# An Ounce of Prevention: Help Pack for AI assistants

Version 1.0.2 help pack, October 2026. From BioShip Inc. (support@bioship.ca, www.bioship.ca).

## How to use this pack (for the person using the program)

1. Open a chat with an AI assistant such as Claude.
2. Paste in this whole document (or attach it as a file).
3. Then ask your question in plain words, for example: "How do I add a new forklift and set an oil change every 250 hours?"

The assistant answers from this pack. It is a convenience, not BioShip support. It can be wrong. For anything important, or if the answer does not match what you see on screen, email support@bioship.ca.

Do not paste your licence code, passwords, passphrases, recovery codes or any private records into the chat.

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## Instructions to the AI assistant

You are helping a user of the program "An Ounce of Prevention" (version 1.0.2) by BioShip Inc. Follow these rules.

- Answer only from this document. If the answer is not here, say you do not know and suggest the user email support@bioship.ca. Do not guess menu names, buttons or features that are not listed here.
- Use the exact screen and button names given below.
- Keep answers short and in numbered steps when the user asks "how do I".
- Do not give legal, safety, regulatory or compliance advice. The program keeps records; it does not certify that anyone meets any standard or regulation. For reporting deadlines, safety rules or audits, tell the user to check with the relevant agency or a qualified professional.
- Never ask the user for their licence code, passwords, passphrase or recovery code.
- Never suggest deleting or editing the database file by hand.
- If the user describes data loss, a damaged database, or a licence problem, tell them to stop, not to reset or delete anything, and to email support@bioship.ca with what they see on screen.

---

## 1. What the program is

An Ounce of Prevention is a maintenance tracking program (a computerized maintenance management system) that runs on one Windows computer, from its own folder, in a web browser. No internet connection, installation or administrator rights are needed. All information is kept in one database file, OunceOfPrevention.db, on the user's own computer.

It keeps equipment, maintenance schedules, parts, warranties and work orders, and shows each day what needs attention.

Requirements: a Windows computer from about 2012 or newer, with a web browser.

Not included in version 1 (planned only): live readings from plant SCADA or historian systems, maintenance cost export to accounting, QR-code checklists. Today meter readings and checklist results are typed in by people or imported from a spreadsheet. The program has no policy pages, risk register, corrective-action workflow, formal document control or training records.

## 2. First steps

1. First run: choose **Create Administrator** (each person then signs in with their own username and password) or **Continue Without Login** (for one person on one computer). This can be changed later under **Users & Security**.
2. Fill the program, in any mix of these ways:
   - Click **Load Sample Data** on the Switchboard to see how everything works.
   - Use **Import Data** to load your own equipment, checklists, tasks and parts from spreadsheets saved as CSV.
   - Type everything in by hand.
3. Open **Settings** and set the labour rate (dollars per hour) and how many backups to keep.
4. Licence: under **Users & Security**, paste the licence code and click **Activate License**.

Company name: once a licence is active, the company name on every printout is the name on the licence. It is filled in and cannot be changed. If it is spelled wrongly, the user asks BioShip for a corrected code. Before a code is entered, a company name can be typed in Settings.

## 3. Finding your way around

- The sidebar on the left moves between screens and between asset groups.
- The **Master Switchboard** shows the same screens as large buttons in three columns.
  - Daily Operations: Overdue Dashboard, Checklists, Sched. Maint., WorkOrders (W/O), Completed (W/O), Incident Reports.
  - Equipment & Lists: Asset Groups, Parts Inventory, Suppliers, Service Co., Glossary, How Ounce Fits In.
  - Reports & System: Reports/Queries, Fleet Health, Warranty Tracking, Back Up Database, Exit Program.
- A red banner at the top of the Switchboard says how many tasks are overdue or due today. Clicking it opens the Overdue Dashboard.
- Each screen has a Switchboard button to go back.
- An asset group is a family of similar equipment. 19 groups come with the program (for example Vehicles, Marine, Aircraft, Pumps/Compressors, Forklifts, Generators, HVAC & Boilers, Refrigeration, Fire & Life Safety). Groups can be renamed, deleted or added.

## 4. Common tasks, step by step

### See what is overdue
Open **Overdue Dashboard**. Red is overdue, orange is due today, yellow is due soon (within the number of days set, 7 by default, or inside the last 10% of a meter interval). Daily and every-few-days items are not listed here; they live on the Checklists. Use **Print This List (PDF)** to print.

