Equipment maintenance tracking is keeping, per asset, what was done, when, by whom, what was found and what it cost, so that the next decision about that asset is made from its history rather than from memory. It is the history half of a CMMS, and it is the half most sites do worst, because the work gets done whether or not it is recorded. This page says what is tracked per asset, how equipment service software keeps the history, and what an asset maintenance system adds to the log a team keeps by hand.
What is tracked per asset
Every work order against it, by type, with its dates and times. The findings from each. The parts replaced, by number. The meter readings over time. The preventive tasks due and done. The certificates from statutory tests. And the strategy decided for it, with the reason. From that, the asset's MTBF, MTTR, downtime and cost are calculated, and its repeated faults show. An asset with that history can be maintained; one without it can only be repaired.
How service software keeps it
Every work order is against an asset in the register, so closing the work order writes the history. The asset screen shows the work orders, the readings and the certificates in date order. The meter reading entered on a work order updates the asset's meter and dates the next run-hour task. The finding raises a corrective work order that links back. Nothing is filed separately; the history is a view of the work orders, which is why work orders closed properly matter more than any other habit.
What an asset system adds to a log
A log tracks by date: what was done this week. An asset system tracks by asset: what has been done to this pump. The maintenance log worksheet on this site is deliberately a log with an asset column, so that sorting by asset gives the history; a CMMS gives it without the sort, at the machine, with the readings drawn as a trend. The difference is small for forty assets and decisive for four hundred.
What tracking is for
Deciding the interval on a preventive task from how often the asset actually fails. Reading what was found last time before opening it. Knowing which assets eat the team's hours, which is where the strategy is revisited. Producing the certificate when the inspector asks. And pricing the reactive work against the planned, which on this site's worked example is 3.4 hours against 1.1 per job. Tracking that is not read for those decisions is filing.
Questions people ask about equipment maintenance tracking
What is the difference between equipment maintenance tracking and asset tracking?
Asset tracking is knowing where a thing is; maintenance tracking is knowing what has been done to it. This hub's register is the second; the first is a different product.
Can I track equipment maintenance in Excel?
Yes, for a small register, with one row per work order and an asset column. The maintenance log worksheet on this site is that sheet.
How far back should the history go?
For the life of the asset. The history is what says whether the asset should be replaced, and that decision is made on years, not months.