Home / LEV Testing / Guide
LEV testing - the logbook
The thorough examination report is a snapshot every fourteen months. The logbook is the story in between - the running record of the checks, maintenance and faults that happen day to day. Keeping one is expected of a well-run LEV regime, and it does something the periodic test report cannot: it shows the system being looked after continuously, not just examined occasionally.
The short answer
An LEV logbook is the ongoing record of a system's care: the routine checks carried out, the maintenance done, the faults found and how they were dealt with, and the consumables like filters replaced. Where the thorough examination report is a periodic snapshot of the system's condition, the logbook captures everything that happens between those examinations - so together they show the system both formally tested on its cycle and actively maintained day to day. Keeping a logbook is expected of a properly managed LEV, because it is the evidence that the system is being looked after continuously, provides continuity between tests, and helps the next examiner understand the system's history.
The gap the report leaves
The thorough examination and test is the formal check on an LEV, and its report is the authoritative record of the system's condition and performance - but it is a snapshot, taken on its cycle of at least every fourteen months. It tells you the state of the system on the day it was examined, and nothing about the many months in between. Yet a great deal happens to an LEV between examinations: it is used daily, filters load and get changed, small faults arise and are fixed, checks are made. The report captures none of this ongoing life; it only captures the periodic moment.
That leaves a gap. A system might be examined, found fine, and then develop and suffer a fault that is fixed - or not fixed - well before the next examination, with the report saying nothing about any of it. Relying on the examination report alone means the only record of the system is a series of widely spaced snapshots, with the whole story of its day-to-day care and its faults between them unrecorded. The logbook exists to fill that gap: to be the continuous record of what happens to the system between the formal examinations, so the system's care is documented all the way through, not just at its periodic checkpoints.
What goes in it
An LEV logbook records the ongoing care of the system. That includes the routine checks made on it - the regular looks at whether the system is working, the readings from any gauges or indicators, the observations of the pull at the hoods. It includes the maintenance carried out - filters replaced, the system cleaned, belts or components renewed, with dates. And it includes faults: what went wrong, when it was noticed, and what was done to put it right. Together these build a running history of the system's condition and the attention it has received.
This is information that is genuinely useful to have in one place. A record of when filters were last changed helps judge when they are due again. A history of recurring faults can reveal a pattern - a component that keeps failing, a hood that keeps losing performance - that points to a deeper problem worth addressing. A note of the routine checks shows the system is actually being looked at, not just assumed to be fine. The logbook turns scattered, easily forgotten actions into a documented history, which is what makes the difference between a system that is genuinely managed and one that is merely occasionally tested. It is the working memory of the LEV's upkeep.
What it does that the report cannot
The logbook does several things the periodic test report cannot. It provides continuity: an unbroken record of the system's care between the widely spaced examinations, so the system's story has no gaps. It provides evidence that the system is being actively maintained, not just tested - which matters, because keeping LEV effective is an ongoing duty, not something discharged by the periodic examination alone. A logbook showing regular checks and prompt fault fixes is proof that the maintenance side of that duty is being met, in a way a series of test reports cannot show on its own.
It also helps the next examination. When a competent person comes to examine the system, its logbook tells them its recent history - what has been done to it, what faults it has had, what has been changed since the last examination. That context helps them understand the system and interpret their findings: a reading that seems odd may make sense in light of a recent modification or a known recurring fault. So the logbook is not just a record for the duty holder; it is information that makes each examination better informed. Together, the report and the logbook give the full picture - the formal periodic assessment and the continuous record of care between them.
Keeping one properly
Keeping an LEV logbook properly means treating it as a live working document, not a formality filled in as an afterthought. The value comes from it being kept up as things happen - checks recorded when made, maintenance logged when done, faults noted when found and their fixes recorded when completed. A logbook kept diligently is a genuine management tool that shows the system's health over time and supports good decisions about its upkeep. One filled in retrospectively or half-heartedly loses most of its worth, because its whole point is being an accurate, contemporaneous record.
It should sit alongside the examination reports as part of the system's documentation - the logbook for the continuous day-to-day record, the reports for the formal periodic assessments, kept together so the system's complete history is in one place. For a well-run LEV regime this combination is the norm: the system is examined on its cycle, maintained and checked between times, and both are documented. The logbook is the part that proves the system is looked after continuously rather than only remembered when the examination comes round. Keeping one is not bureaucratic box-ticking; it is how a business demonstrates, and to itself ensures, that its LEV is genuinely being managed as the ongoing responsibility it is.
The takeaway
The thorough examination report is a snapshot taken every fourteen months; the LEV logbook is the running record of everything in between - the routine checks, the maintenance done, the faults found and fixed, the filters changed. Together they show the system both formally tested on its cycle and actively cared for day to day, closing the gap the periodic report inevitably leaves between its widely spaced snapshots.
The logbook does what the report cannot: it provides continuity of the system's story, evidence that the ongoing duty to maintain the LEV is being met, and history that helps the next examiner interpret their findings. Kept properly - as a live, contemporaneous document rather than a formality - it is a genuine management tool and proof that the system is looked after continuously, not just remembered when the test comes round. Keeping one is expected of a well-run LEV regime, and it is how a business shows its extraction is truly being managed.
Questions
The ongoing record of a system's care - the routine checks carried out, maintenance done, faults found and how they were dealt with, and consumables like filters replaced. Where the examination report is a periodic snapshot, the logbook captures everything that happens between examinations, day to day.
Because the reports are snapshots every fourteen months and say nothing about the months in between, when the system is used daily, filters load, and faults arise and are fixed. The logbook fills that gap with a continuous record, so the system's care is documented all the way through, not just at checkpoints.
The routine checks made on the system and any gauge readings; the maintenance carried out, with dates - filters replaced, cleaning, components renewed; and faults, with what went wrong, when it was noticed, and what was done to fix it. Together these build a running history of the system's condition and care.
It provides continuity between widely spaced examinations, evidence that the system is being actively maintained and not just tested, and history that helps the next examiner interpret their findings. Keeping LEV effective is an ongoing duty, and the logbook is proof the maintenance side is being met.
It tells the examiner the system's recent history - what has been done, what faults it has had, what has changed since the last examination. That context helps them understand the system and interpret their findings, so an odd reading may make sense in light of a recent modification or a known recurring fault.
As a live working document, kept up as things happen - checks recorded when made, maintenance logged when done, faults noted and their fixes recorded. Filled in contemporaneously it is a genuine management tool; filled in retrospectively it loses most of its worth. It should sit alongside the examination reports.
Our thorough examination gives you the formal periodic record - kept alongside your logbook, it completes the picture of an LEV both tested on its cycle and maintained continuously between times.
