Three roles, three responsibilities
Checking work equipment is not one job. Annex-III of the regulation defines three duties that do not substitute for one another.
| Task | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Visual examination and function test | The operator, or personnel who know the equipment and its functions | Before every use |
| Maintenance | A service authorised by the manufacturer, or persons assigned by the workplace | At the interval set by the standards or the manufacturer |
| Periodic inspection | A person authorised to carry out periodic inspections | Within the maximum periods in the Annex-III tables |
The person who signs the report
A report is issued at the end of a periodic inspection and kept for as long as the equipment is in use. Its final section gives the authorised person's name, profession and EKİPNET registration number and the number of copies issued, and the report is signed. The regulation is categorical here: reports without the signature of the person authorised to carry out the periodic inspection are invalid.
One item of equipment, several disciplines
The nature of a piece of equipment may require authorised persons from more than one discipline. There are two routes: all inspection criteria are presented in a joint report signed jointly; or each authorised person prepares and signs a separate report for their own part.
Non-destructive testing is a separate qualification
Non-destructive testing on work equipment is performed by persons certified to at least level 2 in accordance with TS EN ISO 9712. Where the non-destructive testing is supplied as an annex to the periodic inspection report, the person performing it is not additionally required to hold an EKİPNET registration number.
What the conclusion must say
The report must state explicitly that the equipment may not be used until the defect is remedied where a defect compromising safe use has been found, and that it may be used where no such defect has been found. Defects are graded as minor or major: minor defects are corrected by the start date of the next periodic inspection, and any still uncorrected at that date count as major; equipment with a major defect may not be operated until the defect is remedied. Where the ministry has published no report and criteria document, or where that document draws no minor/major distinction, this grading is not applied.
The "inspection method" section of the report must also state plainly what the inspection rests on: the number and name of the relevant standard, failing that the method recommended by the manufacturer, and failing that the fact that the decision came from a risk assessment.
For which equipment is inspected at which period: periodic inspection period table.