Free laboratory form
Instrument Usage Logbook (บันทึกการใช้เครื่องมือ)
An instrument logbook is the running record of one instrument: who used it, when, for which sample, at which settings, and in what condition they found and left it. The free Excel file below carries one logbook sheet to copy per instrument, with a monthly summary block. No signup and no email required.
Scope: ManaEsse supplies measurement instruments and manufacturer documents, and prepares equipment quotations. We do not perform calibration; that work belongs to an accredited calibration laboratory.
Bilingual Thai and English, landscape A4. One working sheet per instrument (instrument name, ID, brand and model, serial number, location, responsible person and calibration due date in the header; usage rows with date, start and end time, user, sample or test, key settings, condition before and after, problems found and initials; a monthly summary block for hours used, problems and the next check), with a worked example row. Copy the sheet once per instrument. Free to use and adapt.
Need consumables for your instruments?
List the consumables or accessories you need, with the instrument brand, model and quantity. Review each item before sending your quotation request.
Need any of this equipment? Request a quotation for Balances, pH meters, Centrifuges and Autoclaves
Check the price before a consumable runs out
Running low on electrodes, buffers, tubes or another consumable for an instrument in the logbook? Send the list by LINE and we check the price and lead time for you. The brand and model from the header is what we need.
What an instrument logbook is
The instrument register says which instruments the laboratory has and when each is due for calibration. The logbook says what happened to one of them between those dates: every use, by whom, for what, at which settings, and whether anything was wrong before or after. Keep one worksheet per instrument, with a printed copy beside it, and fill it in at the time of use.
Quality systems such as ISO/IEC 17025 and laboratory assessments such as ESPReL expect equipment records that show an instrument was fit for use when a result was produced. The logbook is that record. It also answers the practical questions a register cannot: how many hours the centrifuge ran last month, and who last saw the balance drift.
Usage logbook vs calibration schedule
The two records are kept for the same instrument and are often merged into one sheet. They record different things:
| Usage logbook (บันทึกการใช้เครื่องมือ) | Calibration schedule (แผนสอบเทียบ) | |
|---|---|---|
| One row per | Use of the instrument | Instrument, with its interval and due dates |
| Records | Who, when, sample, settings, condition, problems | Range in use, acceptance criteria, last and next calibration |
| Answers | Was the instrument in order when this result was produced? | Is the instrument within its calibration interval? |
| Changes when | Someone uses the instrument | A calibration is performed or the interval changes |
| Fails when | Entries are written from memory at the end of the week | Due dates pass unnoticed because nobody reads the column |
Keep both, and let them point at each other: the logbook header carries the calibration due date from the schedule, so the person switching on the instrument sees it without opening the register.
What to record for every use
The usage columns, and why each one is there:
Date, start and end time
Hours of use are what maintenance intervals and the monthly summary are built on. Two time columns turn a tick into a duration.
User and initials
The name in the row is the person a question goes to when a result is queried. Initials at the end confirm the row was written by that person, at the time.
Sample or test
Ties the use to a result in the laboratory’s records, so a later problem with the instrument can be traced to the results it may have affected.
Key settings
Speed and time on a centrifuge, temperature on an oven, buffer set on a pH meter. The settings that decide whether the result can be repeated.
Condition before and after
Record the condition at both checks so the log shows when a problem was first noticed. Follow your laboratory’s procedure for reporting faults and deciding whether the instrument can be used.
Problems found
Written in the row where it happened, not in a separate complaint. The monthly summary collects these lines, and the next check is planned from them.
Three habits that make the logbook worth keeping
- 1
Write at the instrument, at the time
A logbook filled in on Friday records what people remember. Keep the printed sheet beside the instrument, and the row is written while the settings are still on the display.
- 2
Summarise once a month
Total the hours, list the problems, and set the next check. The summary block is small on purpose: three lines a responsible person can fill in during the monthly walk-round.
- 3
Carry the calibration date into the header
When the schedule moves a due date, update the logbook header so the next user sees the current date. Check it before use and follow your laboratory’s procedure for overdue instruments.
Where the logbook meets the other records
The calibration due date in the header mirrors the instrument register and calibration schedule; the temperature log is the same idea for a fridge, freezer or incubator, where the reading is the record rather than the use. Both pair with this logbook.
Free instrument register and calibration schedule template·Free temperature log (แบบบันทึกอุณหภูมิ) template
Common questions
What is an instrument logbook?
A running record kept for one instrument: date, start and end time, user, sample or test, key settings, condition before and after use, problems found and initials, with the instrument’s ID, model, serial, location, responsible person and calibration due date in the header. It shows an instrument was in order when each result was produced.
Which instruments need a logbook?
Any instrument whose reading or performance affects a reported result: balances, pH meters, centrifuges, autoclaves, ovens and incubators, spectrophotometers. Shared instruments gain the most, because the condition-before column is how the next user learns what the last one found.
What goes in the monthly summary?
Total hours used, the problems found during the month, and the date of the next check or service. Three lines, filled in by the responsible person from the rows above. Over a year the summaries show which instrument needs attention before it fails.
Does ManaEsse provide calibration services?
No. We supply measurement instruments with the manufacturer’s documents, and we prepare equipment quotations. Calibration is performed by accredited calibration laboratories. The calibration due date in the logbook header comes from your own calibration schedule.
Is the download really free? Do I need to register?
Yes, it is free, and no. There is no signup and no email form. Download the file, copy the sheet once per instrument, and adapt the columns to your procedures.