An activity log system for patient handling equipment, for example a hoist, comprises an accelerometer (3) mounted on the patient handling equipment (10, 11, 12, 13). The accelerometer together with a microprocessor logs data over time, so that movement of the equipment is measured and recorded. The data collected is transmitted to a main control unit (15), in contact with other activity log systems (1), which matches logged data with experience data to enable mapping of equipment usage over time.