Shelf Life Tracking Worksheet for Aircraft Maintenance Stores
Sealants, adhesives, greases and cure-dated rubber parts expire, and using an expired material on an aircraft is a quality escape. This worksheet gives stores and quality a simple log of batches, expiry dates, months left and the value that is about to be lost.
| Material | Specification | Batch or lot | Store location | Qty | UoM | Unit cost | Stock value | Expiry date | Months left (months) | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$912 | |||||||||||
$960 | |||||||||||
$756 | |||||||||||
$1,260 | |||||||||||
$180 | |||||||||||
$660 |
Sample rows are illustrative. Shelf life limits come from the material manufacturer and the governing specification, and any extension must follow your approved procedure and be recorded. The months-left column is typed in, so refresh it at each review.
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How to use the worksheet
Add one row per batch or lot, not per material, because expiry belongs to the batch. Record the specification, location, quantity and unit cost, then enter the expiry date and months remaining. Choose an action: use first, normal, retest, extend under an approved procedure, quarantine or scrap. Review the list weekly, sort by months left, and hand the use-first list to the planners so those materials are drawn first. Export to Excel for a shared stores board, or to PDF for an audit file.
How shelf life works
Shelf life is the period during which a material meets its specification when stored as the manufacturer requires. The clock may start at the manufacture date, the delivery date or the date a cold chain was broken, depending on the product. Some materials have a separate working life once opened or mixed, and some may be retested and extended under controlled conditions by the manufacturer or an approved process. Do not extend by judgement. Record who authorised an extension, the basis and the new date, and keep that with the batch record.
- Track by batch or lot, not by material name
- Record the storage condition, such as frozen or refrigerated
- Record opened and mixed dates for materials with a working life
- Keep extension approvals with the batch record
Reading the totals
The total stock value tells you the size of the inventory under shelf-life control. The shortest months-left figure tells you how urgent the review is. Filter lines with zero to two months left and compare them with planned work. If a batch will expire before planned consumption, the right actions are to swap it with a nearer-use job, return it to the supplier if allowed, or scrap it early rather than at expiry. A pattern of repeated write-offs on one material usually means the minimum order quantity or the reorder point is too high.
Common mistakes
The usual mistakes are tracking by material name instead of batch, forgetting the cold-chain history, and issuing from the wrong batch because first-expired-first-out is not enforced at the shelf. Another is relying on the ERP expiry date without checking that it was entered correctly at receipt. Check a sample of physical labels against the system each month. Finally, remember that expired materials must be physically segregated and tagged, because a stock status in a system does not stop someone from picking the can.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I track shelf life by batch or by part number?
By batch or lot. The part number tells you what the material is, but expiry belongs to the production batch. Two cans of the same part number can have different expiry dates, and issuing needs to follow the date on each can.
Can I extend shelf life?
Only when the manufacturer, the specification or your approved procedure permits it, and with a record of the test or approval. Never extend by judgement. Keep the evidence with the batch record and update the expiry date in your system and on the label.
What is the difference between shelf life and working life?
Shelf life is how long an unopened material remains acceptable in storage. Working life, sometimes called pot life, is how long a material can be used after opening or mixing. Both limits can apply to the same product, so track the one that matters at the point of use.
How often should I review the list?
Weekly is common for stores holding sealants and adhesives, with a monthly physical check of labels against the system. High-value or short-life materials may need a daily glance at the use-first list. Choose a rhythm that matches how fast your batches expire.
If your ERP already holds batch and expiry data, we can build alerts and use-first lists that run from it. Netray builds private, on-prem tools around SAP, Infor, Oracle and Dynamics.
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