Equipment inspections are critical for keeping operations running smoothly and safely while staying compliant with regulations. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the fundamentals of equipment inspections–from the different types to key steps of the process. You’ll also get to know about inspection tasks for different industries.
By the end, you’ll have a much clearer idea of how to carry out an effective inspection program for your organization, with resources to make the job easier.
What is equipment inspection?
Equipment inspections assess the condition of your equipment. They also allow you to see if your equipment needs repairs to make sure everything is up and running. These can range from routine checks to more detailed reviews that check if your equipment meets regulations.
Employees in charge of equipment maintenance must make sure everything undergoes a thorough inspection. It’s also best practice to establish a habit of regular, standardized equipment inspections. These minimize maintenance costs and prevent accidents in the workplace.
Preventative maintenance costs significantly less than repair work, because it ensures that you catch any issues before they get worse. Daily inspections are the best way of identifying needed equipment repairs early.
When should equipment inspection be conducted?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but in general, in-depth equipment inspection should be done every six months up to a year, while quick, basic inspections should be done every day or before the equipment is used.
Many industries actually have specific rules for how often inspections need to happen. For example, in construction, heavy equipment requires daily checks. Airplanes need quick pre-flight checks, then more in-depth inspections every 100 hours of use. You can check government regulations or safety bodies like OSHA to know about mandatory inspection schedules.
How to perform an equipment inspection
Equipment inspections can have differences depending on the industry, but in general, they follow a consistent workflow. Here are the main stages of an equipment inspection:
1. Planning the inspection
The first step in any equipment inspection is thorough planning. Before anyone touches the machine, it’s essential to decide on exactly what will be inspected–and why. This means defining the scope and identifying which equipment is the most critical and which components need the most attention. You’ll also need to establish a schedule and then assign the maintenance to the proper staff members or specialists from outside.
2. Conducting the inspection
Once you’ve planned it out, it’s time to carry out the actual inspection. This step usually starts with a visual inspection, where the inspector checks for obvious signs of wear, tear, or damage. They might check for leaks, corrosion, or loose parts.
The next phase of this would be doing operational tests, where the equipment is powered up and tested under normal working conditions. This way, the inspector can confirm that all systems are working correctly. They would usually check the output of the system or measure performance metrics to see if these are as expected. If the machine is more complicated, the inspector might also conduct more specific tests like pressure tests or load tests.
3. Addressing identified issues
After each inspection, the results should be documented–not just what’s wrong but also what’s working well. You can then move on to addressing any issues that were found. This mean doing minor repairs and adjustments, or even making bigger overhauls or replacing parts completely. In any case, it’s critical for the inspection findings and repair plan to be communicated to stakeholders quickly so that you can take action quickly.
To follow these steps efficiently, consider setting up an inspection checklist, with each step laid out. You can browse through this collection of pre-made equipment inspection checklists and adapt them accordingly to your needs.
Types of equipment inspections
These are several types of equipment inspections that businesses usually have to perform:
Preventive inspections
Preventive inspections are meant to catch problems before they happen. These inspections are part of a larger preventive maintenance program, which is based on the manufacturer’s recommendations or the equipment’s history. Examples of preventive tasks would be checking the oil levels every month or replacing filters every six months.
Predictive inspections
Unlike preventive inspections, which follow a fixed schedule, predictive inspections use data and technology to predict when a failure might occur. How it works is tools like sensors, machine learning, or IoT (Internet of Things) devices monitor real-time performance metrics–such as temperature or energy consumption–to forecast the condition of the equipment. If a machine starts vibrating outside of its usual range, a predictive system would alert you to inspect it before a breakdown occurs.
Compliance inspections
Compliance inspections are required by law or industry standards. These inspections ensure that your equipment meets all regulatory requirements, which can vary depending on location and industry. Compliance inspections are especially critical in industries that can have safety risks, like construction, healthcare, and food production. Failing a compliance inspection can result in fines, legal issues, or even the shutdown of operations.
Examples for different industries
Equipment inspection is crucial in every industry. Equipment inspections can be conducted by firefighters, construction workers, or conference room managers, to name a few. Exactly what to include in equipment maintenance depends on the specific equipment you use at work:
Catering
Catering businesses need to inspect their equipment to prevent accidents such as slips, fire, exposure to hot substances, and electrical injury. Your equipment must undergo regular inspections so you can perform preventative maintenance before these accidents occur.
