Pre-Use Check Finds a Weeping Ram
It is 06:45 and you are doing the pre-use check on a telehandler that was used on the late shift. Walk-round findings: the boom lift ram has a film of oil along the barrel and a drip forming at the rod seal; the engine oil is at the minimum mark; one tyre has a cut in the sidewall about 40 mm long that does not expose cord; the load chart in the cab is legible but the machine serial number on it does not match the machine; the seat belt is frayed at the buckle end; and the horn works. The machine is booked for a lift at 08:00 and there is no spare machine on site. The late-shift operator's handover note says 'ram weep noted, monitor' but gives no further detail.
1. Sort the findings into those that stop the machine being used and those that can be monitored, giving your reasoning.
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Stop-use findings:
- Weeping lift ram with a forming drip. A lift ram seal failure can progress to sudden loss of boom control under load. 'Monitor' is not a control for a hydraulic leak on a load-bearing ram. The machine should be taken out of service until the ram is assessed and repaired.
- Load chart serial number mismatch. The chart must match the machine. A chart for a different serial number may have different capacities, and using it means you are lifting to unknown limits. This is a stop-use item until the correct chart is fitted.
- Frayed seat belt at the buckle end. The buckle end takes the highest load in a restraint event. A fray there is a restraint failure risk. Stop-use until replaced.
Monitor / rectify:
- Engine oil at minimum. Top up before use and investigate consumption; not a stop item on its own but should be recorded.
- 40 mm sidewall cut not exposing cord. Needs assessment by a competent tyre fitter; record it and monitor, but a cut that does not expose cord is not automatically a withdrawal.
- Horn working. No action.
The handover note 'monitor' does not override your own assessment. You are the operator making the pre-use decision.
2. There is no spare machine and a lift is booked for 08:00. What do you do and what do you record?
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You report the stop-use findings to the supervisor immediately, before 08:00, with the specific items and why each stops use. The lift cannot proceed on this machine until the ram, chart and seat belt are rectified. Do not be moved by the absence of a spare machine - that is a planning problem, not a reason to operate a defective machine.
Practical steps: isolate and tag the machine out of service, record the findings on the defect report with time and your name, note the handover comment and that it was insufficient, and give the supervisor the options (repair, hire in, reschedule the lift). If a fitter attends, get the rectification signed off and re-check before returning the machine to service.
Record: the defect report reference, the supervisor notified and when, the machine status (out of service), and the outcome. If the lift is rescheduled or moved to another machine, note that too.