At this point, a detailed order is created. In this way, each person in the process is sure that they are working with current data. Additionally, the documentation from the completed task is immediately saved in the database, thus ensuring transparency and an easy point of reference for subsequent work. An obvious advantage of this approach is also a lower risk of errors.

Inspection Checklists

Regular inspections are key to early detection of irregularities, which in turn provides a solid foundation for the effective functioning of the maintenance department. In the traditional model, engineers and technicians mainly used paper checklists or spreadsheets. However, these are quite “rigid” solutions. In many cases, as the plant grows, they cease to fulfill their original function. In CMMS, they can be replaced with dynamic forms that contain precise points to be checked and can be completed “on the fly” from a mobile device. An additional advantage here is the ability to automatically generate alerts when selected indicators exceed defined standards

Thanks to this approach, the maintenance department gains greater certainty and a full history of inspection visits. It is also possible to attach photos documenting wear and tear or damage. The inspection results can then be used to plan preventive work, and the system can generate service orders according to established criticality thresholds.

Spare parts inventory in CMMS

What challenges do maintenance departments face? One of the biggest is undoubtedly maintaining an appropriate level of spare parts inventory. Both too low and too high inventories create certain problems. In the first case, service delays must be expected, and in the second – freezing of capital without real added value. However, the traditional approach to documentation significantly hinders ongoing monitoring of inventory levels or periodic tool inspections. CMMS comes to the rescue again. The system allows for maintaining a real-time inventory of parts. Each issue or receipt operation is digitally recorded, which helps maintain an up-to-date view of the warehouse status and easily browse available parts. Another useful function is automatic demand forecasting, using consumption history and planned inspections.

Health and safety documentation and permits for specialist work

This element of documentation mainly concerns high-risk areas. Work at heights, tasks inside machines, presence in an EX zone environment, contact with chemicals – all this creates additional requirements not only in terms of safety, but also documentation. An important element here are, among others, permits. In addition, precise control of the work performed is also important.

The traditional approach to this topic is based on paper forms that require manual signatures from the health and safety department. With CMMS, all this becomes much easier. You can prepare a permit form that:

• describes the scope of activities to be performed, along with a risk assessment;
• specifies required personal protective equipment and training for employees;
• enables electronic signatures and digital approvals;
• stores a history of granted permits, along with their expiry dates and renewal terms.

What are the benefits? There are many of them. The most important is the acceleration of work commencement, but it is also worth noting the reduction in the risk of formal errors. Another important advantage is the possibility of a quick audit of the full OHS documentation in the event of an external inspection.

CMMS Failure Reporting Forms

When a machine unexpectedly breaks down, it is important to quickly report the event with the most important information, apart from the maintenance schedule. What happened to the machine? When did the failure occur? What does the fault look like and who reports the problem? Here too, the advantages of the digital approach are easy to see. In the CMMS system, the failure report form can be filled out even from a mobile device. Such a report includes the time and date of the report, location, a photo of the damaged element, a description of the problem and the impact on production. Thanks to integration with the CMMS, the report can also be immediately linked to previous machine failures.

This type of reporting significantly shortens the response time of the maintenance department. The team can receive full context before diagnostics begin. This is not only a great support for the diagnosis of the fault itself, but also for subsequent repair actions.

Acceptance protocol and confirmation of work completion

After completing each maintenance intervention, it is worth taking care of confirming the completion of work. Thanks to CMMS, this activity is no longer based solely on paper protocols and handwritten signatures. A digital confirmation form is much more convenient – such a solution provides a preview of the list of all activities in the order, allows for clear marking of completed steps, and even automatic summing of work time and resources used. This is a great help, especially for maintenance management. This approach provides immediate insight into the course of implementation and the status of the machine in real time.

Integration of documentation into one coherent system

How to ensure the efficient work of the maintenance department in the context of documentation? In this respect, it is primarily important to avoid dividing documents into different independent systems. Centralization brings many benefits here. CMMS can act as such a central repository. Work orders, checklists, failure reports and acceptance protocols are available right next to each other, and can also be automatically connected to databases, e.g. the spare parts database. Occupational health and safety forms and permits additionally supplement the context where it is needed. But that is not all. In addition, the CMMS system can also generate reports and analyses combining data from different documents.

This model not only increases transparency, but also eliminates the need to manually transfer information. As a result, the risk of errors is much lower. All data flows smoothly thanks to CMMS modules, and technicians are sure that they are working on current, verified documents.

Documentation in CMMS – benefits

Documentation digitalization and integration of various documents in the CMMS system are tangible benefits for every plant. Here are the most important ones:

• reducing errors that could be related to outdated or incomplete forms;
• time saving – faster search and automatic generation of documents;
• improved communication – all process participants have access to the same, up-to-date data;
• planning support;
• increased security.

Employees gain a tool that significantly simplifies their daily tasks. Managers, in turn, can count on constant insight into UR key performance indicators. CMMS is therefore a very important element of a modern maintenance department – familiarize yourself with the QRmaint functionality on our website to learn more.