There was a time, when regular owner inspection was an integral and expected part of vehicle ownership and the operator experience. Automotive companies often provided owners with portable 6V or 12V inspection lamps as part of their onboard tool kits. Now, modern cars and trucks perform their own onboard diagnostics and tell their owners/operators when to take them in for professional inspections.

Machine inspection is the most basic of all preventive maintenance work. Inspection compares the machine’s current state condition against a known “normal” or “as new or designed” condition state to determine if deterioration that requires repair has occurred. Although inspection can be diagnostic based, using specific tools, it primarily remains a visual act that's often best performed while a machine is running under full design load.

Because of the way equipment is designed and built, there will often be bearing points or moving linkages that are poorly lit or inaccessible in running machines. In such cases, an expensive Lock Out/Tag Out production shutdown is required to perform a full inspection PM. If production access isn’t granted, the PM will often be closed incomplete.

In all cases, a quality asset inspection relies on access and good quality lighting. For maintenance departments with open minds, modern consumer technology now provides a very bright and inexpensive perspective for maintenance inspections of running equipment.

We've come a long way from the old car flashlight. Today's hand-held and head-band-mounted super bright LED lights with focusable beams can provide extremely high illumination of machine dark spots, and from greater distances than ever before. For inspection of machines with inaccessible hidden areas, inexpensive, switchable, LED strip lighting can be permanently installed to provide illumination allowing the use of miniature Wi-Fi-actuated security cameras (such as those in today’s doorbells) that can be turned on with a smartphone (for more details, refer to my May16, 2021, newsletter column, “Embracing Today's Best Multi-Tool").

In high, out-of-reach areas, including cranes, gantries, and rooftop HVAC equipment, among others, Wi-Fi cameras can be permanently installed and monitored. Where or when Wi-Fi isn't available, an initial inspection can be done using a high-magnification monocular/binocular coupled to a smartphone camera. For any out-of-visual-sight equipment, maintainers can be trained on the use of inexpensive drones.

As for controlled or confined space areas that require shutdown, consider the use of a small Remote Control (RC) robot with a mounted Wi-Fi or smartphone camera. Many hobby shops sell excellent RC cars with cameras, or RC-chassis kits that can be converted to carry small cameras or smartphones. If an inspection finds a potential problem a permit can be sought for further physical inspection/repair. Internal inspections behind walls, or engine- and gearbox-cavity inspections can be done using inexpensive camera-inspection tools purchased from a hardware store.