Ask HN: Normalizing logs between components

This is a software design question: I have different components which do similar operations (similar, not identical) and I want to normalize the logs that each component emits so I can make diagnosing issues easier. What approach should I take?

One thing I have thought about is using an error code for a specific known fault and then emit a message based on the error code (think M$ error codes) - same message parameters for all components but the values differ.

I'm more interested in hearing how this has been addressed by HNers who have had to build this functionality in the wild. If there are references, please share.