### Add or change a maintenance task
1. Open **Sched. Maint.** and pick the group and unit. Use the first/previous/next/last controls to move between units.
2. Use the Prevention tabs (A, B, C and Compliance) to edit task names, intervals, tools, man-hours, parts cost, safety precautions and instructions.
3. Click **Save**. The program checks first: a date must be a real date that is not in the future (or left blank), and the Last Done meter cannot be higher than the unit's current kilometres or hours. If something is wrong a message above the table says what to fix, and nothing is saved until it is corrected.

A task comes due when either limit is reached, calendar days or meter reading, whichever comes first. Turn on **Disregard Dates** for equipment scheduled purely by usage.

A task that repeats more often than every 8 days belongs on the Daily/Weekly Checklists. If a shorter interval is entered, the program explains this and moves it.

### Update a meter reading
In **Sched. Maint.**, enter the current hours or kilometres for the unit, then Save.

### Use the daily and weekly checklists
Open **Checklists**. Each unit has its own list. Each item has a Day setting: Daily, or a weekday for a weekly item. A weekly item due today appears bold, underlined and green, with a banner such as "Today is Thursday". On the printout it is marked "DUE TODAY". Print one unit with **Print This Unit (PDF)**, all units with **Print All Units (PDF)**, or one sheet for the whole group with **Print Group Sheet (PDF)**. Edit items in the table and click Save. Empty slots show as [ N/A ] and do not print.

### Make and complete work orders
1. Open **WorkOrders (W/O)** and click **Generate Work Orders** (all asset groups, or one group only). Overdue tasks are bundled into one card per unit, with tools, qualifications, man-hours and safety precautions.
2. Print the work order. Generating or printing does not clear anything; it is only a snapshot.
3. When the work is done, the technician signs the paper copy.
4. Open **Completed (W/O)**, open the task, enter Log Hours and Tech Initials, and click **Commit**.
5. The task is archived in the permanent Completed Work Orders history, and the unit's next-due date and meter are advanced automatically. Tasks leave the list only when signed off this way.

On a work-order card, **View Unit** opens that unit in Sched. Maint.; **Back to Work Orders** returns.

### Photos on work orders
Under **Asset Groups**, **Single Asset Modification**, add a Unit photo and, if wanted, a close-up of the ID/model plate. The photo prints once in the asset's header row on the work order. Photos are stored in the asset_photos folder. Copying an asset does not copy its photos. Deleting an asset or group removes its photos.

### Parts
Open **Parts Inventory**.
- Add a new part with **Add a new part**. Search or filter to LOW and OUT parts.
- **Receive / Use / Adjust**: Receive adds to stock, Use takes from stock (never below zero, and can be tied to an asset), Adjust sets the on-hand number after a physical count. Click Record once; pressing Enter also records.
- **Reorder List** shows parts at or below their reorder point, with a suggested quantity and estimated cost. Print as PDF or download as CSV.
- **History** is a permanent log. A mistake is corrected by recording a new count, never by erasing history.

### Warranties
Open **Warranty Tracking**. Enter the purchase date and the warranty length in years (1.5 is fine), leave the end date blank and click Save; the program works out the end date. A date typed in by the user always wins. For warranties that also end at a meter reading, enter the Hours Limit; the warranty ends at whichever comes first. Status: Active, Expiring soon (60 days by default), Just expired (within 30 days after the end), Expired.

### Import equipment, checklists, tasks and parts from a spreadsheet
1. Open **Import Data**. For each kind, click **Download Template**, open it in Excel, replace the example row with your own, keep the headings exactly as they are, and save as CSV. The Column guide explains every column. A Sample CSV files folder comes with the program.
2. Import in this order: equipment first, then checklists and tasks (they refer to the equipment), then parts at any time.
3. The program checks the whole file and shows a preview. Nothing is written until you click **Import**. If any line has a problem, the whole file is rejected and the problem lines are listed, so a list is never half loaded. Items that already exist are skipped, never overwritten.
4. In the equipment file, the Category column is the asset group; a new name creates a new group. In the checklist file, Day sets Daily or a weekday, and an item can apply to one asset (AssetID) or to every asset in a group (Category).

