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Equipment design review checklist
An equipment design review is a set of gate reviews that a new machine passes through before it is ordered, before it is built and before it starts up. The idea is simple: most problems with a new machine are designed in, and a problem found on paper before the order costs far less to fix than one found on the line. This checklist has 32 checks, phrased so that Yes is good: eight at each gate and eight for a safety buy-off before first use. It starts from the weak points of the machines you run today, turns them into requirements, and checks access, lubrication, guarding, spares, training and the maintenance plan. A problems journal records each problem, the gate where it was found and the gate where it should have been found. The PDF has the gate forms, the journal and a worked example; the Excel version counts the answers and the problems for you.
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Fields for machine, project, supplier and review date above the eight gate 1 checks, each with Yes, No and N/A boxes and an evidence column, and a table turning weak points into requirements.32 gate and buy-off checksWeak point to requirement tableGate decisionsProblems journalFound versus should have been foundWorked example
When to use it
When to use an equipment design review
- When buying or building a new machine, line or major modification, from the first specification to start-up.
- When your current machines have repeat problems with access, cleaning, lubrication or breakdowns that you do not want to buy again.
- To bring operators and maintenance into the design, so their experience is in the specification and not found at start-up.
- To give the project a clear stop or go at three points, with evidence behind each decision.
- Not for routine inspection of a machine in service. For that, use an inspection or PM checklist; this is for equipment that does not yet exist or is not yet running.
How to fill it in
- 1
Start from today's weak points
List what goes wrong on the machines you run now: breakdowns, stops, long cleaning, defects, injuries. Turn each into a requirement in the specification, with a number where you can.
- 2
Review at gate 1, before the order
Check the eight specification items with operators, maintenance, safety and engineering. Reliability, maintainability, cleaning, safety, changeover and energy targets must be written down before the order is placed.
- 3
Review at gate 2, before the build
At the design freeze, walk through the drawings: can every routine point be reached safely, are lubrication points grouped, do guards stay on, are the spares and the fault messages agreed.
- 4
Review at gate 3, before start-up
Check the installed machine: the acceptance test, the PM plan, the spares on site, the manuals, the training and the written routines for cleaning, inspection and lubrication.
- 5
Do the safety buy-off
Before the machine runs product, check the risk assessment, the guards and stops, the isolation points, the training and the conditions for first use. It is a general starting point to adapt to local law.
- 6
Keep the journal and learn from it
Log every problem with the gate where it was found and where it should have been found. After the first month, add a check for each problem that was found later than it should have been.
What each gate checks
The 32 checks over three gates and a safety buy-off
Eight checks at each of the three gates (before order, before build and before start-up) and eight for the safety buy-off. A check is phrased so that Yes is good. On the sheets each one is answered Yes, No or N/A with a line of evidence; a No holds the gate until it is fixed or accepted.
Gate 1: before order
Requirements written from the weak points of the machines you run today
- 1The weak points of today's machines (breakdowns, stops, cleaning time, defects, injuries) are listed, and each one has a requirement in the specification
- 2Reliability targets are in the specification: MTBF and MTTR, with the supplier's evidence from machines in similar use
- 3Maintainability requirements are written: access, tools needed, time to change wear parts, standard components
- 4Cleaning and inspection requirements are written, including how long routine cleaning and inspection may take
- 5Safety requirements name the standards and the risks to be designed out first, before guarding is added
- 6Changeover and setup time targets are written, with the number of tools needed
- 7Energy, compressed air and consumable use limits are written, and a ten-year cost comparison has been done on the options
- 8Operators, maintenance and safety have reviewed the specification and their comments are recorded
Gate 2: before build
The design freeze: last chance to change it cheaply
- 9Every point that needs routine access (lubrication, inspection, adjustment, cleaning) can be reached safely without removing guards or other parts
- 10Lubrication points are grouped, labelled and reachable from outside, and the lubricant is stated for each
- 11Guards and interlocks follow the risk assessment, and no guard has to come off for normal operation or routine work
- 12Sensors and test points are fitted where condition monitoring or fault finding needs them
- 13Wear parts and consumables are standard, from more than one source where possible, and listed
- 14A recommended spares list with lead times and prices is agreed, and the critical spares are ordered with the machine
