A malfunction report describes a malfunction at an object that affects its performance in some respect. For example, an employee from production would use a malfunction report to report that:

• A technical system is not functioning properly
• Performance has reduced for a technical system, or that the system is not functioning at all
• A production system is producing goods of poor quality

As a rule, a malfunction report requires the maintenance department to arrange for a specific repair task to be performed, for the ideal condition of the object to be restored (according to DIN norm 31051).

As a rule, most companies only record the malfunction, damage or problem initially, in other words, only data relating to the malfunction are entered in the notification. Data referring to the repair and to technical findings is usually only entered as a second step in the system, that is, as changes to the notification.

A special case of malfunction report is when a machine operator determines a malfunction, immediately repairs it and subsequently documents the malfunction that occurred, its effect and the way in which it was rectified. In this case, the maintenance notification is created as a completion confirmation once the maintenance tasks have been completed.

When you create a malfunction report, you should provide the maintenance planning department with as much information as possible regarding the malfunction or problem. To do this, make the following entries where possible:

• Which malfunction or problem has occurred
• Where the malfunction or problem has occurred
• What effect it has
• Who reported the malfunction or problem
• What further damage or problems have been caused