The twelve steps of the equipment inspection process

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The 12 steps and logical sequence of equipment inspection work: (1) Tasks at designated locations: When inspecting equipment, it is first necessary to determine how many maintenance points a particular piece of equipment has. Determining the maintenance points involves a scientific analysis of the equipment to identify the areas where failures and wear are likely to occur. Based on the equipment’s movement and usage patterns, these areas generally include: sliding parts, rotating parts, transmission components, parts that come into contact with raw materials, load-bearing parts, and those subject to corrosion by various media. Inspection personnel must establish allowable standards for various degradation trends for each unit in the aforementioned areas, and carry out preventive inspections in a planned manner in accordance with these standards. (2) Regular tasks: Analyze and determine the inspection cycle based on the characteristics of the fixed locations of the equipment. Generally speaking, for some important equipment and key components, as well as those points that are susceptible to damage, the inspection frequency can be several times per shift; whereas for those points that are less prone to degradation or degrade slowly, the inspection interval can range from one month to half a year. 　　 (3) Specific tasks: By \"specific tasks,\" it refers to determining the inspection items for each checkpoint; for example, some checkpoints require inspections of oil contamination and temperature, while others require inspections of oil contamination, temperature, and clearance. 　　 (4) Calibration work content: Calibration refers to determining the allowable limits for equipment degradation. Quantitative standards that need to be defined, such as clearance, temperature, pressure, flow rate, tightness, etc. As long as it does not exceed the specified standards, it is not considered a fault. (5) Tasks related to determining methods: Determining methods refers to deciding on the inspection methods – whether to rely on human senses or to use tools, instruments, and precision equipment for inspection. 　　 (6) Assigning tasks to specific persons: This involves designating the persons responsible for inspections; different types of inspections are assigned to different people. They can be field operators, full-time maintenance personnel, repair technicians, or dedicated inspectors. Personnel assignment should be assigned to specific individuals based on the inspection locations and technical precision requirements. 　 　 (7) Inspection work content: Inspection is the practical implementation of the routine inspection work. The environment and steps for the inspection should also be clearly specified. There are some points that can be checked during operation, while others need to be inspected when the machine is shut down. Some components require disassembly for inspection, whereas many do not need to be disassembled. 　 　 (8) Record work content: Detailed records should be kept during inspections. The record form is designed in a standard format, and the information to be filled in includes: inspection data, the difference value from the specified standards, judgment opinions, handling suggestions, etc. It must also be signed by the inspector along with the inspection date. 　 　 (9) Handling tasks: Items that can be processed and adjusted during inspection must be dealt with and adjusted promptly by the inspector, or with the assistance of the operators, and the results of such handling must be recorded in the handling log. If it is temporarily impossible or unconditional to handle the matter, it should be reported promptly to the relevant personnel so that arrangements can be made for handling it. Processing records must be filled out for any person and at any time. 　　 (10) Analysis of work content: Inspection records and handling records serve as the basis for system analysis. It is necessary to analyze these records regularly to identify weak \"maintenance points\" – namely those areas with a high failure rate, where serious failures occur, or where the consequences of failures are severe. Recommendations should be made, to be submitted to technical improvement or design personnel for design enhancements, so as to implement improved maintenance strategies and proactive repair approaches. 　 　 (11) Improving work content: Improvement refers to the implementation of fixes for the problems identified through inspections and record analysis. For those issues that are easy to address, the inspectors can work together with the workers on-site to make timely improvements. For content that is difficult to handle, it can be proposed that specialized maintenance and technical personnel develop improvement plans and implement them; alternatively, external contractors hired for maintenance can carry out the work. Through improvements, completely eliminate the weak points of the system. 　 　 (12) Evaluation of work content: For any improvement made, its effectiveness must be evaluated after implementation; lessons learned from this should be summarized and applied to similar equipment to facilitate continuous improvement. This process repeats itself, thereby strengthening the foundation of equipment management.