- 15Controls, alarms and fault messages are clear to an operator, and the first-response actions are written
- 16Problems found at earlier reviews are closed, or have an owner, a date and an agreed decision
Gate 3: before start-up
Ready to run, and ready to be looked after
- 17The machine has run the agreed acceptance test (speed, quality, run time) and the results are recorded
- 18The PM plan (tasks, intervals, owners) and the operator care checks are written and loaded into the maintenance system
- 19The spares agreed at gate 2 are on site, in the store, with part numbers
- 20Manuals, drawings, electrical diagrams and software backups are delivered and filed
- 21Operators, maintenance and the line leader are trained and have signed off, and standard work for operation is written
- 22Standard cleaning, inspection and lubrication routines are written and have been tried once on the machine
- 23The list of open points left after start-up has an owner and a date for each
- 24A review after the first month is booked, to compare the early failures with the requirements
Safety buy-off before first use
A general starting point: adapt it to local law and your own procedures. Not legal advice
- 25A risk assessment of the installed machine has been done and every high risk is controlled
- 26Guards, interlocks, emergency stops and light curtains were tested and work, and the tests are recorded
- 27Energy isolation points are identified and labelled, and a lockout procedure for the machine is written
- 28Noise, dust, fumes and other exposures were checked against the limits that apply
- 29The people who will operate or maintain it were trained on its hazards and the safe working procedure
- 30Warning labels, floor markings and safety signs are in place
- 31A safety person has signed that the machine may be used, and any conditions are written on the sign-off
- 32The conditions for first use, such as trial runs, limited speed or supervision, are written down
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn invented new labeller goes through all three gates, and 31 problems are logged over the project.
- 19 are found at gate 1, before the order: a missing cleaning time limit, no MTBF evidence and a label head blocked by the frame among them. Each is a line in the specification.
- 6 more are found at the design freeze and fixed before the build, such as a lubrication point behind a panel and a guard that needs a tool to open.
- 3 are found at gate 3 and 3 at start-up, and all 6 should have been caught at gate 2: a drain that cannot be reached, a missing fault list, spares not delivered and a product guide that needs tools.
- 29 of the 31 problems are closed. The spares are still open, and gate 3 is held until they arrive.
Over three in five problems were found before the order, but six escaped the design freeze. The journal turns them into new checks, so the next machine's gate 2 catches them.
Common mistakes
Reviewing only at the end
A single review at start-up finds problems when they are most expensive. The gates exist to find them while a change is a line in a drawing.
Leaving out the people who will run it
Engineers can check a design against a standard, but operators know where they cannot reach and technicians where they cannot get a spanner. Have both at gate 2.
Writing requirements nobody can check
Easy to maintain is not a requirement. Time to change the wear part, access without removing guards and a target MTBF are. Give each requirement a number or a test.
Passing a gate with open Nos
A No can be accepted, but only with an owner, a date and an entry in the journal. A gate passed on goodwill is where late problems come from.
Treating the safety buy-off as a signature
The buy-off is a check of guards, stops, isolation and training that were tested, not a form signed because the machine is late. Adapt it to local law and your own procedures.
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FAQ
Equipment design review checklist: common questions
An equipment design review is a gate review of a new machine before it is ordered, before it is built and before it starts up. Each gate checks that requirements, design and readiness are right while a change is still cheap, and the problems found are recorded.
A common set is before order (is the specification right), before build or design freeze (is the design maintainable and safe) and before start-up (is the installed machine ready to run and be looked after). Some plants add a review after the first month of running.
When every check is phrased the same way, a quick scan down the Yes column shows the state of the review, and a No stands out. Mixed wording, where Yes is sometimes bad, leads to wrong answers.
This template's safety buy-off is a general starting point, not legal advice. The legal requirements for machinery depend on where you are, and your own safety procedures and the machine's risk assessment govern. Adapt it to them.
It records each problem, the gate where it was found and the gate where it should have been found. Problems found later than they should have been show where the reviews are weak, and each one becomes a new check for the next machine.
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- Nemawashi template (stakeholder plan)Plan the one-to-one conversations before a decision: who to talk to in what order, their concerns, what changed and where they stand.
