Counting equipment: working, under repair, idle

Say a machine in the workshop is on the books and standing in place. For accounting that is enough: "present". But the owner will ask other things: is it running, how long has it been idle, who sent it for repair and when? Merely counting equipment does not answer these questions. So a count should also record the condition of every unit. Here is how it can be done.

Three conditions and their criteria

Each item goes into one of three categories:

• working: in use or ready for immediate use, with no visible fault;
• under repair: stopped because of a fault and being repaired; the start date, the place (own workshop or outside contractor) and the expected finish are recorded;
• idle: could run or be fixed but is not used. The reasons vary: no orders, a seasonal stop, wear, or keeping it as a source of spare parts.

The counting team does not carry out a technical inspection. It records what can be seen and what the responsible person says, while the technical opinion comes from the mechanic or chief engineer. Keep that line firm: the team does not write "this machine is unfit" but "not running; according to the responsible person a bearing needs replacing". And before marking a unit "working", ask when it was last used. If the answer is "a year ago", it belongs closer to idle.

What is recorded for each unit

The condition mark row carries the inventory number, name and model, serial number, location, condition, the approximate date it began, the reason, the responsible person's comment and the photo file name. It matters that the responsible person's view sits in a separate column. Then "seen by the team" and "said by people" do not blend in the list, and the manager taking the decision can see the source.

For instance, a row might read: press, workshop 2, under repair, about three weeks, cause a hydraulic fault, responsible person the workshop head, photo file named. Later you track the repair time on that same row: a one-week repair and one dragging on for half a year cannot be treated alike.

The sequence on count day

Work on each unit follows roughly the same order:

1. The team checks that the equipment is in place and matches the inventory number.
2. It asks the responsible person when it last ran, why it stopped and who has the repair.
3. The condition is marked and a photo taken.
4. What was said is checked against a document, such as an internal dispatch-for-repair or shutdown record.
5. Results are agreed with the mechanic or engineer, and points of dispute are noted separately.

Photo rules

Each unit needs at least two pictures: an overall view, and the asset tag together with the manufacturer's plate (with the serial number visible). If a fault is visible, take a third. Name the files after the inventory number so nobody has to hunt for a picture later. Before approaching running equipment, ask the responsible person for permission and follow safety rules; do not photograph near moving parts.

Problem cases

A hypothetical example: 140 units of equipment were counted in a workshop. 112 are working, 18 under repair, 10 idle. Three of the repair units are at an outside contractor, so the team did not see them, but their presence is confirmed by the dispatch-for-repair document. Four of the idle units have stood for two years. They belong on a separate list: it is a question for management, which has to decide on restarting, selling or writing off. The team does not take such decisions. Agree the write-off procedure with the chief accountant and a lawyer.

Equipment kept as a source of spare parts is also recorded with its own mark, otherwise it slips into the "fully working" count.

Equipment that is on the books but not found in place is searched for under a separate procedure, and in the condition column it is marked not "not found" but "being searched for".

Conclusion

A count of equipment ends not with one question but with three: is it there, where, and in what condition. Decisions stay with management, and the team supplies reliable data for them. Inventory records and tags equipment, furniture, machinery and vehicles and compiles the register; how condition marks and photos are added to the register can be agreed at the site assessment stage.