4 ways to automate equipment pre-use checks

#1 - The basic check-in

Who it's for: Small teams sharing the odd machine, where one person might use a tool an hour after someone else put it down.

Available on: Basic.

What it is: An equipment pre-use check is a quick safety look at a tool or machine before you switch it on. This version is three steps on a phone: name the thing you are about to use, pick whether it looked good or faulty, then type what you saw. Each completion is one stamped record. The worker runs it before each use, and the trail is the list of checks over the day.

In practice: Take a small bakery with one dough mixer shared across two shifts. The early baker opens the canvas, types "the dough mixer", picks "Good to use", types "all clear, guard seated", and submits. Server timestamp captured. The afternoon baker runs it again before their batch, spots a frayed lead, picks "Fault found", and types "power lead split near the plug, not using it". Two stamped checks for one machine in one day, both on a phone, no clipboard by the socket.

Why it works: The check is the proof. The work itself does not change. What changes is that there is now a time-stamped record showing the tool was looked at before it was used, and who said what. If something fails later, the manager can see whether the last person flagged it or waved it through, instead of guessing.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (name the tool or machine)
• 1 single choice (3 options: Good to use, Fault found, not using it)
• 1 text input (notes on what you saw)

When to upgrade:

1. Add written guidance (#2) once more than one person runs the check, so everyone looks for the same things in the same way.
2. Add photo evidence (#3) once a fault needs to reach an engineer who is not on site and a typed note alone slows the repair down.
3. Add a signature (#4) once an auditor or an insurer could ask to see who confirmed each check.

#2 - With written guidance

Who it's for: Sites with rotating staff using the same kit, where a new starter might be the next person to pick up a machine.

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The basic check plus two guidance panels woven through the canvas. The first panel tells the worker what to look for before they switch on: damaged leads, missing guards, leaks, cracks, anything held together with tape, strange smells or sounds. The second panel tells them what to do if they find a fault. A first-day starter gets the same checklist in their head as a ten-year veteran, without anyone standing over them.

In practice: Take a three-site garden centre where seasonal staff rotate between branches and share hedge trimmers, blowers, and a ride-on mower. A new weekend hire is about to take out the ride-on. The guidance panel reminds them to check the blade guard, the leads, and listen for anything odd from when it last ran. They spot a loose guard, pick "Fault found", and the second panel tells them to switch it off, label it, and report it rather than risk it. The next person who reaches for that mower sees it was flagged, not used.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A "what to look for before you use it" panel that names the common failure points, so the visual check is consistent across people.
2. A "what to do if you find a fault" panel that tells the worker to stop, switch off, label, and report rather than push on.
3. A shared standard for what counts as a fault, so a new starter and a veteran flag the same things.

Why it works: Written guidance sits inline at the moment the worker is about to act. The hire reads the checklist the first time they run the check, and it is right there again the next time they pick up a different machine. It is not a safety talk they half-heard in week one. It is on the screen at the moment of the task, every time.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance panel (what to look for before you use it)
• 1 text input (name the tool or machine)
• 1 single choice (Good to use, Fault found, not using it)
• 1 text input (notes on what you saw)
• 1 guidance panel (what to do if you find a fault)

When to upgrade: Move to Equipment Pre-use Check #3 once a typed note alone is not enough to act on. Once a fault needs to reach an engineer who is not on site, a photo turns a vague description into something they can plan a repair around.

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses wanting photo proof of any fault found, so a repair can be planned before anyone travels out.

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The guided check plus a photo step for any fault found. When the worker picks "Fault found", they take a quick shot of what is wrong. The photo lands in the same record as the note. The engineer sees the actual damage, not a typed guess at it, and can turn up with the right parts the first time.

In practice: Take a four-van plumbing firm whose engineers share pressure testers, pipe freezers, and a core drill across jobs. An engineer goes to grab the core drill and finds the chuck damaged. They pick "Fault found", type "chuck jaws chipped, won't hold a bit", and photo it. The photo lands in the record with the note. The workshop sees exactly which part has gone, orders the right chuck before the engineer is back, and the drill is back in service the next morning instead of after a wasted call-out.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A photo step that captures the actual fault, taken at the moment it is found.
2. A visual record the engineer can plan a repair from, instead of a typed description.
3. A faster fix, because the right part can be ordered before anyone travels to the machine.

Why it works: A typed note is a description. A photo is the thing itself. The two together let someone who is not on site act with confidence. The note says what the worker thinks is wrong; the photo lets the engineer confirm it and bring the right part. Captured at the moment of the check, on the same device, the fault cannot be misremembered later.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance panel (what to look for before you use it)
• 1 text input (name the tool or machine)
• 1 single choice (Good to use, Fault found, not using it)
• 1 text input (notes on what you saw)
• 1 guidance panel (what to do if you find a fault)
• 1 photo step (photo of any fault)

When to upgrade: Move to Equipment Pre-use Check #4 once an auditor or an insurer could ask to see who confirmed each pre-use check, and a record without a signature starts to look thin.

