The equipment monitoring which takes place within businesses and industries today is more important than ever, as technology advances, power increases and expectations continue to increase, the risk of danger becomes ever more present, and of grave concern to those whose responsibility it is to oversee the equipment status and ensure work equipment safety.

One of the biggest challenges facing industry today, as both equipment becomes ever more dangerous and demands ever more urgent, is to make sure that from start to finish the use of any equipment, no matter how small, how large, how simple or how complicated, is governed by the same safety procedures and checked to the same standard. It is often in consistency that the most reliable safety checks are carried out.

Unfortunately too many companies have fragmented safety checks, with some items of equipment being checked thoroughly, others sporadically and still others seem left out entirely. This can often be the case where equipment is used on a daily basis. If the equipment checks or safety checks are too complicated or too laborious then they will often be ignored. The problem, of course, is that when an accident does occur it is the employer's responsibility, even if there was a safety procedure in place. If it becomes apparent that the safety procedure was inadequate, then the employer could easily be facing liability, and an expensive court case.

How then is an employer expected to develop an equipment checklist and equipment monitoring procedures which are standard, uniform and easy to administer? Certainly the keyword is consistency, since nothing is more confusing when it comes to health and safety at work than an accumulation of separate, often conflicting systems and procedures which are almost impossible to follow correctly.

With scraps of paper, notes, lists and signs, employees are often expected to carry out a hunt for the signs or procedures before using the equipment. It is imperative to make sure that any equipment has clearly marked requirements for safety checks, and that these are simple to follow, and will allow accurate and thorough checking to take place.

Another major problem can be the way assumptions are made. if equipment is used regularly, it can often be the case that safety checks don't have to be carried out every time. In such situations equipment may be used by people who assume that those who have used it previously carried out the tests and checks thoroughly. Without any clear way of identifying the status of any check, equipment can often be used which is quite unsuitable. Again, should this occur, the employer may well prove to be liable.

The requirement for any company or business which requires the use of equipment which could be considered risky or hazardous, such as fork lift trucks, scaffolding or ladders, is to put into place equipment monitoring which is clear and easy to follow, with an equipment checklist that is consistent as far as other checklists are concerned, and clearly shows the equipment status - whether it has passed, or if there is some problem or flaw which requires investigation or correction before further use.

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