A QR code on every machine. A pre-use check from every operator.

How a QR code equipment checklist works

A QR code equipment checklist links a printed code on a machine to an inspection form, so the operator scans it with a phone and fills in the check on the spot. There are two ways to set one up, and the choice decides how useful your records are.

• One code for everything. You post a single QR code by the time clock or the charging station, and it opens one form, often a Google Form. Operators type or pick which machine they're checking. It's quick to set up, but every machine's answers land in one spreadsheet, a mistyped unit number files a check under the wrong machine, and the form can't tell which machine the operator is standing next to.
• A code on each machine. Every machine carries its own sticker, and scanning it opens that machine's checklist with its name already filled in. The operator can't pick the wrong machine, the questions suit that kind of equipment, and each check is filed under the machine it was done on.

CheckBadges is the second design. It's the one that gives you a history you can use: when someone asks whether the scissor lift was checked on March 3, you open the scissor lift instead of filtering a spreadsheet.

How CheckBadges works

1. 1List your machines. Names are enough: "Forklift 1", "Boom lift 60 ft", "Service van 3".
2. 2Pick a checklist for each. Start from a ready-made forklift, scissor and boom lift, excavator and loader, vehicle pre-trip or general check, or from one of the free equipment inspection checklists, and edit it in the builder. Questions can be OK/Problem (with N/A where a part isn't fitted), multiple choice, dropdowns, numbers such as the hour meter, or text. One checklist can serve every machine of the same type.
3. 3Print the stickers. Each machine gets a business-card-size QR sticker, eight to a letter page, marked "Scan before use" with the machine's name. Put it where the operator stands before starting: the mast, the dash, the control box.
4. 4Operators scan and check. They point their phone's camera at the sticker, type their name (their phone remembers it) or a 4-digit PIN if you turn PINs on, answer the questions and submit. Most checks take about a minute.
5. 5You watch the dashboard. It shows which machines have been checked today and which have open problems, updated as checks come in. Every check is filed by machine with who did it and when.

The guide to setting up QR code equipment checklists covers sticker placement and rolling it out to a crew.

What happens when an operator finds a problem

When an operator marks an item Problem, CheckBadges emails your alert list the moment the check is submitted. The operator has to say what's wrong and can add up to three photos taken right in the browser. Then:

• Everyone on your alert list gets the details and photos by email. You're on the list by default; add your mechanic or shift lead.
• The machine shows red on your dashboard.
• Every operator who scans that machine sees the open problem before starting their own check. Paper can't do that: a note on Tuesday's sheet doesn't reach Wednesday's operator.

When it's repaired, mark it fixed with a note and the warning clears. Taking the machine out of service in the meantime is still a physical job; see what to do when equipment fails inspection.

QR code checklists compared with paper, forms and apps

A per-machine QR checklist sits between paper and a full inspection app: no installs, like paper, with alerts and history, like an app.

Free form builders are the honest runner-up: no app, familiar and cheap. What they lack is the machine-level layer (history per machine, "checked today", a warning for the next operator), and Google Forms makes respondents sign in to a Google account to upload a photo. The Google Forms equipment checklist guide shows how far a form gets you, and compare has head-to-head pages for named apps.

What it costs

CheckBadges is free for up to 3 active machines, with every feature. Pro is $9 a month for the first 3 machines, plus $1.50 a month for each machine after that: $19.50 a month for 10 machines and $42 for 25. Operators and checks are unlimited on both plans, with no per-user fees, contracts, hardware or setup fees. Pricing by machine matters for equipment: a two-shift operation with eight machines might have twenty-five operators, and a per-user app bills every one of them. See pricing for the details.

When a QR code checklist isn't the right fit

CheckBadges does pre-use checks and stops there. Choose something else if you need:

• Offline checks. Operators need a data connection to submit. For machines that live where there's no signal, an app that stores checks offline is safer.
• Maintenance management. A problem emails you and flags the machine; it doesn't open a work order, schedule preventive maintenance or track parts. That's the job of a CMMS, and the CSV export can feed one.
• Telematics. No GPS, no hours read from the machine itself, no impact sensors or start-up lockouts.
• Enterprise IT. No single sign-on, API or integrations.
• Reminders. The dashboard shows which machines haven't been checked today, but nothing nags anyone.