Audit log and proof: every version verifiable

Digital instructions for use are quickly updated. That is exactly why questions often arise later: which version was online on a particular day, who published it, and was a paper copy request handled on time? The ManualPass audit log answers these questions without you having to keep your own lists.

What is an audit log?

An audit log is a continuous, chronologically ordered record of all actions in a system. In ManualPass, it is created automatically: every step relating to machines, documents and the team is stored as an entry.

Which actions are logged?

For each entry, ManualPass stores three details: time, person and IP address. This allows every publication to be attributed to a specific person. Because all actions come together in one place, there is no need for separate Excel lists or email folders in which approvals and dispatch dates used to be documented in scattered form. Changes to archived machine types also remain traceable.

How does the checksum chain make changes detectable?

A SHA-256 checksum is a digital fingerprint: if even a single character changes, the result is a completely different value. ManualPass calculates such a checksum for every log entry and includes the checksum of the previous entry. This creates a chain.

If an earlier entry is subsequently changed, the following checksums no longer match. Subsequent changes therefore become detectable. The app checks the chain and displays the result, for example:

• “Log unchanged (n entries checked)”

A checksum for every document version

Independently of the log, every uploaded file receives its own SHA-256 checksum. It is shown in the app and publicly on the scan page next to the version information. Anyone who has downloaded instructions can later check whether their file matches the published version.

Earlier versions remain archived unchanged and retrievable. The Archiving page describes how the version archive works.

Complete proof of paper copy requests

If a user requests a paper copy via the scan page, ManualPass records the process:

• Date of receipt of the request,
• Deadline, calculated automatically,
• Dispatch date, as soon as you mark the request as sent,
• Editor who confirmed the dispatch.

This allows you to prove that a request was handled within the deadline. The Paper copy request page shows the process in detail.

What do you need the proof for?

• Market surveillance: If an authority asks which instructions were available at a particular time or how a paper copy request was handled, the date, version and checksum are at hand.
• Customers: In the event of complaints or accident investigations, you can show which version the customer was able to access.
• Internally: Quality management and documentation can see who published or approved what and when.

Example: an enquiry from market surveillance

An authority wants to know which instructions for use were available for a machine type in March. This is how you answer the enquiry with ManualPass:

1. Determine the version: In the machine type's version archive, you can see which version was published at that time.
2. Prove the publication: The log shows the time and person of the publication and, where applicable, the approval.
3. Match the file: The SHA-256 checksum proves that the file presented corresponds exactly to this version.
4. Hand over the documents: You provide the archived file and, from Professional, a CSV extract of the log.

What the log does not do

The log documents processes; it does not check content. Whether instructions are complete and correct remains your responsibility as the manufacturer. ManualPass also does not print or send paper copies; the log only records when you confirmed the dispatch.

CSV export from Professional

From the Professional plan, you can export the log as a CSV file including the checksums. The file can be opened in any spreadsheet program, stored in your own archive or attached to an enquiry.

The log itself is included in every plan. ManualPass does not replace a legal assessment in the individual case, but it gives you the data on which such an assessment can be based.