Quick Answer
Record a daily equipment inspection against the asset, not on a page: identify the machine by scanning its tag, log the operator and their authorisation, capture the hour meter, mark each checklist item pass/fail, photograph every defect, declare the machine operational, restricted or tagged out, and sign off. Every fail should automatically raise a maintenance work order so the defect cannot die in a folder.
- One checklist per machine class, following the physical walkaround order.
- Always capture the hour meter — it drives your service intervals.
- Photos on every defect, with a severity and a machine status decision.
- Auto-raise a work order and pull tagged-out plant out of scheduling.
- Complete it offline on a phone, timestamped and GPS-stamped.
- Keep the record with the asset history for the period your regulator and contract require.
What the record must contain
These are the fields that make a daily inspection defensible at audit and useful for maintenance planning. Miss the asset ID, the hour meter or the defect action and the record loses most of its value.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Asset identity | Fleet or plant number, make, model, serial and registration. Scan a QR or asset tag rather than typing it so the record can never land on the wrong machine. |
| Date, time and shift | Timestamped automatically. A pre-start recorded at 05:12 before the machine moved is evidence; one dated 'Tuesday' is not. |
| Operator and licence | Named operator with their HRWL, VOC or authorisation for that machine, so the record also proves a competent person did the check. |
| Hour meter or odometer | The number that drives servicing intervals. Capturing it daily is what makes preventative maintenance scheduling accurate. |
| Checklist items and result | Pass, fail or N/A on each item — fluids, tyres, brakes, steering, guarding, lights, horn, reverse alarm, seatbelt, fire suppression, isolators, ROPS, leaks and structural damage. |
| Defects found | Plain-English description, severity, and whether the machine is safe to operate, restricted, or tagged out of service. |
| Photos of any defect | One photo per defect at the workface. This is the single biggest quality lift over paper, and it settles disputes about pre-existing damage. |
| Location | Site, pit, workshop bay or GPS coordinates so a tagged-out machine can be found by the maintenance crew. |
| Operator sign-off | The operator declares the machine fit for use or unfit. Named-user login plus signature capture is stronger evidence than an initial on paper. |
| Supervisor review and action | Who saw the defect, what was raised, the work order number, and when the item was closed out. |
Where the obligations come from
Plant duties sit under the WHS Regulations
Whoever manages or controls plant must ensure it is inspected and maintained so it stays without risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. A daily pre-start is the standard way operators demonstrate the machine was checked by a competent person before use.
Mining regulations and site rules go further
Queensland coal and mineral mines, WA operations under the WHS (Mines) Regulations and NSW sites under the Resources Regulator all set pre-start, defect reporting and out-of-service expectations in the site safety management system. The operator's requirements usually exceed the general WHS minimum.
Registered plant carries extra records
Cranes, hoists, pressure equipment and other registered or high-risk plant have inspection, maintenance and log book requirements on top of the daily check. Keep the daily inspection and the statutory inspection records linked to the same asset.
Heavy vehicles have their own rules
Trucks and trailers on public roads fall under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, where daily checks, defect reporting and maintenance records form part of your maintenance management. Keep them in the same system as your plant records rather than a separate book.
Confirm the detail with Safe Work Australia and your state regulator — Resources Safety & Health Queensland, DEMIRS (WA) or the NSW Resources Regulator — plus the NHVR for road-registered heavy vehicles, the manufacturer's operator manual and the site operator's own safety management system.
Setting it up, step by step
Build a register of every asset first
You cannot record inspections properly until each machine has one identity — fleet number, serial, hour meter and service schedule. Duplicated or missing assets are why most inspection data is unusable.
Write a checklist per machine class
A haul truck, an excavator, a light vehicle, an EWP and a workshop press need different checks. Use the manufacturer's operator manual and the site's requirements as the source, not a generic form.
Keep it to a walkaround length
Fifteen to twenty-five items that follow the physical walkaround order — front, offside, rear, nearside, cab, start-up. Order matters more than length; a checklist that follows the walk gets done properly.
Make defects the point of the form
Every fail should demand a description, severity, and a photo, then decide the machine's status: operational, restricted use, or tagged out. That decision is the whole reason the inspection exists.
Auto-raise a work order on every fail
A defect that has to be re-entered by an admin or mentioned at a toolbox talk will be lost. It should create a maintenance job against the asset the moment the operator submits.
Capture the hour meter every day
Feed it into service intervals so the next PM is scheduled on actual usage. This turns a compliance form into planned maintenance data.
Complete it on a phone, offline
In the pit and underground there is no signal. The form must submit on the device and sync later, with QR scanning on the asset tag so the record attaches to the right machine.
Give supervisors a live dashboard
Who has not completed a pre-start today, which machines are tagged out, and which defects are overdue. Without that view, digitising just relocates the paperwork.
Close the loop and keep the record
Link defect, work order, parts, labour and sign-off so the asset carries its own history. Keep records for the period your regulator, the site operator and your contract require.
Audit the quality monthly
Sample completed inspections. Look for all-pass forms submitted in 20 seconds, missing photos and repeated defects nobody closed. Coach on that, not on completion rate alone.
Best practice for contractors
QR tag every machine
A sticker on the door means the operator scans instead of choosing from a dropdown of 200 assets. Wrong-asset records disappear overnight.
Make the fail path faster than the pass path
If reporting a defect is painful, operators tick pass. Two taps, a photo and a voice-to-text note should be all it takes.
Show the last inspection and open defects
Operators seeing yesterday's report on the same machine stops the same fault being reported ten times and hides nothing from the incoming shift.
Tie tag-outs to the schedule
When a machine is tagged out of service, it should drop out of allocation immediately so nobody rosters a job onto it.
Report on defect trends by asset
Recurring hydraulic faults on one machine are a replacement or overhaul decision. That analysis is free once the data is digital.
Keep photos with the record forever
Damage disputes on hired and client-owned plant are settled by a dated photo, not memory.
Common mistakes
All-pass books
A pre-start book with no defects for six months is a red flag to any auditor and means the check is not happening.
Pre-starts completed at the end of shift
Recording after the machine has run defeats the purpose. Timestamps and hour meters expose it, so use them.
No link between the defect and a work order
The most common failure point. The inspection finds the fault and the fault dies in a folder.
One generic checklist for the whole fleet
Items that do not apply teach operators to ignore the form, and items that matter get missed.
Keeping inspection records separate from asset history
If the pre-starts live in an app and the service history lives in a spreadsheet, neither tells you when a machine is failing.
No offline mode
The fastest way to push crews back to paper pre-start books.
Related reading: How to digitise mining compliance paperwork · How to create a safety checklist for field workers · How long should mining safety records be kept · Asset management software.
Daily equipment inspections — FAQs
This article is general information for Australian mining and heavy industry contractors, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with your state regulator, the site operator, the plant manufacturer and your own WHS advisers.
