Equipment inspection checklist

Equipment inspection checklists themselves serve as key equipment for many industries and work locations that rely on heavy machinery—such as warehouses, factories and construction sites.

A company that uses equipment inspection checklists realizes the following benefits:

• Company equipment lasts longer and performs better through regular testing.
• The company achieves substantial cost savings through preventive maintenance.
• The company shields its own legal interests by maintaining regulatory compliance.

These first steps will help you plan and structure your equipment inspection checklist:

• Select the checklist format: If your organization prefers paper-based checklists, you’ll need to print specific forms. Even better: Go ahead and select a digital format, such as through a mobile inspection app or through computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software. The rewards of going digital are plentiful and reward early implementation.
• Decide type and frequency: In most situations, a combination of test types will prove necessary—both routine testing performed regularly and preventive maintenance checks that don’t need to occur as often. Establish the frequency of testing so the process doesn’t slip from the routine maintenance schedule whenever other priorities try to interrupt.
• Inventory included equipment: Exactly how much and what types of equipment to include on your inspection checklist are questions you need to address. Not all assets are going to require inspection, or at least not inclusion on regular inspection checklists. Once you determine what level of “magnification” to use on equipment, you simply need to compile it all in one comprehensive equipment inspection checklist.
• Group equipment into categories: Many equipment inspection checklists fail because they’re organized haphazardly and lack a sensible structure. All listed inspection categories need to be grouped based on workflows and systems, so entries get displayed logically.
• Identify critical failure points: Study the equipment manufacturer’s manuals and recommended maintenance schedules for that equipment. Armed with this data, you can forecast when key parts are likely to require servicing or replacement. Integrate these predictions into your scheduling process, so your planning becomes attuned to the rhythms of your machinery.

The following are some of the main positive outcomes realized by using an equipment inspection checklist:

• General process improvements: Implementing regular equipment inspections increases equipment longevity because consistently inspected equipment is more likely to last longer. It’s also more likely to perform better due to the proactive care it’s receiving. Equipment that performs better yields premium results, so output quality also scales upward.
• Preventive maintenance savings: Companies often suffer extra financial costs when poorly maintained equipment goes through a catastrophic breakdown. The repairs needed to revive such equipment can be hugely expensive and capsize equipment budgets. The equipment inspection checklist process supports preventive maintenance and keeps small problems from turning into catastrophes.
• Overall safety compliance boost: Any company that fails to see the direct relationship that exists between a company and its safety and compliance stance is treading tricky water. Companies need to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards to ward off audit penalties and other liabilities. The use of checklists helps ensure OSHA compliance.

The exact type of checklist you create depends heavily on the specific industry you’re serving. For example, if you’re developing a checklist about extremely complicated medical equipment, that checklist will probably carry a lot more complexity than a list built around more simple machinery.

Still, there are some constants that can be applied across the board to most or all equipment inspection checklists:

• Asset tracking
• Visual condition checks
• Operational inspections
• Classification of defects and sign-off

To enable easy information retrieval, the header at the top of the inspection report’s first page needs to support asset tracking by capturing vital data about this inspection:

• Data about the asset being inspected: The equipment ID or part number, as well as key information regarding the make and model.
• Data about inspection conditions: When the inspection was performed (noting both date and time) and any relevant metrics, such as odometer-type readings of the equipment taken at the time of testing.
• Data about the inspector: The header needs to contain the name of the inspector and what crews or shifts were involved. Further, the header should carry the inspector’s signature to attest to the stated results.

During visual inspections (also called “walk-around checks”) the inspector walks around the equipment while visually checking different aspects of its operation. The following are some examples:

• Fluid levels: The part might need multiple measurements to provide a full picture of the fluids that keep that piece of equipment running, including engine oil pressure, hydraulic oil, brake fluid and coolant. This phase also focuses on any leaks seen or suspected (for example, visible oil leaks, unexplained drops in hydraulic fluid levels possibly suggesting internal leaks).
• Physical condition: The inspector should examine the equipment’s exteriors for any possible dangers that could threaten the structural integrity of that part or piece of equipment. Is any corrosion present? Are actual cracks visible in its metal exteriors? Do any welded parts appear compromised or under excessive forces?
• Standard wear and tear: No major repairs needed here, just the normal process of equipment wearing out with time and use. For vehicles being inspected, the condition of tires is going to be a basic concern, as well as the durability of various belts, hoses and air filters. In industrial applications, essential parts of heavy equipment (such as seals, bearings and sprockets) require similar monitoring for ongoing viability.
• Safety labels and signage: Industrial machines are extremely powerful and can be frighteningly dangerous—especially when operators act around them without proper caution. The inspection should ensure that dangerous machines get labeled accordingly. Another safety measure, machine guarding, uses protective transparent shields to prevent operators from being struck by stray debris ejected from a working machine.

