Logging checks

Log check records a dated entry rather than just overwriting “last done”. For weekly things like flushing taps or testing the fire alarm, that run of dated entries is the record an insurer or an inspector asks to see — “show me the last twelve months” is a question a single date can't answer.

You can log a check as All fine or Found a problem. A problem needs a note saying what was wrong, and it deliberately doesn't clear the item — something that failed its check isn't a job finished, and rolling it forward a year would hide it until long after it mattered. Note that deleting an item deletes its logged checks too, and that record can't be recovered.

Checks can now repeat in days as well as months, which is what the weekly ones need — set 7 in the days box. Fill in one or the other, never both.

For the checks where a value matters, the log asks for it — the hot and cold temperatures at an outlet, which call point you tested, the duration your emergency lighting actually achieved, a certificate number. “Done” is a tick; “hot 51°C, cold 19°C at the kitchen tap” is evidence, and it's also what shows a slow drift towards a temperature legionella likes. Deliberately never more than two or three questions, and no more than two on a weekly check — you're doing these in the ten minutes before twenty children arrive.

Meter readings. Add “Meter readings” from the standard list (under Meters) to log the electricity, gas and water meters each month. Read whichever ones the hall has and leave the others blank. Under each entry the log works out how much was used since that meter's last reading, and per day, so a month with a sudden jump — a dripping overflow, heating left on over the summer — stands out. A reading lower than the last one is flagged rather than counted, because it usually means a new meter or a typo. There's no legal requirement for this; it's a record for spotting leaks and waste, and the numbers your energy supplier asks for.

Yes/no questions start blank rather than unticked, because an unticked box and an unanswered question look the same, and “we didn't check” is a different thing from “no”.