- Heijunka box planner (production leveling)Weekly demand turned into containers a day, takt, pitch and slots, a leveled sequence of products and the heijunka box, with a check that the changeovers fit.
- 4M change management sheet (change point)A shift log of every change to Man, Machine, Material, Method or Design, the extra checks after it and when normal checks resume, with a change point board.
- Future state value stream map worksheetThe eight future-state questions worked through in order: takt, pitch, flow, supermarkets, the pacemaker and the mix, with an EPEI check and current against future lead time.
- Value stream plan (VSM action plan)The future-state map cut into loops, each with an objective and a measurable goal, and its kaizen bursts turned into owned, dated projects on a 12-month timeline.
- Kaizen project plan (Gantt chart)One improvement project as a Gantt chart: tasks by phase with owners, predecessors and working days, a 16-week grid, milestones and a status from planned against actual % done.
- Histogram templateReadings, bins set by the square root rule, a tally and counts, the spec limits drawn and the share out of spec, with the common shapes explained.
- Scatter diagram templateUp to 50 pairs with a group code, r and R², the least squares line, the quadrant count and r for each group.
- Escalation matrix templateWho is called for each type of issue and after how long, with severity rules, contacts and an escalation log.
- Visual management audit checklist29 checks of whether anyone can tell normal from abnormal at a glance, scored by group, with a trend and actions.
- Quality alert formA quality alert to post at the line, a sign-off sheet for every shift, and a log of open, expired and closed alerts.
- TQM self-assessment templateThe eight TQM principles in 24 statements you can check on the floor, scored 0 to 4 by several people, with the spread, the top 3 gaps and an action plan.
- Employee recognition program templateDesign a recognition program on one page, then run it: points per action, prizes, budget, a points ledger, a monthly leaderboard and a fairness check by team and shift.
- Lean transformation roadmapA plant-wide lean program on one sheet: six phases with exit criteria, six workstreams by quarter over 24 months, the model line, metrics with baseline and target, cadence and risks.
- Obeya room plannerPlan the walls, owners, cadence, agenda and rules of an obeya, then run the weekly review of KPIs, problems, actions and milestones.
- Continuous improvement software evaluation scorecardCompare CI software vendors: a must-have gate, eight weighted criteria scored 1 to 5, points out of 100 and a rank, with a demo script and reference questions.
- Lean principles assessment templateThe five lean principles as 25 things you can see on one value stream, answered yes, partly or no on a walk, with a score per principle, the next step and a trend over walks.
- Employee engagement survey templateA short anonymous pulse survey for shop floor staff: 14 statements in six drivers, two open questions, results by driver and team, and the actions.
- Hansei reflection sheet (lessons learned)A written look back at one finished project, event or launch: goals against results in numbers, causes rather than blame, lessons to keep or change, and where else they apply.
- Safety cross calendarA month drawn as the green cross, colored each day by the most serious safety event, with totals and days since the last injury.
- Daily kaizen routine boardA team's 10 to 15 minute daily routine at the board: one problem from each person, small fixes with one owner, counted every week.
- Quality circle meeting recordA circle's charter, a one-page record for each meeting and a problem register that follows every problem from selected to closed or escalated.
- Operational excellence assessment templateThe ten principles of operational excellence as 30 behaviors and practices you can see, scored 1 to 5 by several people, with the spread, the three lowest principles and an action plan.
- Scrum meeting agenda templateTimed agendas for the five scrum meetings, a sprint planning sheet, a retrospective sheet, and an Excel sprint backlog with a burndown.
- Toyota Production System (TPS) house templateThe TPS house for one plant or value stream: roof, two pillars and foundation, with what you do today, the evidence, a status and the next step for each element.
- EPEI and batch size calculatorHow often each part can come round on a shared machine (EPEI) and how big each batch must be, from demand, cycle times and changeovers, now and after SMED.
- Process capacity sheet templateEach machine in a part's routing with manual, auto and tool change time, its capacity per shift, and the step that limits the cell against demand.
- Jidoka worksheet (stop at abnormality)For one line or cell, every abnormality that should stop the work: how it is detected, how the work stops, who is called, the immediate fix and the root cause step, plus a log of real stops.
- Team charter templateA one-page charter for a standing team: purpose, scope, roles, the KPIs it owns, which decisions it makes itself, norms and cadence.
