Record keeping
Records turn experience into knowledge. They show what broke, what was used and what worked, when no technician or app will remember for you.
How
- Keep the daily systems logbook described in living-18 (battery state, water, temperatures, faults, generator hours).
- Keep a skills record: who trained, when, which course, certificate expiry, and the date of the last practice session.
- Keep the house file of manuals, as-built drawings and certificates (legal-22) and the document backups from continuity-23.
- Record amendments to plans and contact lists so everyone uses the latest version, as the UK community plan toolkit advises.
- Teach a teenager to keep one log fully, for example the egg or garden log; it is real responsibility and builds the habit.
Sources
- Community emergency plan toolkit. UK Cabinet Office toolkit (copy hosted by Test Valley Borough Council), accessed 2026-11