#4 - With photo and signature

Who it's for: Audited sites needing a signed pre-use check, where someone outside the team will pull the records and expect a name on each one.

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The photo-evidenced check plus a signature at the end of every run. Four parts on a single record: the timestamp, the typed note, the photo of any fault, and a finger-drawn signature confirming the person checked the machine before use. An auditor or an insurer would accept this as contemporaneous evidence at the level expected from a paper log book, captured in under a minute on a phone.

In practice: Take a warehouse operation running pallet trucks and forklifts across two shifts, where the insurer requires a signed pre-use check on every powered machine. A forklift driver opens the canvas at the start of their shift, types "forklift 3", checks it over, picks "Good to use", and signs at the bottom. The signature is captured on the touchscreen, time-stamped, and attached to the same record as the note. When the insurer's annual review lands, the safety lead pulls 40 checks at random, sees a name and signature on every one, and the review closes in an afternoon instead of a week of chasing.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A signature step at the end of every check.
2. A named confirmation on the same record as the timestamp, the note, and the photo.
3. A defensible record at the level an auditor or an insurer expects, with no paper to file.

Why it works: The signature is what closes the loop. The timestamp says when. The note and photo say what the worker found. The signature adds: and this named person confirms they checked it. Captured on the same device, at the same moment, in the same record, the four together are what an auditor or an insurer expects to see.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance panel (what to look for before you use it)
• 1 text input (name the tool or machine)
• 1 single choice (Good to use, Fault found, not using it)
• 1 text input (notes on what you saw)
• 1 guidance panel (what to do if you find a fault)
• 1 photo step (photo of any fault)
• 1 signature step (confirm you checked it before use)

When to upgrade: The next variations layer Poppi on top. A Poppi briefing that surfaces any machine flagged faulty on the last shift before the worker starts. A Poppi gate that decides whether a fault is bad enough to block use outright. A Poppi action that posts a "fault found" straight to the maintenance channel. Coming in the next post update.

How to pick the right version

You do not need to know how the canvas builder works to pick the right version. You only need to answer three questions about how your team runs.

Is it just you running this, or do other people run it too?

If it is just you, the basic check (#1) is enough. You know what to look for on your own kit, and you do not need the canvas to coach you.

If anyone else uses it (a colleague, a new starter, a rotating crew), go to #2 onwards. The guidance panels are what stop one person checking the leads while another only checks the guard. You write the checklist once; everyone reads it inline before they switch on.

Do you need a photo as proof, or is the typed record enough?

If a fault is fixed by whoever is on site, the typed note is enough. Go to #1 or #2.

If a fault has to reach an engineer who is not there, the typed note alone slows the repair down. Go to #3. The photo at the moment the fault is found lets the engineer confirm what is wrong and bring the right part the first time.

Do you need someone to sign off at the end?

If the check is internal and no auditor will ever look at it, a record is enough. Stick at #3.

If an auditor or an insurer will pull the records, the signature is the lock. Go to #4. The signature puts a named confirmation on the same record as the timestamp, the note, and the photo.

Related reading

• Lone worker check-ins
• Spot a hazard
• Report a near miss
• Maintenance fault reports
• Tool and asset checkout

Frequently asked questions

What is an equipment pre-use check?

It is a quick safety look at a tool or machine before you switch it on. The worker names the equipment, judges whether it is safe, and logs what they saw. On Pilla it is a short canvas the worker runs on a phone, leaving a time-stamped record of who checked what and when.

What should a pre-use check look for?

Damaged leads or plugs, missing or loose guards, leaks, cracks, anything held together with tape, and strange smells or sounds from when the machine last ran. The guided versions (#2 onward) put this checklist on the screen so every worker looks for the same things.

What happens if a worker finds a fault?

They stop, switch the machine off, label it so nobody else uses it, and report it. The guidance panel in #2 onward prompts exactly that. From #3 onward, the worker also photographs the fault so an engineer can plan the repair before travelling out.

Do I need to sign every check?

Only if an auditor or an insurer will pull the records and expect a name on each one. For internal checks, the time-stamped record is usually enough. Version #4 adds a signature for sites that need a named confirmation on every pre-use check.

Can different sites use the same check?

Yes. The same canvas runs across every site and every machine, and each completion is its own stamped record. The photo and signature versions roll up so a manager can review checks from more than one site in one place.

Conclusion

An equipment pre-use check is a quick safety look at a tool or machine before you switch it on: name it, judge it, log what you saw. The version an audited site runs closes an insurer review in an afternoon by putting a signed, photo-evidenced record on every machine before it runs.

Pick the version that matches how your team runs today, not the most sophisticated one you can imagine running someday. Open each template in the playground above and try it on a real machine this week.