- Chaku-chaku line plannerPlan a load-load cell: time each machine, load and walk, check that every machine is ready when the operator comes back, compare the cell cycle with takt and size the crew.
- Standard operating procedure (SOP) templateA full SOP in the hierarchical step format, from purpose and scope to the steps, records, revision history and approvals, with review checks and an SOP register.
- Process improvement method selectorEight questions about one problem, an example rule that suggests a method and a matrix of nine methods: when each fits, the usual team and time, and the template to start with.
- Root cause analysis templateOne report from problem statement to proof: containment, evidence, analysis, verified causes, actions and the effectiveness check.
- Safety pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the incident pyramid to safety standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Quality control pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the QA matrix to the QM matrix on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Environment and energy pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from waste and energy maps to area standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Focused improvement 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss Pareto to standardized fixes on one model line, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Logistics and customer service pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the current-state map to pull on one model value stream, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- People development pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the skills matrix to trained cover on critical tasks in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Cost deployment pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss map to costed, ranked projects in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Moving from Excel to one system checklistA 34-point checklist and a file inventory for moving trackers from spreadsheets to one system: keep, move, connect or retire, clean, pilot, run both, retire.
- Prioritization matrix templateScore up to 20 improvement ideas on weighted criteria, rank them, test the ranking with equal weights and place each one on an effort and benefit grid.
- Cost per unit worksheet (manufacturing cost per good unit)One product's cost per good unit by materials, labor, machine and overhead, the gap to target, and which cost lever is worth most a year.
- Manufacturing KPI dashboard templateWeekly plant numbers in, 14 KPIs out: OEE and its parts, first pass yield, scrap, on-time delivery, recordable rate, cost and absence, each against a target.
- Error-proofing verification log (daily master-sample check)Each poka-yoke device proved every day or week with a known-bad sample, with missed checks counted and the hours and parts at risk worked out when one fails.
- Training matrix template with expiry datesPeople by required trainings with expiry dates, OK, due, expired and missing flags, compliance by person and area, cover per training and a renewal list.
- Defect catalogue template with boundary samplesEvery defect with a definition, a class and the reason for it, measured accept and reject limits by zone, boundary samples, a defect log with DPU and Pareto, and an inspector agreement check.
- Kaizen event preparation checklistEverything that has to be ready before a kaizen event and done after it: 44 items with owners and due dates from 6 weeks before day 1 to 30 days after, five go or no-go gates and a day-by-day agenda.
- Attribute control chart template (p, np, c and u charts)p, np, c and u charts in one workbook: a chart selector, a sample size check, limits for each subgroup, signal flags and four worked examples.
- Tier 2 meeting agenda and escalation sheetA 15-minute tier 2 agenda in ten timed blocks, fixed roles and rules, escalation triggers with time limits, and a log that ages every escalation and sends the answer back down.
- HACCP plan template: hazard analysis and CCP worksheetThe Codex 12 steps in one workbook: team and product, process steps checked on site, hazard analysis with the CCP decision tree, the CCP table with completeness checks, an allergen matrix and a verification schedule.
- Forklift operator training and evaluation recordPer-operator training and evaluation record, a register with three-year due dates and refresher triggers, and a weighted practical evaluation scoresheet.
- REBA worksheet (Rapid Entire Body Assessment)Score up to six postures with REBA: body-part drop-downs, Tables A, B and C as lookups, final score and action level, and a before and after comparison.
- Mock recall template: traceability exercise worksheetTrace a finished lot back to every input lot and forward to every first customer, reconcile the quantities against a tolerance and time it against your target.
- ISO 9001 internal audit checklist (production area)46 audit questions for the production floor in 11 processes, each with its ISO 9001:2015 clause, what evidence to look for and the sample to take, plus five defined grades, a findings log, a finding report and a summary by clause.
- ISO 45001 internal audit checklist44 audit questions for the plant floor in 16 safety topics, each with its ISO 45001:2018 clause, the evidence to look for and the sample to take, plus 12 worker interview prompts, a findings log and a summary by clause.
- Plan for every part (PFEP) templateOne row per part: supplier, pack, container, usage, lead time and locations, with ABC classes, market and line kanban counts and a lineside space check.
