Free equipment fault report
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Download a free equipment fault report. Document symptoms, severity, suspected cause and corrective actions. PDF ready to print.
Commercial Director
Updated 3 May 2026
How to use: download the PDF, print or complete digitally on any device.
- PDF format, ready to print or fill on screen
- Use as-is or customise to suit your operation
- Go digital in MapTrack for photos, alerts and audit trails
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What is a equipment fault report?
An equipment fault report is a document used to record and communicate a fault or malfunction observed on a piece of equipment. The report captures the equipment details, fault description, symptoms observed, severity assessment, suspected cause, immediate actions taken and recommended corrective actions. Fault reports are the first step in the corrective maintenance process, initiating the work flow from fault identification through diagnosis, repair and return to service.
Prompt and accurate fault reporting is essential for maintaining equipment reliability and workplace safety. Under Section 19 of the WHS Act 2011, the PCBU has a duty of care to ensure that plant is maintained in a safe condition. If a fault creates a safety hazard and is not reported, the organisation is exposed to both WHS enforcement action and liability for any resulting injury. Beyond safety, unresolved faults lead to progressive deterioration, more expensive repairs and unplanned downtime. A structured fault reporting process ensures that faults are captured, prioritised and resolved systematically rather than being overlooked or forgotten.
Learn more about asset tracking in MapTrack.
Benefits of using this equipment fault report
- Early intervention: capturing faults when first observed prevents minor issues from escalating into major failures.
- Safety compliance: reporting safety-related faults immediately meets WHS obligations for maintaining safe plant and equipment.
- Maintenance efficiency: structured fault reports give maintenance teams the information they need to diagnose and plan repairs.
- Downtime reduction: prompt reporting and repair reduces the duration and impact of unplanned equipment downtime.
- Trend analysis: tracking fault reports by equipment, fault type and frequency reveals reliability issues and informs replacement decisions.
- Accountability: a signed fault report creates a documented record of who identified the fault, when and what actions were taken.
Benefits of digitising forms in MapTrack
When you move your reports from paper to MapTrack, you get:
- Field users can easily scan a QR code to complete a form on mobile. Unlimited users.
- Automatically get alerts when faults are identified.
- Link every form digitally as a PDF to the relevant asset, location or person.
- Receive a digital PDF copy with every submission to your email.
- Ability to share forms digitally.
- Build conditional logic (show or hide questions based on answers).
- Take pictures or attach photos. Not possible with a paper-based form.
- Electronic signatures.
- Edit forms later without reprinting.
- Restrict permissions (who can view, complete or approve).
- Build forms with AI (describe what you need and MapTrack suggests the form).
- Maintain a live asset register with location, condition and custody history.
- Schedule and track calibration, certification and warranty expiry dates.
- Generate depreciation and total-cost-of-ownership reports per asset.
Book a demo to see how MapTrack handles reports.
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What to include in a equipment fault report
This equipment fault report covers 11 key areas:
- Reporter details: name, position, department, date and time fault was observed.
- Equipment details: asset ID, description, make/model, serial number, location.
- Fault description: clear description of the fault, including symptoms, abnormal behaviour, error codes or messages.
- When the fault was first noticed: during pre-start inspection, during operation, during maintenance, after an incident.
- Severity: critical (safety hazard or complete failure), major (significant performance impact), minor (reduced performance), cosmetic.
- Immediate actions taken: equipment isolated, locked out, tagged out, barricaded, reported to supervisor.
- Suspected cause: operator observation of what may have caused the fault (overloading, wear, impact, contamination, electrical fault).
- Operational impact: is the equipment still operational (yes, with restrictions, no), estimated downtime.
- Photographs: images of the fault, error displays, damage or abnormal condition.
- Corrective action recommended: repair, replacement of component, full service, specialist assessment.
- Signatures: reporter and supervisor acknowledgement.
How to use this equipment fault report
- Stop using the equipment if the fault presents a safety hazard and apply isolation controls.: If the fault could cause injury, property damage or further equipment damage, stop the equipment immediately. Apply lockout/tagout if appropriate. Barricade the equipment if it is in a high-traffic area. Do not attempt to operate faulty equipment.
- Complete the fault report with a clear, specific description of the fault.: Describe what you observed: the symptoms, any abnormal sounds, smells, vibrations, error messages or visual damage. Be specific. State when the fault was first noticed and whether it was intermittent or constant. Include any error codes displayed.
- Assess the severity and record the operational impact.: Rate the severity as critical, major, minor or cosmetic. Note whether the equipment can still be used (with restrictions), or whether it is completely out of service. Estimate the operational impact in terms of downtime and production loss.
- Take photographs and note any suspected cause.: Photograph the fault from multiple angles. If an error code or message is displayed, photograph the screen. Record your observation of what may have caused the fault. This information helps the maintenance team plan the repair efficiently.
- Submit the fault report to your supervisor and maintenance team for action.: Hand the completed report to your supervisor or submit it through the maintenance request system. The maintenance team will review the report, prioritise the repair based on severity and schedule the corrective work. Follow up if the fault is not addressed within the expected timeframe.
In MapTrack, you can manage your full asset register digitally. Each submission is stored as a timestamped PDF against the asset record.
Get the free templateEnter your email above to download the full equipment fault report as a PDF.Back to download formHow often should you complete this report?
An equipment fault report should be completed every time a fault or malfunction is observed. There is no scheduled interval. The trigger is the observation of a fault. Workers should be encouraged to report all faults, no matter how minor, as early detection prevents costly failures.
Frequently asked questions
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