Slips and exposure to hot or harmful substances are often due to leaks. Inspect your steam plant, dishwashing machines, and other equipment daily. Schedule repairs and maintenance before your equipment clogs or cracks. Specific checks to perform include:
- Are any electrical wires frayed or fraying?
- Are chemicals or flammable substances properly stored?
- Are there any delays or odd noises when your equipment is operating?
- Are there any components/screws/etc. loose on any of your machines?
Construction
A construction equipment inspection form is an indispensable tool for construction site managers, supervisors, and workers. Construction is one of the industries with the highest number of hazards present. Daily inspections ensure that the heavy equipment workers rely on regularly is in good working condition.
The most common safety risk on a construction site is falling, often from roofs, scaffolding, and ladders. So among other things, you need to inspect:
- Safety nets
- Guardrails
- Personal fall prevention gear, like harnesses
- Ladders
- Scaffolding
Agriculture
Agriculture relies on various types of equipment to keep production moving. Farm machinery malfunctions can be costly and dangerous. Inspect your equipment daily with an equipment inspection form to be sure your production process can keep moving. So, keep a daily equipment inspection form that you can refer to during inspections.
Check your equipment for any damage before using it. This includes:
- Inspecting your tractor for deflated tires, rust in belts, wheel bearings, and other moving parts
- Checking valve stems for any leakage
- Inspecting tractors for oil or hydraulic leaks
- Inspecting battery terminals
- Ensuring headlights and warning lights are working
Benefits of regular equipment inspections
Equipment inspections determine whether work equipment can be operated. They also tell you if anything needs maintenance. Especially when broken equipment might pose a heath and safety risk to your employees, thorough inspections are necessary.
Prevent costly repairs
Without an equipment inspection form, many problems can go undiscovered and escalate over time. Keeping up a regular inspection schedule helps prevent or repair damages for relatively little cost.
Using defective equipment might make issues worse or destroy the equipment, in which case repairs will be a lot more expensive. Organizing regular inspections using an equipment inspection checklist ensures you don’t miss anything.
Improve maintenance schedule
Scheduled maintenance is a necessary part of any business in order to prevent accidents or malfunctions. Decide how often you’ll perform equipment maintenance is done by conducting risk assessments.
Data collected during daily equipment inspections help you develop preventive maintenance schedules. This information lets you know when your equipment is likely to break down. Then, you can schedule cost-effective maintenance in time.
Better equipment handling
Daily equipment inspections encourage operators to take better care of the equipment they use. Regularly documenting equipment condition incentivizes your operators to be more careful with and take responsibility for equipment.
Equipment inspection forms also increases accountability; having a record of equipment status and of who uses which equipment makes tracing much easier. Knowing that they’re accountable for the way equipment is treated incentivizes proper care, for example in the form of daily pre-use inspections.
Who should conduct equipment inspections?
Equipment inspections must be carried out by individuals who have proper training, know the equipment well, and can identify issues properly.
In many companies, regular inspections are conducted by in-house maintenance teams. These employees work closely with the equipment and understand its day-to-day operations, so they can quickly spot anything unusual.
But when it comes to compliance inspections or highly specialized equipment, third-party inspectors are often required, providing an unbiased perspective. Manufacturers also offer specialized maintenance services, especially when equipment is still under warranty. In less specialized industries, supervisors and mid-level managers may oversee inspections as well.
Prepare equipment inspection forms with workflow automation software
Conducting equipment inspections while using paper forms for documentation is messy and tedious. They’re also easy to lose–and time-consuming to analyze. That’s why using workflow automation software like Lumiform to create and manage equipment inspection checklists is much more convenient. Equipment inspection checklists guide you through the process step-by-step, ensuring that you go through each inspection point systematically.
With flexible desktop software and a mobile app, you can use Lumiform to carry out inspections no matter what, online and offline. Simply create an inspection form with the custom form builder or download an existing one. Managing your inspection schedule with Lumiform also:
- Lets you date and timestamp every maintenance inspection for easy record-keeping
- Stores all your equipment information in the cloud, so you can access it anytime
- Helps you improve the inspection process by including pictures of equipment for added context
- Provides regular analytics reports that you can use to visualise equipment and maintenance patterns in your business
- Helps you present maintenance records during audits and certifications