One tech knows how to bring that line back up. Keep what they know.
When an experienced maintenance tech leaves, the next one starts from scratch.
1.9M
U.S. manufacturing jobs could go unfilled from 2024 to 2033, out of up to 3.8 million new workers needed.
Source: Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, 202447%
of U.S. workers have had to train themselves because a retiring coworker's knowledge wasn't passed on.
Source: The Harris Poll for Express Employment Professionals, 2021, 2,002 U.S. workers51,900
openings a year for industrial machinery mechanics, maintenance workers and millwrights, 2025 to 2035.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsThe stuff that never makes it into the work order.
Bringing it back up
The restart order after a fault, the interlock that has to be cleared first, and what to check before you hit start.
Warning signs
The noise a compressor makes before it fails, the boiler that trips on low water, the conveyor that walks off its belt.
The old equipment
Machines older than their manuals, rewired over the years, that only one person really understands.
Parts & suppliers
Which bearing fits, who has it in stock, and the part that cross-references to something easier to get.
Safety steps
Lockout points, the valve that has to be closed first, and what NOT to do.
Who to call
The vendor tech who knows that controller, the after-hours number, the contractor for the boiler.
Ask it like you'd ask your lead.
- Record at the machine or in the boiler room from a phone's browser. Nothing to install.
- Each note is transcribed and filed under the equipment and the area it's about.
- Scan the QR sticker on a machine, a boiler or a panel to see its notes or record a new one.
- Notes are tagged with the problem, cause, fix, parts, tools and warnings.
- No phones on the floor? A shared shop tablet stays signed in, and each person records with their own PIN.
- Anyone on the team searches in plain words or asks a question, and gets the answer from your notes along with the notes it used.
Boiler 2 · Boiler room
“Boiler 2 tripping on low water. Before anything, blow down the low-water cutoff. The float chamber gets sludged up and it trips even with water in the glass. If it still trips, check the feed pump strainer. Don't just jump the cutoff to get heat back, that's how you dry-fire a boiler.”
Example for illustration, not a real customer's note.
Keep what your best maintenance techs know.
Book a 15-minute demo. We'll show you KeptLabs with plant maintenance examples and give you a straight quote for your team.