What you'll need for a thorough plant inspection

For plant hire and equipment hire companies, getting your machinery inspected is a must. But not all machine inspections are alike. A thorough and professional inspection can potentially save you from making a disastrous mistake and ensure your machines are in great working condition to arrive on site. 

Performing routine inspection on the equipment is crucial as it determines whether it needs to be repaired or if it’s good to start working on a job site. Inspection could be done daily, weekly, monthly or before sending it out to work.

But what are the things you need in order to perform an inspection on these equipment?

There are 2 elements needed in order to perform an inspection on a piece of equipment – someone to perform the inspection and an inspection checklist.

What is a machine inspection? 

The person performing the inspection should have the sufficient knowledge and familiarity with the equipment. Equipment operators can inspect the equipment on a daily basis before starting work and professional equipment inspectors can be hired for a more thorough inspection of the machinery. 

The person you hire to write the report could make the difference between spending your money wisely now and wasting it later on. At the very least, they should:

• Be licensed.
• Carry professional indemnity insurance.
• Guarantee the accuracy of their report.
• Have a long history in the plant and equipment trade as an operator, mechanic or other related professional.

You can ask from the equipment manufacturer or equipment seller for their recommendations.

What will and won't be inspected?

A thorough machinery inspection will include all visible and practical elements of a machine. When you outsource an equipment inspector, they should already have a comprehensive checklist with them which they can use to examine a specific machine. For example, if they need to inspect a crane, they will have with them a checklist compliant to all codes and regulations for a compliant crane.

For daily inspection before using the equipment on site, operators can use this daily inspection checklist.

We'd love to hear from you. What other things do you think is needed for a thorough plant inspection? Share your thought on the comment section below.

Site safety is also important, that's why a risk assessment is performed before breaking ground on any job site. We've created the free downloadable checklist below to help you check and ensure that your worksite is safe to work on