QR code service history: one record per machine, one plate on the machine

The QR code itself is only a pointer. The value sits in the record behind it, and that record has three parts:

1. Identity: exactly which unit this is (serial number, type, year, customer, location).
2. Documentation: which manuals, drawings, spare parts and maintenance information apply to this unit.
3. History: what has happened to this unit since delivery: service visits, parts replaced, fault reports and their outcome.

The key word is serial number. Two hydraulic power units of the same type can be very different machines five years after delivery: one has a replacement pump and a modified valve block, the other still runs as built. A QR code that links to a generic product page or a brochure cannot tell them apart. A service history at serial-number level can.

The plate stays on the machine for its whole life, and the content behind it changes. When you release a new manual revision or document a service visit, the next scan shows it. Nobody has to reprint anything.

The same search term is used by two very different groups.

The end user’s plant. A maintenance team looks after its own equipment from many manufacturers. It needs work orders, preventive maintenance schedules, spare-parts stock and staff planning. That is the job of a CMMS (computerised maintenance management system), and many plants put their own QR labels on their assets for it.

The machine builder (OEM). You build machines and support them in your customers’ plants. You need the customer to find the right manual, order the right part and report a fault with enough detail that your service team can judge it remotely. Your history spans many customers, but each customer should only see their own machines.

This guide is written from the manufacturer’s side, for machine builders. If you run plant maintenance and need scheduling and work orders, a CMMS is the right tool.

Start with the questions your service team asks on every call:

Equally important is what does not belong behind a public scan: live machine data, passwords, remote access to the control, and personal data beyond what a fault report needs. A service history is documentation, not a control interface. The structure of the record itself — what belongs behind the code on the machine — has its own guide.

The operator scans the plate with the phone camera. No app, no login, no VPN. The page opens in their language and shows the released manuals, spare parts, maintenance information and troubleshooting for this exact unit. If something is wrong, they send a structured fault report: machine, customer and site are already known from the plate, and they add a photo or short video, a description and a phone number or email address.

Your technician (or an authorised service partner) scans the same plate and enters a service code to see staff-only content such as settings and service procedures. Before driving out, they read the history: last replacement, installed configuration, this morning’s photo. After the visit, the work is documented in the record.

Your service desk receives every fault report by email and, if you want, as a signed webhook in your ticket or ERP system. The report arrives with the machine, customer and site attached, and the machine’s record with its history is one click away, so nobody has to ask “Which serial number was it again?”

Fictional example: the unit, its serial number, the customer and the plant are invented.

1. Delivery. The manufacturer imports HPU 75-200, S/N 24-0815, from an export of its own system: type, serial number, customer and plant. Manuals, filter elements and the maintenance plan come with the machine type; the as-built sheet with pump and motor serials, 200 l tank and hydraulic oil VG 46 is attached as a document of this one unit. The manufacturer prints the QR plate and mounts it next to the type plate.
2. Month 7, early shift. An operator notices oil under the unit and a temperature warning. They scan the plate. The troubleshooting the manufacturer has released tells them to check the oil level and the cooler fan and not to open pressurised lines. They send a fault report with a photo of a wet return line fitting, a 10-second video of the noise and the note “oil at return line fitting, temperature warning since 6 a.m.”.
3. At the manufacturer. The report lands in the service inbox and in the ticket system. The engineer opens the record, sees the configuration and the last event (filter change in month 6), recognises the fitting from the photo and replies with the part numbers for the fitting and the seal kit. A visit is booked for the next day.
4. On site. The technician scans the plate, enters the service code, checks the relief valve setting and the accumulator pre-charge against the staff-only values, and replaces the fitting.
5. Documented. The service event goes into the record: date, work done, parts used and the measured pressure; the fault report with its photos stays linked to it. The audit log shows who changed what and when.
6. A year later. A different technician, or the customer’s new maintenance lead, scans the plate and sees the whole story without searching through old emails.

The same pattern works for a compressor (running hours, oil separator, service kits per interval) and for a packaging machine (format parts, sealing jaws, changeover settings per product) — see the customer portal for packaging machines.

All three use QR codes, but they solve different problems.

They are not mutually exclusive. Many plants run a CMMS and still scan the manufacturer’s plate to get the right manual. Many OEMs dispatch technicians with field service software and use a customer portal as the front end that collects clean fault reports. More on that choice: CMMS vs field service management vs OEM portal.

Servotag Pro is a customer portal for machine builders, built around the QR plate:

• One record per machine at serial-number level, reachable by QR plate. Operators see released documents (with a jump to the manual page), spare parts and maintenance information, and released troubleshooting.
• Structured fault reports with machine, plant, photo or video and description. They are sent by email and by signed webhook to your system, with retries and a delivery queue.
• Documented history per machine. Changes are traceable in an audit log.
• Technician service codes for staff-only content. Maintenance plans are shown in the record; when maintenance falls due, your service team gets a reminder by email and, if you use a webhook, a signed event.
• Operator interface in four languages, no app, no login, no VPN, and no access to the machine control.
• Your branding, separate portals per customer, CSV import and export, QR printing, roles including technician and read-only, unlimited internal users.
• Priced by machines in the field, never per user.
• Records stay in your account. Servotag Pro is not a CMMS and does not schedule plant maintenance work orders. If your contract ends, a scan shows a notice page with your contact details, and the data is not deleted.

A note on the EU Machinery Regulation. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies from 20 January 2027. Under Article 10(7), instructions for use may be provided in digital format, on conditions: the machine is marked with how to access them; they can be printed, downloaded and saved on a device; and they stay accessible online for the expected lifetime of the machine and at least ten years after it is placed on the market. A user who asks for paper at the time of purchase receives it free of charge within one month, and for non-professional users the essential safety information is supplied on paper. Annex III, section 1.7.4 sets out what the instructions must contain. A QR plate can be the way to reach digital instructions; Servotag Pro shows the documents you have released for the machine while your contract runs. Whether your setup meets these conditions is your assessment — software alone does not make a machine compliant. A checklist for QR code machine documentation helps with the questions to ask.

What is a QR code service history?

It is the record of one specific machine, identified by serial number, that opens when someone scans the QR plate on that machine. It combines identity, applicable documents and the history of service events and fault reports.

Do operators need an app or a login to use it?

No. In Servotag Pro, operators scan the plate with their phone camera and the record opens in the browser. Staff-only content is protected by a technician service code.

What is the difference between a QR service history and a CMMS?

A CMMS helps a plant plan and track maintenance of its own equipment with work orders and schedules. A manufacturer’s QR service history serves the customers of a machine builder with documents, troubleshooting and a direct fault report channel to the manufacturer. Many companies use both.

What should the service history of a hydraulic power unit include?

Serial number and configuration (pump, motor, tank size, options), oil grade and filter elements, the maintenance plan, released troubleshooting steps, and every service event with parts used, measured values such as pressure, and photos of the fault.

What happens to the QR plates if we stop using the service?

With Servotag Pro, a scan then shows a notice page with your contact details, so customers can still reach you. Your data is not deleted.

Does the EU Machinery Regulation allow digital instructions behind a QR code?

Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which applies from 20 January 2027, allows instructions for use in digital format on the conditions set out in Article 10(7); Annex III, section 1.7.4 sets out their content. The regulation does not mention QR codes. Check the conditions on EUR-Lex and assess your own machines against them.