Handbook for professional inspections of heavy machinery. Your company need qualified inspections of construction equipment? Use this guide to train your staff for inspection on top level. Info about inspection checklist, photographs, storage of inspection files and more. A free guide.

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Heavy Equipment Inspection Guide
Handbook for Used Machinery Inspectors

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Content Page
Content 2
Introduction 3
Section 1, Machine Configuration & Features 4
Section 2, Operator Station & Cab 5
Section 3, Engine, Cooling System 6
Section 4, Visual Inspection Exterior 7
Section 5, Hydraulic System 8
Section 6, Functional Test 9
Section 7 a, Dozer Blades 10
Section 7 b, Buckets & Shovels 11
Section 7 c, Truck Bodies 12
Section 8 a, Tires 13
Section 8 b, Undercarriages 14
Section 9, Comments, Problems, Repairs 15
Section 10, Inspection Pictures 16
Section 11, File Transfer, Cloud, Sample Reports 17
Section 12, Imprint, Copyright 18
If you like to use Mevas inspection report files please get in touch with us. Under
certain circumstances we are ready to share our report forms for free.
Mevas inspection reports are available as Excel files for editing on PC. Edited files
can be safed as PDF for sending to customers or clients.
If you wish to get you staff trained in heavy equipment inspections please contact
Wolfgang Bühn. We have performed trainings for used machine inspections to vari-
ous major equipment dealers around the globe. We can provide you with a toolbox for
qualified examination of heavy machinery conditions.

3. 3
Introduction
What is this guide made for?
A generally different level of used machinery conditions in different countries means that the
opinion of the condition of secondhand construction machines varies greatly. There is a dif-
ferent view to equipment conditions between Switzerland and Finland, between Sweden
and Spain. Users in the United Kindom have a different view to used equipment than users
in Germany.
This guide is made to get a common understanding about a consistent procedure to de-
scribe machine conditions. People involved in the trading and inspection of used equip-
ment, using this guide can get a common level to judge and rate condition.
Sections in this guide
The inspection reports have different sections. Each chapter of this guide gives an explana-
tion for one section. It shall help understanding the content of each section and finding a
consistent way of describing the issues, features and problems found on used machines.
Variations of description
For a better understanding of the description, a number of descriptive guidelines are provid-
ed. Using these allows a better understanding of the problems for the inspector, the evalua-
tor and the buyer of a used machine. Of course the inspector is free to use his own descrip-
tion.
How to use the report form
Short remarks can be written to the boxes in the sections. Longer comments get a number
in brackets (1), (2), (3). In the comments area is plenty of room for detailed description with
reference to the number in brackets
Report Transfer
On site or in the field the inspector writes in his native language and his handwriting. Later
in the office the information is transferred to the Excel form and saved with the serial num-
ber.
Sample Reports
At the end of this guide you can find access to Mevas online-sample reports for getting a
deeper view.
Who made this book
This book was created by Wolfgang & Christoph Bühn of Mevas. With more than 800 used
machine inspections per year, performed by technicians from different countries Mevas
gained in more than 10 years a great experience in machinery inspections.

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Is an air conditioning
present and is the A/C
compressor there?
Is a CE label present, does
the engine have an EPA
emission label?
CE Is the CE mark present on the Serial No Plate or on an extra plate?
Serial No. The last 8 digits of Serial No.
Suppl. Steering Check please if a machine has a supplemetal steering. Usually there
is a switch with a steering wheel symbol
Auxiliary Hyd-
raulics
Extra hydraulic lines in Mevas reports are called: ripper valve; 3rd
valve; auxiliary lines; aux. lines;
Check Valves Excavators in some countries have safety valves on boom and/or
stick. Check if valves are present.
LGP Dozers with Low Ground Pressure undercarriage have track shoes
wider than 700mm
Are books, parts ca-
talogues or DVD‘s
present? Picture please!
Hours without digits after
the comma. Picture please.
Section 1, Machine Configuration and Features
Pictures: One picture of serial number plate, one picture of mechanical hour meter and
one of hour meter in display. One picture of books. Check if all pictures are legible!

