The fact that the machinery is “behind the wall” or out of sight may mean that it is not being looked after as well as it should. Do you have a regular schedule to check the vacuum pumps and accessories in your microscopy lab, or do you wait till it fails? Do you keep a service record of the repairs done to your vacuum pumps and the vacuum levels measured after each service? In a department where there are instruments that last ten years or more and the operators and technicians regularly change it makes good sense to keep a record of the vacuum pumps oil changes, service and performance.