- Food plant GMP inspection checklist (21 CFR 117 subpart B)55 checks in the order of 21 CFR 117 subpart B, each citing its paragraph and saying what to look at, with a grade, finding, owner and due date; results by section and grade, a walk route and a bakery example.
- Master sanitation schedule with pre-op verificationA master list of cleaning tasks by area and equipment with frequency, chemical, lockout, who and next due date, a weekly on-time count, and the pre-operational verification log with a release step.
- Changeover matrix templateA from-to matrix of changeover minutes with the clean each transition needs (allergen, colour, format), and a weekly planner that totals the order and suggests a shorter one.
- Measurement uncertainty budget templateA GUM uncertainty budget: Type A and B rows, divisors by distribution, sensitivity coefficients, uc, νeff, k from the t-table, U, TUR and a guard band check.
- Reorder point and safety stock sheet (many parts)Safety stock, reorder point, order quantity and an order list for up to 500 parts, worked out from each part's own demand and lead time history.
- OSHA compliance calendar (general industry)37 recurring federal OSHA duties with the paragraph, interval, owner, next due date and an overdue flag, plus a 12-month view and counts by owner.
- TRIR and DART rate trackerMonthly hours, OSHA 300 case counts and near misses in; rolling 12-month TRIR and DART rate, a case budget against your target and a trend chart out.
- Energy use and EnPI trackerMonthly electricity, gas and fuel in one unit, a 12-month regression baseline, expected against actual energy for each month, an EnPI ratio, the running saving and the tests that say whether the model can be trusted.
- FIFO lane sizing sheetThe maximum for a FIFO lane from the stop it must cover, in whole containers, with length, refill and wait checks for up to eight lanes.
- Machine guarding inspection sheetA machine register with due dates and a status per machine, 21 checks tied to OSHA 1910.212, .219 and .147, a guard opening check against Table O-10, and an action log.
- Quad chart templateA project on one page in four boxes: idea and owner, problem, approach, and cost, schedule and result.
- Toolbox talk topics (52 weekly topics)52 weekly toolbox talk topics, each with a one-line key message and a discussion question, and a tracker for the year.
- Defect detection matrix templateMap where each defect is created and where it is found, score the gap and move the check closer to the cause.
- Project savings validation checklistThe gate between a project's claim and a reported saving: 20 checks, a claims register and a six-month sustainment check.
- Emergency action plan templateA written emergency plan for a plant: site facts, roles and backups, warden coverage, scenario steps and a drill record.
- Risk register templateOne scored list of operational risks with owners, actions and dates, a heat map and a review log.
- Energy loss matrix templateSeven types of energy loss by six energy sources with a cost in each cell, an action plan and an idle-period shutdown checklist.
- Management safety tour formA leader's scheduled safety walk: observation form, operator interview, tally, actions, rota and a tour log with a dashboard.
- Hazard prediction worksheetA pre-task worksheet: score what could go wrong at each step of a job, add a countermeasure and score again.
- Chemical inventory and SDS register templateA register of every chemical on site with its hazard class, safety data sheet and label, and a check that incompatible products are kept apart.
- Safety committee meeting minutes templateMinutes for a safety committee: attendance, nine agenda items, an action log that carries open actions forward, and monthly numbers.
- Environmental compliance audit checklistAn internal environmental audit: 37 questions with what to look for, a findings log with classes and a score by section.
- Out-of-control action plan (OCAP) templateA reaction plan for a control chart: the steps, what each signal means, who to call and a log of events.
- Quality inspection checklistAn in-process and final inspection record: measured characteristics, visual checks, a decision and first pass yield.
- AQL sampling plan templatePick a sample size, read accept and reject numbers, record the defects and decide on the lot.
- Incoming quality control stage sheetA register that shows how much control each purchased part has and plans the move from your dock to the supplier's process.
- Internal audit schedule templateA year of internal audits planned by risk: the programme, the register, the auditors and the findings.
- Approved supplier list templateThe list of suppliers you may buy from, with the evidence behind each, certificate expiry alerts and re-evaluation dates.
- Pest control inspection checklistA pest control walk-round for a food plant, with a log of traps and stations and action levels for each type of device.
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A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.