How to make an equipment checklist with Google Forms and a QR code

What you'll build

You'll build one Google Form that works for every machine of a type, and a QR sticker for each machine that opens the form with that machine's name already filled in. Operators scan, answer, submit; every answer lands as a row in a Google Sheet with a timestamp. It costs nothing if you already have a Google account, and it takes an hour or two for a handful of machines.

The steps

The whole setup is nine steps, and only steps 5 and 6 repeat for each machine:

1. 1Create the form. Start a blank form and name it after the machine type, like "Forklift pre-use check".
2. 2Add Machine and name questions. Short-answer questions for the machine and the operator's name, both required.
3. 3Add the checklist items. One required multiple-choice question per item, with OK, Problem and N/A.
4. 4Add a problem section. A final "Any problems?" question that branches to a section for describing them.
5. 5Get a pre-filled link for each machine. Use "Get pre-filled link" with the Machine answer filled in, once per machine.
6. 6Turn each link into a QR code. Paste the links into a QR label maker and print one sticker per machine.
7. 7Send responses to Google Sheets. Link the form to a spreadsheet so every check becomes a row.
8. 8Set up alerts. Turn on email notifications, or add a script or add-on to email only when there's a problem.
9. 9Test every sticker. Scan each printed sticker, submit a test, and check the row in the sheet.

Build the form

Go to Google Forms, start a blank form, and give it a title. Then add questions in this order:

• Machine, a required short-answer question. This is the one each QR code will fill in.
• Your name, a required short-answer question.
• Hour meter, a short-answer question with response validation set to Number, so nobody types "ok".
• One question per checklist item, as required multiple choice with OK, Problem and N/A. Write each one so it says what a pass looks like: "Forks: no cracks at the heel; tips straight". Our checklists give you the wording to paste in.
• Any problems?, a required Yes/No multiple-choice question. Turn on "Go to section based on answer" and send Yes to a new section with a paragraph question asking what's wrong.

A multiple-choice grid, with items as rows and OK, Problem and N/A as columns, is quicker to build but awkward to read on a phone.

If you use Google Workspace, check the form's settings so people outside your organization can respond; otherwise operators without a company account will be asked to sign in.

Make a pre-filled link for each machine

Pre-filled links are what make each QR sticker belong to one machine. In the form editor, open the three-dot menu and choose Get pre-filled link. A copy of the form opens: type the machine's name in the Machine answer, choose Get link, then Copy link. Repeat for every machine.

Each link ends with something like "entry.1234567=Forklift+3". Once you have one, you can make the rest in a spreadsheet by changing the text after the equals sign (use + or %20 for spaces). Keep that sheet: it's your list of which link belongs to which machine.

Print the QR codes

Paste the links into a QR code generator, one per machine. Our free QR code label maker takes a list of "name, link" lines and prints labels with the machine's name beside each code. Print them on weatherproof label stock if they'll live outdoors, and stick each one where the operator stands before starting (how to label equipment with QR codes has the details).

Collect responses and set up alerts

In the form's Responses tab, choose Link to Sheets to create a spreadsheet. Each check becomes a row with a timestamp, the machine, the operator and every answer. Use a filter or a filter view on the Machine column to see one machine's history.

For alerts, the Responses tab's menu has an option to get email notifications for new responses. It emails the form's owner on every submission, not just problems. To be told only when something fails, you need either an add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace that sends conditional emails, or a short Apps Script attached to the form that runs on each submission and emails your supervisor when any answer is "Problem".

Where Google Forms falls short

Google Forms is a general form builder, and a few gaps show up once real operators use it every day:

The photo gap catches most people out. Google's own help page says that for a file upload question, "responders need to sign in to a Google Account", and the question type isn't available for forms stored in a shared drive (Google Docs Editors Help). Uploaded files go to a folder in the form owner's Google Drive. Operators without a Google account, or who don't want to sign in on their own phone, can't send photos.

When a dedicated tool is the better choice

Google Forms is a good fit for two or three machines, an owner comfortable in Google Sheets, and operators who all have Google accounts. It gets harder once you have more machines, operators without Google accounts need to send photos, problems have to reach the right person and get closed out, or the next operator needs to know a machine has an open problem.

CheckBadges is built for that case. Each machine gets its own QR sticker that opens its checklist; operators scan with their phone camera with no app or account, and can attach up to 3 photos to a problem without signing in. A check with problems emails your alert list, and every operator who scans that machine sees the open problem until you mark it fixed. Checks are filed by machine, and you can export them to CSV for a spreadsheet. It's free for 3 machines. Both need a data connection when the check is submitted. See the full comparison in CheckBadges vs Google Forms, or other options in Google Forms alternatives.