Making hoists and lifting equipment inspections paperless and digital

When it comes to lifting inspection, it’s important not to leave your safety hanging on an outdated or overcomplicated procedure. Inspections for your organisation may range from more high-value assets like hoists or cranes to lower-value but high-volume assets like slings and chains.

Traditionally, hoist and lifting equipment inspections have been conducted using paper-based checklists. These checklists are used to ensure that the lifting equipment is safe to use and meets all regulatory requirements, for example: ISO 9927-5 Bridge and Gantry Cranes or ISO 4310- Cranes Test Code and Procedures.

With digital inspections, however, the inspection process is automated, and data is recorded in real-time. This means that inspections can be completed…

• …quickly, thus saving time (with paper-based inspections, inspectors and technicians must manually record all data on the paper checklist, which can take a significant amount of time; with digital inspections, however, the checklist is automated, meaning that inspectors can complete inspections more quickly, allowing them to inspect more equipment in a shorter amount of time)
• … and accurately, with minimal human error (with paper-based inspections there is always the risk of human error, as inspectors may miss a critical item on the checklist or make a mistake when recording data; going digital means that all data is accurate and up-to-date, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring that all equipment is inspected thoroughly). In addition, all data is stored securely in the cloud, making it easy to access and manage.

Digital solutions can come in many forms such as free apps or tailored business solutions, depending on what your business needs and requirements are. Whilst free apps are simple to download and try out, they often don’t provide the same versatility for registering different lifting equipment types and regulations against checklists. Aside from the issue of data security and accuracy, there is also the question whether you want your multi thousand- or million-dollar equipment or asset arsenal inspected by an AU$0.99 app. 

The benefits of premium inspection solutions for inspecting lifting equipment are both widespread and easy to realise. By having everything running through the application, inspectors can scan barcodes/RFID [radio frequency identification] on equipment to access recent use history, maintenance logs, manuals, ISO and Australian standards or test certificates. This also removes the problems of visual judgment as there is a photographic image to compare pre and post use to.

Some inspectors working at remote locations or in hazardous environments have different safety requirements. These can range from needing intrinsically safe mobile devices to needing GPS timestamps for each inspection. Whether this is a simple identifying inspection or an industry audit compliance, premium paperless inspection applications can often run these exactly the same. As long as any industry regulations are loaded onto the system running and managing the inspection reports, then any inspection can be configured to be directly in line with specific organisational or industry compliance needs. Likewise, many inspections can have actions that need to be taken in the field at the time of inspection, something highly cumbersome to manage with pen and paper methods. Using digital systems, pre-configured corrective actions can be added to inspection reports that suggest the correct action to be taken depending on the data input and inspection results.

Features like these help employees to work smarter during their inspections, keep equipment in use, workplaces safe and improve the accompanying return on investment.

In conclusion, taking hoists and lifting equipment inspections paperless and digital is a smart and efficient solution for companies looking to streamline their inspection process. By utilising digital platforms, companies can save time, reduce costs, and improve the accuracy of their inspections. With the benefits of digital inspections, it's easy to see why more and more companies are making the switch to paperless.