The sheet on the wall by the roaster
Pinned next to the roaster is a sheet: empty chaff collector daily, clean cooling tray weekly, check and clean the cyclone and ductwork on some interval, engineer service once a year. Some rows are ticked, some dates are missing, and the sheet from two months ago is somewhere in a drawer.
Because roasting volume changes with the season, a weekly task might be too often in summer and not often enough in November, when the roaster runs all day for Christmas orders.
Why a calendar is the wrong clock
Many roaster tasks depend on how much the roaster has run, not on the date. The paper sheet is written in days and weeks, while the build up that matters happens batch by batch. On top of that, the log is kept by whoever is roasting, and when several people roast, nobody is sure whether the last clean was done.
- Cleaning intervals are written as dates, but wear follows batches.
- Several roasters share the machine and the log.
- Paper logs go missing or are filled in afterwards.
- Engineer service visits and parts are recorded on invoices.
- Nobody sees that a task is overdue until something goes wrong.
What a missed clean can lead to
The consequences of poor roaster upkeep are well known in the trade, from taste problems in the cup to unplanned downtime on a busy roast day, and in the worst case much more serious incidents. What your schedule should be, and what counts as safe practice for your machine, are for the manufacturer, your engineer and your insurer to set, not for software. The software's job is to make sure the schedule you have agreed actually happens and is recorded.
There is a more everyday cost too. A roaster that is cleaned late tends to need cleaning at the worst moment, in the middle of a heavy roast day, and the time lost then is far more disruptive than the same task done on schedule. Parts that wear quietly are replaced in a hurry, at whatever price and lead time the supplier can manage.
A maintenance log driven by the roaster
- Your maintenance schedule, as agreed with your engineer and the manufacturer's guidance, is entered as tasks, each with an interval in days, batches or roasting hours.
- The batch count and roasting hours come from your roast log or a tool such as Cropster, so the log knows how much the roaster has run.
- When a task becomes due, it appears on a tablet by the roaster and in the head roaster's list, and it stays visible until done.
- Completing a task takes a tap, a name and, for the tasks you choose, a photo.
- Engineer visits, parts replaced and findings are logged against the roaster, with their report attached.
- Overdue tasks are flagged to the owner, and the full history can be exported for your insurer, landlord or engineer.
| Task type | Interval set by | Recorded as |
|---|---|---|
| Chaff collector | Your schedule, often per batch or day | Tap and name |
| Cooling tray and bean path | Your schedule | Tap, name and photo |
| Cyclone and ductwork | Your engineer and schedule | Photo and notes |
| Engineer service | Your engineer and manufacturer | Report attached |
| Parts and repairs | When they happen | Part, date and cost |
A roaster you know the state of
Everyone who roasts can see what is due and what was done. The owner can check the log from anywhere. Cleaning follows the roasting volume, so the busy season is covered properly. When the engineer visits, the history is there. When an insurer or anyone else asks how the roaster is maintained, you have a record rather than a drawer of sheets.
Is your maintenance log a sheet of paper?
- The cleaning log is paper by the roaster.
- Intervals are set in days, but volume changes with the season.
- You are not always sure the last clean was done.
- Service history is on engineer invoices.
- Nobody is alerted when a task is overdue.