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Seat Cushion worn, console shaky, air suspension not working
Switches Labels worn, switches not working, switches missing, taped joysticks,
Gauges Stripes in display, XY-gauge not working
Aircon / Heat Air vents missing, fan not working, fan noisy, too cold to test AC, low per-
formance,
Cab Doors Dent, lock missing, hinges bent, not closing properly, sliding window
seized,
Windows Cracked, resealed, plexi replacement, unable to open, scratched,
Wipers Not working, not returning to park position, blades missing, blades worn,
XY wiper missing
Floor Mats Ripped, worn, missing
Structure Dents in ROPS, rock guards attached, holes drilled, weld repaired,
Section 2, Operator Station, Cab
Pictures: One picture for each damaged item above 100 $ value. Two general view
pictures of cab interior.

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Leaks & Seals Slight/serious leaks on XY component,
Oil Condition &
Level
Thick, dirty, smelling like coolant/fuel, water residues on refiller cap
Exhaust, Muffler Cracked, rotten, rust penetration, leaking fume
Smoke Normal , white/blue/black smoke, smoke under load
Cooling System Dent radiator fins, fan noisy, coolant leaks
Blow By Minor , Moderate, Above the average, (attention, some Perkins engines
might spit oil from refiller tube)
Belts & Filters Good, worn, belts to be adjusted, change recommended, change required
Coolant Condition Level too low, contaminated with oil /dirt /fuel, plain water, pressure in re-
servoir, (attention when opening reservoir on warm engine)
Section 3, Engine & Cooling System
Pictures: One picture whole engine, 1-2 pictures of leaks or engine details, one pic-
ture of engine emission label, one picture of turbo & muffler.

7. 7
Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Chassis, Frames Dents, cracks, weld-repairs, track frames not parallel,
Engine Hood Gas strut missing/weak, latches broken, dent, cracked, noise insulation-
missing
Steps, Handrails Bent stairs/steps, bent handrails, loose handrails, XY part missing
Boom & Stick Dent from tool, cracked, weld repaired (professional/semi professional)
Covers, Compart-
ments & Doors
Dents, lock missing, hinges broken, noise insulation missing
Bumpers, Catwalk Dents, catwalks bent
Lights, Beacons Not working, cracked shells, lights missing, lights dull,
Paintwork Scratched, faded, repainted recently, partially repainted, original
Rims, Wheelnuts, Dent, nuts missing,
Section 4, Visual Inspection Exterior
Pictures: One picture inside of each compartment, one picture each damage above
100$ value,

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Hydraulics This is the section header. However there you can leave a note if hydraulic
oil level is low or the oil looks darker than it shoud.
Hoses, Lines, Chafed hoses, leaks, steel braid exposed, brackets missing
Swivel Seepage (always take picture so we can see swivel or the belly plate)
Pump & Valve
Bloc
Leaks
Hydraulic Cylin-
ders
Scratched chrome, leaking, check valve leaking, self drift , damaged
Section 5, Hydraulic System
Pictures: One picture for each damaged part above 100$ value. One general pic-
ture of pump compartment and one of valve section.

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Pins Boom, Stick,
Bucket
Good, moderate play, some play, ample play
Brakes Noisy, not holding 2nd gear, weak, lines leaking, not braking straight
Equalizer Bar
(Dozer)
Good, moderate play, some play, ample play (the equalizer bar is the tra-
verse that is linking the track frames of dozers)
Steering play in linkage, play in tie rod ends, hard to operate
Swing Drive &
Brake (Excavator)
Noisy, not working, weak, oil in gear contaminated, swing more than 30°
trailing,
Stall Test Value of high idle - value of stall speed (additional guides available for
torque stall test procedure) Please note i.E.: 2250—>2100 RPM
Boom Self Drift None, slowly drifting, quickly drifting
Pump Noises Normal, squealing, whining, cavitation
Slew Ring Play Moderate, some and ample play, (for machines >45t and for MH excava-
tors please measure)
Drive Train Noisy, leaking, not driving straight, not working in snail/normal/rabbit mode
Tandem Noises
(Motor-Grader)
Knocking, noisy on load change
Section 6, Functional Test (valid for different report forms)
Pictures only required if these would help for a better understanding of the detected
problem. No pictures please for issues below 100$ value.

