Used industrial equipment inspection checklist
A general pre-purchase list for any production machine before you wire money or book riggers.
Written for Plant managers, buyers, and millwrights. Print this page or save as PDF. Licensed CC BY 4.0 with a link to this URL.
Before you travel
- Match make, model, and serial on the listing to a photo of the data plate.
- Get hours or impressions, last-run date, and why it is being sold — in writing.
- Confirm voltage, phase, and full-load amps against your service.
- Ask whether it is under power and whether you can run a sample.
- Request manuals, electrical drawings, and the last service invoices.
- Measure doorways, dock, and floor loading at both ends; price rigging before you negotiate.
On the floor
- Walk the machine cold: missing guards, leaks, cracked welds, damaged connectors.
- Photograph the serial plate, hour meter, and any fault history on the HMI.
- Run it under power through a full cycle, not just a jog.
- Listen for abnormal bearings, pumps, and gearboxes; feel for heat after a short run.
- Verify E-stops, interlocks, and light curtains have not been jumped.
- List every included tool, fixture, and spare; missing tooling is a second purchase.
Before you sign
- Write FOB point, included items, and pickup window on the invoice.
- Confirm who disconnects utilities and who is the named shipper on the BOL.
- Hold a portion of payment until the machine is loaded if the seller is unknown to you.
- Schedule your millwright for set-in the same week the truck arrives.
Related: equipment glossary · buyer’s guide · live listings