Inspections ensure that equipment is safe before use and help reduce maintenance costs. Inspections also provide leadership with insightful evaluations of the condition of equipment, allowing management to make key decisions, control costs, and protect the company. Here’s how management benefits from an audit program and strong inspection practices:
1. Inspections help minimize productivity losses
Regular equipment inspections, assessments, and evaluations provide a wealth of information – allowing management to understand how often equipment needs to be shut down for cleaning and maintenance. Because equipment downtime can be reliably predicted, leadership can make more accurate budgeting decisions and develop intelligent equipment scheduling strategies to minimize productivity losses.
2. Inspections help determine maintenance frequency
Not all equipment is created equal and, therefore, requires different levels of attention and maintenance. Equipment can be susceptible to temperature increases, vibrations, dirt buildup, loose bolts, corrosion, and so on. One machine may need constant lubrication while another piece of equipment demands to be cleaned after each use.
When you conduct inspections regularly, you can determine how frequently equipment needs to be maintained – allowing you to establish a maintenance calendar for each piece of equipment. Some equipment needs to be inspected and maintained each time it’s used, while other machinery only requires a maintenance check once a week or once a month.
3. Inspections enable smarter equipment procurement
Inspection histories shed light on the quality of equipment, enabling smarter equipment procurement. Some companies remain loyal to certain brands until another competitive option becomes worth considering. Companies may also upgrade to another brand or model because it’s been touted as more efficient due to innovative features.
By conducting regular inspections, you can determine whether making the shift to a new brand or model was the right move. Through assessments and evaluations, procurement teams can make better decisions on equipment purchases.
4, Inspections provide evidence of due diligence for liability protection
Inspections help prevent workplace accidents and injuries, minimizing costly worker compensation claims. With a record of regular, properly conducted inspections, companies have proof that inspections were conducted to identify and correct issues. Regular inspections tell insurers that the company is serious about minimizing the risk of injury by identifying and removing potential hazards.
However, it’s not enough to conduct inspections if the purpose is to prove due diligence and risk control and management. Inspections need to be well-documented. Reports should show who conducted the inspection, which equipment checklist was used, findings, and comments. There also has to be documentation on the action that was performed to lower the risk of injury, remove a potential hazard, or address faulty equipment issues. Therefore, using checklist inspection books with high levels of detail and accuracy provides powerful proof of due diligence.
At The Checker, our checklist books are used by management in virtually every industry as a key part of keeping workplaces safe, maintaining compliance, and improving productivity.
