Pre-use vs pre-shift vs daily inspection: what each term means

What is a pre-use inspection?

A pre-use inspection is a check of a piece of equipment by the person about to use it, done before they use it, to find anything that would make it unsafe. It usually has two parts: a visual walk-around with the machine off (leaks, tires, forks, guards, damage), then a function test with it running (brakes, steering, horn, lights, controls, alarms).

The point is the decision at the end. If the check finds a problem that affects safety, the machine doesn't run until it's fixed. OSHA's forklift rule puts it in one line: trucks "shall not be placed in service if the examination shows any condition adversely affecting the safety of the vehicle" (29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7)).

A pre-use check is meant to be quick. The UK regulator, HSE, says that for much work equipment "a quick visual check before use will be sufficient" (HSE: inspection of work equipment). For the full walk-through on one machine, see how to do a forklift pre-shift inspection.

Pre-use vs pre-shift vs daily: the short answer

The three terms differ only in timing. Pre-use means before each use, pre-shift means before each work shift, and daily means at least once each day the machine is used.

On a one-shift site, they're the same check. They split apart when a machine runs two or three shifts, or when it's used in short bursts by different people:

• Daily is the minimum for forklifts: "Such examination shall be made at least daily." But the same paragraph adds: "Where industrial trucks are used on a round-the-clock basis, they shall be examined after each shift." A 6 a.m. check doesn't cover a forklift that runs all night.
• Pre-shift is the timing OSHA uses for scaffolds, construction cranes, jobsite vehicles and general industry ladders. A machine on three shifts gets three checks.
• Pre-use is the strictest. Personal fall arrest systems in construction must be "inspected prior to each use" (1926.502(d)(21)), while the general industry rule says "before initial use during each workshift" (1910.140(c)(18)).

Every name for the operator's check

Each region and industry has its own word, but they all mean a check before work starts. The table below lists the ones you'll see, with an example rule for each.

Pre-start, walkaround and circle checks: the regional names

These are local names for the same operator check. Use the one your crew and your regulator use.

• Pre-start check (Australia). The model WHS Regulations don't use the word "pre-start". They require plant to be maintained and inspected by a competent person, generally following the manufacturer's recommendations (r.213), and pre-start checks are how most sites meet that day to day. See pre-start checks in Australia.
• Walkaround check (UK vehicles). DVSA's guidance for goods vehicles, buses and coaches says "A minimum of one walkaround check must be carried out every day or at least once in a 24-hour period that the vehicle is used", and defects must be reported in writing (DVSA guide to maintaining roadworthiness). For plant and machinery, UK sites usually say pre-use check, under PUWER; see PUWER pre-use checks.
• Circle check (Canada). CCOHS describes a visual "circle" check before starting a forklift, then an operational check with the key on (CCOHS forklift daily checks).

Pre-trip, post-trip and the DVIR

For US commercial trucks and buses, the pre-trip is the driver's check before driving and the DVIR is the written report at the end of the day. They're separate rules.

Before driving, the driver must "Be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition", review the last driver vehicle inspection report, and sign it where it listed defects (49 CFR 396.13). At the completion of each day's work, the driver reports on each vehicle operated, but "Drivers are not required to prepare a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver" (49 CFR 396.11). The carrier keeps reports for three months, and electronic reports are allowed. More in DVIR requirements.

Frequent, periodic, annual and thorough examination

These are the deeper inspections, on a schedule, by someone with more expertise than the operator. They don't replace the operator's check; they sit on top of it.

Two things often surprise people. OSHA's rules have no annual forklift inspection; that comes from the manufacturer and ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 (see how often forklifts should be inspected). And a UK thorough examination is not a pre-use check: HSE expects both. See LOLER thorough examinations and MEWP inspection requirements.

Do you have to write the check down?

It depends on the rule, and many operator checks don't legally have to be written down. OSHA has said in writing that "The standard does not require documentation of a powered industrial truck examination" (OSHA letter, Feb. 7, 2000), and the shift inspection of a construction crane has no documentation requirement either, though its monthly and annual inspections do.

Other rules go the other way. A DVIR that reports a defect must be kept three months. In the UK, HSE says "Records are not normally required to be made for the simplest pre-use checks", but its forklift guidance, L117, says the operator should check the truck at the start of each shift "and document the results" (HSE L117). DVSA expects walkaround defects reported in writing.

Whatever the rule, OSHA doesn't require a written record of the daily forklift check, but a dated record is the only way to show it happened. More in equipment inspection record keeping.

Which name should your checklist use?

Use the timing your strictest rule demands, and the word your crew already uses. If a machine ever runs a second shift, write "before each shift" on the form, not "daily", so nobody assumes the morning check covers the night.

Then put the check where the operator stands. With CheckBadges, each machine gets a QR sticker that opens its own pre-use checklist on the operator's phone, and every check is saved with the operator's name and the time, whatever you call it.