{"id":4947,"date":"2021-08-18T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hirezdemo.xyz\/facility-inspection-checklist-template\/"},"modified":"2024-09-20T03:09:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T07:09:35","slug":"facility-inspection-checklist-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eptura.com\/discover-more\/blog\/facility-inspection-checklist-template\/","title":{"rendered":"How-to guide for facility inspection checklist templates"},"content":{"rendered":"

You want your\u00a0facility\u00a0maintenance team to complete their work on schedule and within budget. But you also want that work to be consistent and correct.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And that means you need facility inspection checklists\u00a0powered by facility management software<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a facility inspection checklist?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

It’s\u00a0easier to understand when you see it in context. Preventive maintenance<\/a> is the collection of scheduled tasks and inspections the maintenance department uses to find and fix small issues before they have a chance to develop into big, budget-busting problems. Each preventive maintenance work order is a\u00a0PM.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The tasks are the things the team does during the\u00a0PMs. They might adjust and realign a conveyor belt or change the oil in an engine.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The inspections are the things the team looks at before deciding if they should do anything. So, if the tech\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0find any leaks, they\u00a0don’t\u00a0fix the pipe. If the rollers on the garage door to the underground parking are rolling smoothly, they\u00a0don’t\u00a0adjust them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A facility inspection checklist is a list of the things the tech needs to check so they can find issues early. For each item on the list, they mark it as either pass\/fail or yes\/no. When something fails, the tech sets up an on-demand work order to fix it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the benefits of facility inspection checklists?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

On the most basic level,\u00a0it’s\u00a0the same benefits you get from making a shopping list before you go to the grocery store. Even if you could trust yourself to remember everything you need to buy,\u00a0it’s\u00a0always easier to just bring a list.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And if\u00a0you’re\u00a0sending someone else to the store for you, that shopping list is an even better idea. Now you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have to waste time explaining to them what to get. And while\u00a0they’re\u00a0at the store, you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have to waste even more time worrying about what\u00a0they’re\u00a0forgetting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also benefits more specific to facility maintenance, and most of them are the direct results of standardizing your inspections. There are a lot of benefits when everyone is doing everything the same way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Better consistency and planning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Once you have your inspection checklists set up, you can count on two things.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One: The maintenance team is doing the inspections properly. The techs aren’t\u00a0accidentally\u00a0skipping or missing anything. No one is forgetting anything.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two: Because everyone is doing everything the same way, the PM should always take\u00a0roughly the\u00a0same amount of time, which is\u00a0a big help\u00a0when\u00a0you’re\u00a0trying to schedule work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you know techs need about X minutes to run through an inspection checklist, you can schedule Y number of inspection PMs to a tech, knowing they can close them all out no later than time Z.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stronger troubleshooting<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Later, if things go wrong and an asset fails,\u00a0it’s\u00a0easier to troubleshoot the problem because\u00a0you’re\u00a0working with fewer variables.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When every tech has their own version of an inspection, you have no real idea of what\u00a0they’re\u00a0checking or what they consider important enough to fix. Here, when an asset fails, you\u00a0don’t\u00a0know what was going on prior to the problem.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when every tech’s work is\u00a0interchangeable\u00a0with every other tech’s work, you don’t have\u00a0make\u00a0as many guesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Faster training<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Although\u00a0almost every\u00a0trade has a long and proud history of apprenticeships, where someone with a lot of experience in a trade brings on an apprentice who does unskilled work in exchange for training. But for a modern facility maintenance team, this system tends to slow things down, pulling experienced techs away from critical jobs so they can get the new techs up to speed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you have all your inspections standardized into checklists, junior techs can start working\u00a0independently\u00a0from Day One.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What should you include in an inspection checklist?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

You should include everything your techs need to do the inspections correctly, including what to bring, what to avoid, and what to do.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What to bring<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Here, you can include the tools they need to complete the inspection. In a lot of cases,\u00a0it’s\u00a0just visual inspections. For example, techs need to look for leaks by checking for puddles under assets. Need to know if your car has an oil leak? Look for oil stains on your parking spot.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for some inspections, for example inspections related to leak detection and repair (LDAR)<\/a>, techs need sophisticated portable sensors. For others, they need specific personal protection equipment (PPE).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What to avoid<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

On the theme of personal protection, your checklist should include information on any safety concerns. For example, what to avoid touching when doing the inspections, what PPE to use, and how to correctly lock out and tag out the assets and equipment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What to do<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Once the tech has everything they need and is aware of and ready for any safety issues, they need to know what to inspect\u00a0and\u00a0how to recognize issues. For example, an inspection checklist for a furnace includes information on where heat should and should not be escaping.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that you know what you need to include in an inspection checklist,\u00a0let’s\u00a0look at the specific steps you need to make the checklists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the steps for writing a facility inspection checklist?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Your checklists must follow a specific order, so it makes sense that the process of creating them also has a set order.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Collect existing asset documentation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Start by getting your hands on as much official information as you can on your asset or piece of equipment. If you want to\u00a0make an inspection\u00a0checklist for the forklift, get the owner’s and OEM manuals. Keep in mind that you want the latest documentation, and that might mean reaching out to the manufacturer and asking if\u00a0there’s\u00a0been any recalls or updates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at the maintenance and repairs histories<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Who knows you better, your mom or your spouse? It depends on how long\u00a0you’ve\u00a0been married.\u00a0At first, your mom knows you best. But after a long marriage, your spouse is\u00a0the\u00a0expert.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0the same with your assets and equipment. Those manufacturers’ documents are from back when the people who designed and made the assets knew them best.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00a0it’s\u00a0likely been\u00a0a while, and by looking at the maintenance and repair histories, you can get a better idea of what to include in the checklists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get advice from your senior maintenance techs<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Continuing with the theme of direct knowledge, make sure to talk with the technicians who have been working directly on your assets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They’re\u00a0the assets’ “spouse,” and\u00a0there’s\u00a0a good chance no one knows the assets better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once\u00a0you’ve\u00a0hammered out what to include on the checklists,\u00a0it’s\u00a0time to focus on making each item as clear and\u00a0concise\u00a0as possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yes, spelling counts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which grammar rules do you need to follow for checklists?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Did you catch the grammar glitch in the subhead? It should be “what,” not “which,” which you use when there is a predetermined number of items to choose from.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you now worried about that last sentence because it ends with “from,” a preposition? Should it be “from which to choose”? And “last sentence” is also wrong, right? Shouldn’t it be “previous sentence”?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t fall down the rabbit’s hole (Rabbit’s Hole?) of second guessing everything you write. Focus on\u00a0communicating\u00a0important information in the most direct ways possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some quick tips for writing good checklists.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Use imperatives or yes\/no questions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

You can start each item on your checklist with an imperative. Here are some good ones:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n