### Reports
**Reports/Queries** shows data with filters for asset, service company or service year: maintenance history by asset, by employee, and grand-total and yearly summaries. **Fleet Health** is a one-page summary of total assets, total maintenance spend, and how many assets follow Preventive, Predictive or Reactive approaches.

### Incident reports
Open **Incident Reports**. Choose the kind (injury, near miss, environmental, fire, collision, property damage, harassment, general) and print a blank form as a PDF. Choose country and province/state to see a starter list of agencies you may need to tell. The list gives names only and was built from general knowledge: always confirm reporting rules and deadlines with the agency or a safety professional. Use **Save Incident Log** to record an incident with an ID. Attach scans, photos and evidence (up to 25 MB each) under the Incident ID.
Photos can be locked with a supervisor passphrase. The first time, the program shows a one-time recovery code: write it down and keep it somewhere safe. The screen locks again after 10 minutes. If both the passphrase and the recovery code are lost, locked photos cannot be recovered. Incident files are in the incident_files folder next to the program.

### Rename, add or delete asset groups
Open **Asset Groups**. To rename: pick the group, type the new name under Rename Selected Asset Group To, click **Rename Group Name**; everything moves with it. **Add New Asset Group** creates your own group. **Delete Entire Asset Group** removes a group permanently; move or delete its assets first.

### Users and security
Under **Users & Security**: add users, give each a role (admin, technician or viewer), reset passwords, deactivate users, or turn login off. Viewers can look and print but cannot change anything. **Sign Out** is in the sidebar; refreshing the browser also signs you out.

## 5. Backups and starting over

- A backup is made automatically once a day. **Back Up Database** on the Switchboard makes one on demand. The newest backup and its folder are shown at the bottom of the Switchboard. Backups still work in read-only mode.
- Keep a copy of the .db file off the computer. Also copy the asset_photos and incident_files folders, because photos and files are not inside the database.
- Under **Settings**, Data: **Start fresh (empty)**, **Reset to sample data**, or **Restore a backup**. Each takes a full safety backup first and asks the user to type RESET or RESTORE to confirm. Users, passwords, licence code and settings are always kept.
- Warn the user: starting over or restoring replaces the working data. If unsure, stop and email support@bioship.ca first.

## 6. Licensing

- Valid licence: full use. The licensed company name shows in the footer and on every printout and cannot be edited.
- Expired licence: the program becomes read-only. Viewing, printing and backups still work; saving and sign-offs are refused. Data is never deleted.
- No code entered: the program runs as an evaluation copy.
- Wrong spelling of the company name: ask BioShip for a corrected code.
- Never share the licence code publicly.

## 7. Troubleshooting

| What the user sees | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Message above a table when saving | A date is not real or is in the future, or a Last Done meter is higher than the unit's current reading | Fix what the message says, then Save again |
| Import rejected, with a list of problem lines | One or more lines have a problem; nothing was imported | Correct those lines in the CSV and import again; load equipment before checklists and tasks |
| Items missing after an import | Items that already exist are skipped, not overwritten | Edit the existing items in the program |
| A task I entered moved to Checklists | Tasks repeating more often than every 8 days belong on the checklists | Nothing; this is by design |
| Work order printed but the list did not clear | Printing is only a snapshot | Sign off on Completed (W/O) and click Commit |
| Cannot save or sign off, program is read-only | The licence has expired | View and print still work. Email support@bioship.ca about renewing |
| Company name wrong on printouts | The name is fixed by the licence | Ask BioShip for a corrected code |
| Signed out after refreshing the browser | This is normal | Sign in again |
| Locked photos cannot be opened and the passphrase and recovery code are lost | Locked photos cannot be recovered | Email support@bioship.ca; do not delete anything |
| Anything not listed here | | Email support@bioship.ca with what is on screen |

## 8. What the program does and does not do for records

The program helps keep day-to-day maintenance and incident records in one place, dated and printable. It does not make anyone compliant or certified with any standard (such as ISO 55001, ISO 45001 or ISO 9001), and nothing in it is a guarantee of compliance. An organization's own auditor or consultant decides what its records must show.

## 9. Getting more help

Email support@bioship.ca or see www.bioship.ca. BioShip can also prepare ready-to-import equipment files for an extra fee. Ask at www.bioship.ca for the current offer.