An inspection checklist, when used properly, is an assurance that a particular piece of equipment has been inspected. As each item on the checklist is ticked off, the person doing the inspection is verifying that each component of the equipment is in correct working order. To be effective, a checklist needs to be specific to the type of equipment being inspected, with each component necessary for proper operation being inspected. Checklists should be comprehensive, but they should also be designed simply, with items in an order that’s logical to the way each type of equipment will actually be inspected. They should be easy to use, or they probably won’t get used. Checklists have traditionally only been available on paper, but now you can use checklists digitally, with inspections being done directly on mobile devices in the field, and the data being immediately saved and assimilated for easy reporting. A Trail of Responsibility Inspection checklists are all about accountability. Consider the following scenarios, each of which illustrates the importance of checklists. Pencil Whipping You can find very inexpensive and very generic checklists, and you may have already tried them, only to find that they aren’t used—at least not for long. In the field, they end up just getting pencil whipped. When that happens, everyone can say inspections have been done, but they really haven’t. With generic checklists, you’re paying people to pretend like they’re doing thorough inspections, but you’re not getting any of the benefits of thorough inspections, such as lower maintenance costs, less equipment down time, and greater worker safety. And when push to comes to shove in any legal or regulatory situation, generic checklists aren’t very reassuring. You’ll want equipment-specific checklists to demonstrate beyond any doubt that you’re actually checking all that needs checking. Another great benefit of equipment-specific checklists is that they typically lead to an attitude transformation. The folks in the field begin to take inspections more seriously because it’s clear the company is taking inspections seriously. And before long they realize that inspections are a real tool to increase safety and efficiency.
See Also
What is Quality Control (QC)?What Are the 4 Types of Quality Inspections in Quality Control? - HQTSWhat are quality checklists and how to use them? - REWOQuality Inspection