FactorybookProduction log sheet format for a small factory
A production log is only worth keeping if it can answer a question later — which machine is losing the most time, which operator's shift runs cleanest, whether today beat yesterday. That takes a few specific columns. Here's the format, why each column earns its place, and a filled-in example.
The columns
| Column | Why it's there | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | One row per machine per shift, per day. | Required |
| Shift | A / B / C, or first and second. Without it you cannot compare like with like. | Required |
| Machine number | The specific machine, not the department. | Required |
| Operator name | Who ran it. This is what makes the sheet answerable later. | Required |
| Product | What was produced, including size or grade. | Required |
| Output quantity | Good output only. Keep rejections separate. | Required |
| Unit | Pieces, kg, rolls, metres — whatever that product is counted in. | Required |
| Downtime (minutes) | Total minutes the machine was not running. | Strongly advised |
| Downtime reason | Breakdown, no material, changeover, power, no operator. | Strongly advised |
| Rejections | Quantity scrapped, and why. | Optional |
| Remarks | Anything the next shift needs to know. | Optional |
A filled-in example
| Date | Shift | Machine | Operator | Product | Output | Downtime | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep | A | M-04 | Ramesh Kumar | Woven sack 24x36 | 4,200 pcs | 35 | Changeover |
| 12 Sep | B | M-04 | Suresh Babu | Woven sack 24x36 | 3,950 pcs | 0 | — |
| 12 Sep | A | M-07 | Lakshmi Devi | Liner roll 18" | 220 rolls | 90 | Breakdown |
One row per machine per shift. Three machines on two shifts is six rows a day — about 180 a month, which is roughly the point at which a paper register stops being answerable.
The two columns most sheets leave out
Downtime minutes and downtime reason. Output alone tells you a shift made less; it doesn't tell you whether that was a breakdown, a changeover, or a material shortage — and those have completely different fixes. A sheet without them records what happened but can't explain it.
- Downtime by machine shows you which machine to service first
- Downtime by reason shows you whether the problem is maintenance, planning, or supply
- Output per operator, per shift, makes the sheet comparable over time
Related
Or skip the sheet
Factorybook logs production by machine, shift and operator, tracks downtime and its reason, and adds up output by product and by person automatically — so the questions a log exists to answer are already answered.
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