Making sure that processes and instruments perform key required functions involves the following operational tests:

• Safety systems and gear: Safety remains the top priority in any type of industrial application. Fleet vehicles like wheel loaders and forklifts require working seat belts and might warrant vehicles having a Roll-Over Protective Structure (ROPS) to provide extra protection to the cab area of vehicles. Facility managers must install a mandated number of fire extinguishers and alarm horns based on facility size and building occupancy. The inspection of personal protective equipment (PPE) might also be warranted if its use is prescribed in production areas.        
• Emergency controls: As noted, industrial machines can prove suddenly dangerous, and split-second timing in shutting them down is often the difference between luck and injury. Many industrial situations call for the use of E-stop buttons, which immediately shuts off the power supply to that machine or manufacturing system. The inspection needs to confirm that the E-stop buttons function as quickly as needed.
• Mechanical and electrical systems: These inspections seek to demonstrate that parts work together to create systems that work in conjunction. For industrial machinery that means moving parts and hydraulics operate as indicated. In vehicles, functionality might be shown by ensuring a safe possible stopping distance for brakes and confirming that parking brakes operate correctly. Vehicle tests might also include determinations about other workflows, such as the exhaust system or cooling system.
• Calibration status tags: Modern testing equipment is sophisticated and often requires substantial calibration to provide accurate measurements. Calibration tags show when the last calibration of the equipment occurred and the initials of the operator who calibrated it. Armed with this information, the potential user has a better idea about whether that equipment needs calibration before being used again.

These final additions should close out any typical equipment inspection checklist:

• Define failure triggers: Now that the inspection process is winding down, it’s up to the inspector to identify what will constitute the effective operation of the inspected equipment in the future. At what point will its future operation become problematic and what triggers will appear to alert operators of impending hazards?
• Assign next-step tasks: If the inspection has revealed the need of a repair, this final section should include a clear indication of the corrective actions required and who is being tasked with performing that action. Further, this same space should include room for a supervisor signature verifying and endorsing the repair once it’s completed.       
• Return to service: At this point in this corrective maintenance scenario, there’s only one more function to fulfill, and that’s to put the fixed asset back into operation. There should be space provided at the bottom for someone with the proper level of responsibility to properly authorize the equipment’s return to service.

One quality that made Ulysses Grant an effective general during the US Civil War was the way he wrote battle orders to his commanders. Grant’s dispatches were simple, direct and impossible to misinterpret. The same should be said of your equipment inspection checklists. Here are some top tips to help make them supremely useful:

• Use language precisely: Inexact verbiage messes up many checklists. Remember, everyone has subtly different notions of what constitutes “good” and “bad.” Instead of vague wording, opt instead for phrasing like “pass” and “fail,” or “yes” and “no,” which leave less room for ambiguity. Even better, incorporate metrics, because numbers exhibit reduced potential for confusion.
• Tie inspection areas to activities: Remember, you’re building the perfect inspection checklist—not a mere parts inventory. So, the emphasis should be on providing clear instructions for operators conducting the test. Ideally, each of those instructions should begin with an active verb to spotlight the particular function that they are expected to perform during that evaluation. Action verbs like “measure,” “visually confirm” and “calibrate” prove especially useful in this context.
• Group inspection areas logically: Organize a checklist’s individual entries in a logical manner that will enable the easiest, quickest and most sensible usage. If your checklist concerns a truck and its maintenance needs, include all the related parts of a specific system or workflow (for example, engine) within that set of entries. This can save the inspector many unnecessary steps, walking first to one part of the truck before stepping to the vehicle’s other end, and so on.
• Draw the line between passing and failing: A checklist’s conclusions must be made plain and visible, so don’t mince words. In every measured area where a pass and fail relationship exists, make it clear whether that entry has passed or failed the test. And where possible, provide details about by how much the entry has failed or other notes related to that failure.
• Provide a strong alert capability: Similarly, checklists should be able to signify when a failing grade concerns a key area of operation and a situation that definitely can’t be ignored. Does the operation need to be shut down until a repair is made? Consider implementing a coded or colored system that makes clear what action must occur, so the decision doesn’t rest with the inspector.
• Enable inspector input: Checklist entries should be concise, so all pertinent information can be contained within the list. However, it also needs to provide sufficient room for the inspector to make occasional notes about specific entries. This becomes even more essential in cases where entries denote a failing assessment. The inspector’s description of the failure can constitute important guidance for mechanics tasked with addressing that failure.
• Require inspector sign-off: Checklists also need sign-off areas so test evaluators can later understand which inspector performed the testing. Such areas should contain the inspector’s name (spelled out plainly), testing date, asset identification (through an asset ID number or part serial number) and the inspector’s signature (to vouch for the test’s results).
• Transition to paperless: Making the move from paper-based checklists to digitized formats makes perfect sense. Once checklists reside in digital format platforms such as MaintainX or Safety Culture, automation can enhance much of the reporting process. Further, checklist findings can help track and analyze trends and trigger maintenance alerts.