The 6-Step Equipment Inspection Checklist We Use at Varel Before Accepting Any Delivery

If you're the person who signs off on incoming equipment for a mining or energy operation, this checklist is for you.

I'm the quality compliance manager at Varel, an energy and mining equipment supplier. I review every incoming delivery from our manufacturers before it ships to clients—roughly 550 items a year, give or take. In 2025, I've rejected about 18% of first deliveries due to documentation gaps or spec mismatches. Not because manufacturers are dishonest. Mostly because small things get skipped, and catching them early is cheap.

Here's the 6-step checklist we use on every batch. It takes about two hours for a standard inspection, maybe three if the paperwork is messy. Two hours that has saved us from delayed startups more than once.

This isn't a full factory acceptance test or a site audit. It's the day-to-day receiving check that happens on your dock or in your warehouse. Do it right and you'll catch 90% of the problems before they become project delays.

Before you start: what to have ready

Get these in hand before the delivery arrives:

• Approved drawings and the purchase order
• Inspection and test plan (ITP) with sign-off columns
• Caliper, tape measure, and a flashlight
• Camera or phone for documentation
• PMI gun if available—more on that in step 3

The prep takes five minutes. Skipping it means you'll be hunting for documents mid-inspection, and that's how things get missed.

Step 1: Documentation before anything else

I know it's tempting to open the crate first. Don't.

Check these before you touch the equipment:

• Packing list vs purchase order quantities
• Material test reports (MTRs) and certificates of conformance
• Calibration certificates for any gauges or sensors
• Signed ITP sheets from the manufacturer and any third-party inspectors

If the paperwork is incomplete, the equipment might be perfectly fine—but you can't prove it. That causes real problems the moment someone asks for traceability, which always happens at the worst possible time.

I skipped this step once, back in 2022. The crate looked solid, the manufacturer had been reliable for years, and we were behind schedule. The upside of skipping was maybe two hours. The risk was accepting unverifiable steel. Well, the odds caught up with me—the MTRs were for the wrong batch. We caught it in a second-stage check, but it cost three weeks of rework and a very awkward call to the client.

Step 2: Visual and dimensional inspection

Once the documents check out, do a visual pass. Look for:

• Shipping damage: dents, scratches, bent flanges
• Water or contamination in packaging
• Welds that look off—porosity, undercut, spatter
• Missing bolts, caps, or protective covers

Then measure. For most of our drilling equipment, critical dimensions like flange thickness and mounting hole patterns get checked against the approved drawings with a tolerance of ±0.5 mm. Your numbers may differ, but the point is to measure, not eyeball.

Last year we caught a 10 mm flange offset that looked fine to the eye. It would have blown the bolt-up time by three times on-site. The supplier fixed it before shipment because we measured on arrival. That's the difference between fixing things on your schedule versus the project schedule.

To be fair, most visual checks come back clean. That's fine. It's the 15% of the time when they don't that makes this step worth doing.

Step 3: Material and component traceability

This step is boring. It's also the one that catches the most expensive problems.

Look for stamped heat numbers, batch codes, or casting marks on major components. They need to match the MTRs from step 1. If a valve body says 316L stainless but the test report says 304, that's a reject, full stop. If the marking is illegible and the component is safety-critical, don't guess—use a PMI gun if you have one, or send a sample to a lab.

We once caught a shipment where only 60% of flanges had traceable heat numbers. The supplier said it would be fine. We sent them back anyway because the contract specified full traceability. The delay cost them, not us. That's the value of getting requirements in writing before you order.

Step 4: Functional testing

Don't just look at it. Run it.

For pumps: run under load and compare flow and pressure to the spec sheet. For valves: cycle open/closed and check for leaks. For compressors: check pressure buildup and vibration. It doesn't need to be a full factory acceptance test—it needs to be enough to prove the equipment does what the datasheet says.

Example from our floor: we ran a comparative test on two hydraulic pumps, the Peregrine and the Hercules. Both claimed the same flow at the same pressure. On the bench, the Peregrine delivered 2% below spec; the Hercules delivered 3% above. Neither is a reject—both within tolerance—but the project team chose the Hercules for a system with a tight flow window.

That's the kind of information you only get by running equipment before you accept it. Spec sheets don't tell you how a specific unit performs. The bench test does.

Step 5: Preservation and packaging

Equipment that sits in a warehouse for months before installation needs proper protection. Check that:

• Flanges and machined surfaces have rust inhibitor applied
• Desiccant packs are present and not expired—yes, they expire
• Pipe and hose openings are capped
• Outer packaging is intact enough for further storage or transport

Oh, and document this with photos. If packaging fails during transport, photos of the original condition make insurance claims a lot easier.

Step 6: Sign-off and deadline planning

Only sign when the previous five steps pass. Then, before you close the file, get the delivery timeline confirmed in writing.

If equipment is on a critical path, this is where you think about expedited delivery terms. Here's my honest take: rush fees aren't about speed. They're about certainty. In March 2024, we paid $400 extra for guaranteed delivery of a replacement part. The alternative was missing a $15,000 installation window at a client site. The math was not close.

Even after paying the fee, I second-guessed myself. What if we'd thrown $400 at nothing? The tracking showed 'out for delivery' on the promised date, and I relaxed. Then the part arrived—on time, correct specs, no drama. Worth every dollar.

I've seen projects burn far more because someone chose the cheaper option with an "estimated" delivery date. Equipment showed up three weeks late. The idle crew cost more during that wait than any rush fee. Cheap with uncertainty is more expensive than expensive with certainty.

One thing I've never fully understood is why some manufacturers deliver early while others consistently miss by weeks. My best guess is it comes down to internal buffer management. The ones who build slack into their schedule hit dates. The ones who don't, don't. Take this with a grain of salt—I'd rather pay a bit more for a supplier who meets their commitments than a lower price with a looser promise.

Three mistakes I see most often

1. Signing off before functional testing. Finding problems after installation is always more expensive than finding them on the bench.
2. Skipping documentation checks "because the supplier is reputable." Reputation doesn't prevent paperwork mix-ups.
3. Accepting verbal timeline promises. Written is better—even a short email works.

Granted, this checklist requires discipline. It's not glamorous work, and most days nothing critical turns up. But the few times a year when it catches something real, it pays for the whole practice.

I don't have hard data on industry-wide inspection habits. Based on the field calls we get, my sense is that most teams trust the supplier's certificate and do nothing beyond a visual check. Honestly, I'm not sure why—the checklist takes two hours and catches problems you'd otherwise find at the worst possible moment.

Use it. It works.