Pre start checklist examples for plant and machinery

The operator's check, not the periodic inspection

Under work health and safety law, a business must make sure plant is safe to use and inspected as the manufacturer and the risk require. That has two layers. A competent person, often a fitter or a hire company, services and inspects the machine at set intervals and keeps the logbook. The operator does a pre start before each shift, looking for the faults that appear between services: a weeping hose, a seat switch someone bypassed, a missing safety pin. These checklists are the second layer. They do not replace servicing, and each one says so where a periodic inspection or a licence also applies, such as the 11 metre line for boom lifts or the receiver inspection on a compressor.

Ten machines in four families

Earthmoving plant covers the excavator, with its quick hitch checks, and the skid steer, built around the seat bar interlock. Agricultural and grounds plant covers the tractor, where rollover protection and the PTO guard come first, the ride on mower with its seat switch and slope question, and the chainsaw with a chain brake test and a protective gear grid. Power and air covers the portable generator, with an RCD test and its time, and the air compressor, where stored pressure and whip checks lead. Lifting and handling covers the boom lift EWP with a written rescue plan, the telehandler, where the attachment decides the load chart, and the electric pallet jack with its belly button reverse test.

How the forms record a fault

Every checklist uses grids of Pass, Fail and N/A, with N/A reserved for parts the machine does not have. A Fail never stops the form; instead each one asks for a photo of the fault, a description where it helps, and whether the machine was tagged out or parked. A form cannot calculate whether a machine passes, so the decision is written into the intro of each checklist: one Fail on a named list of items means the machine does not work until it is cleared. Submissions land in the responses table with a time stamp and export to CSV, where a matrix comes out as one column of item and answer pairs. Every business, crew and machine number in these examples is invented.

Every page in this collection

• Chainsaw pre start checklist with a chain brake test

  A chainsaw pre start checklist tests the chain brake, chain catcher and throttle lockout, then the chain, bar oil and spark arrestor, before anyone cuts. This arborist version adds a protective gear grid, because the saw check alone says nothing about the leg the chain would hit.

• Compressor pre start checklist for stored pressure

  A compressor pre start checklist looks at the relief valve, the gauge, the receiver drain, hoses, couplings and whip checks before air goes into the line, then the guards, fuel and oil. This blasting workshop version also records when the air receiver is next due for its periodic inspection.

• Electric pallet jack pre start checklist

  An electric pallet jack pre start checklist tests the belly button reverse switch, emergency stop, horn, tiller brake and wheels before the jack leaves the charging bay. This cold chain version also records the battery charge and whether the jack is going into a chiller or freezer.

• EWP pre start checklist for boom lifts

  An EWP pre start checklist runs every function from the ground controls, tests the emergency stop and emergency lowering, then checks the basket gate, anchor, platform controls and harness before anyone goes up. This boom lift version also records the WP licence line at 11 metres and makes the operator write a rescue plan.

• Excavator pre start checklist with quick hitch checks

  An excavator pre start checklist is the operator's walkaround before the first bucket: tracks, hoses, fluids, the rollover cab, the alarm and the quick hitch, each marked Pass, Fail or N/A. This one adds the three hitch checks that stop a bucket falling off and a tag out question that keeps a faulty machine parked.

• Generator pre start checklist with the RCD test

  A generator pre start checklist confirms the RCD trips, the earthing decision is followed, leads are tagged and the exhaust points away from people before anything is plugged in. This event hire version records the time of the RCD test and a photo of where the unit sits.

• Ride on mower pre start checklist for a council crew

  A ride on mower pre start checklist covers the rollover bar, seatbelt, seat switch, blade guards, brakes and tyres at the depot, then the slopes and hazards on the day's run. This council version puts both halves on one form so the mower check and the site walk are signed together.

• Skid steer pre start checklist built around the seat bar

  A skid steer pre start checklist covers the operator station, the coupler, tyres or tracks, fluids and lights before the machine moves off the trailer. The check that decides everything on a skid steer is the seat bar interlock, so this form puts it first and explains how to test it.

• Telehandler pre start checklist by attachment

  A telehandler pre start checklist starts with the attachment fitted, because forks, a bucket, a jib with a hook and a work platform each need their own load chart and sometimes their own licence. Then it tests the load moment indicator and checks the boom, stabilisers, steering mode, brakes and cab.

• Tractor pre start checklist for rollover and PTO risks

  A tractor pre start checklist confirms the rollover protection, seatbelt, PTO guarding, linkage, tyres, brakes and fluids before the tractor leaves the shed. This one is built for an orchard, with the implement recorded and the two checks that prevent most tractor deaths placed at the top.