10. 10
Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Front Condition Worn, holes, weld-repaired, re-plated, dent
Edge Condition Missing parts, worn, % remaining life,
Base Worn to pin holes, (the base of the blade is the part where the nuts are sit-
ting)
Spill Rack Bent, damaged (the spill rack is the overflow protection on top of larger do-
zer blades)
Section 7a, Dozer Blades
Pictures: One picture of whole blade including cutting edges, one picture blade un-
derside (base edge), one picture of rear side including linkage and all cylinders.

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Width/Capacity 3,35m / ca. 2,7m³ (if there is no plate on the bucket with info about volu-
me please estimate the approximate bucket volume)
Edges/ Teeth Teeth missing, adapters worn (an adapter is the part where a tooth is fit-
ted), teeth worn,
Bottom Good, dent, bumpy, worn,
Side Condition Good, bent, thin, worn
Quick Coupler
Condition
Good, play in pins, lock not working, cylinder leaking,
Section 7b, Buckets & Shovels
Pictures: One picture of whole bucket from inside including cutting edges & teeth,
one piture from bucket underside, one picture from quick coupler

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Welding Condition Good, cracks, weld repairs
Bed & Liner Con-
dition
Cracked, dent, worn, battered, %remaining life
Pins Moderate play, some play, ample play, dry,
Tail Gate Dent, cracked, weld-repaired
Side Wall Conditi-
on
Cracked, dent, battered, worn, %remaining life
Section 7c, Truck Body of Rigid or Articulated Trucks
Pictures: One picture underside of truck body, one side from inside of tray, one pic-
ture of the tailgate, one picture of each serious damage.

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
% On smaller machines an estimation of tire wear is OK. Take a note of per-
centage remaining life.
mm On tires larger than 20.5“ please measure the tire treat depth next to the
indicator mark
Tire size Take a note of tire size and what kind of tire it is
Make, model and type XDT, XHA, VLTS, VSDT, RL3+, TL-3A+, etc
Comments, Da-
mages
Sidewall cuts, Tread cuts, gouges, steel braid exposed, low air pressure,
foam filled, bumps
Section 8a, Tires
Pictures: One picture for each tire which includes the profile and the side wall, one
picture for any serious damage,

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Item Preferred descriptions for damages, wear or faults
Components Value of estimated remaining life, track shoe width is important!
Please measure all the components with the MEVAS Measuring kit on Do-
zers larger than CAT D7 or Komatsu D85. Special undercarriage measu-
ring guide is available on request.
Canon condition Check the chrome surface for scratches or larger hits, the seals can be
leaking
Section 8b, Undercarriages
Pictures: 5-9 pictures of components each side (track shoes, links, rollers, carrier
rollers, idler, sprocket, bushing). If you are unsincere about remaining life do more
pictures to help us understanding the wear condition.

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Problems, Com-
ments
If a comment does not fit to the sections please use numbers in brackets
(1), (2), (3) in the section field and make a longer description with the same
reference number here in the comments section.
Repairs Please indicate how serious a problem is. Helpful would be an information
if immediate repair is required or if machine can still be used.
Transport Dimen-
sions
Take a measurement of machine as inspected. Do not take info about di-
mensions from a specification sheet! Most important is exact width.
Section 9, Comments, Problems, Repairs, Transport Dimensions
Pictures: One picture for each damaged item above 100 $ value.

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Section 10, Inspection Pictures
If a picture of a problem is made from too short distance it
is not possible to see where the damage is located.
Summary of all required pictures:
 4 marketing pictures in 45° angle (corner shots)
 4 pictures operator station including hour meter
 4 pictures engine including emission label
 One picture of damaged items above 100$ value
 3 pictures of attachment/ tool/coupler
 One picture inside of each compartment
 Pictures of each tire or undercarriage component
 One picture serial number plate and CE plate
 Picture size at least 2560 x 1920 pix or 1,2 MB
 Each picture set needs to start or to end with serial number photo
4 corner pictures in 45°, The part outside of the
red frame is not needed.

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Inspection Files One folder is required for each machine. It shall be named with machine
type and the last 8 digits of serial number, i.E. CAT˽325D˽MHY02323
Report and folder should have the same name.
File Upload Preferred way of file upload is by Dropbox or by Google Drive. File trans-
fer by wetransfer or another provider as a ZIP is possible on request.
Sample Reports We provide several sample reports. But this guide should already give
enough information how a Mevas inspection report should be used and
what it should contain.
Most samples are visible at :
http://www.mevas.eu/sample-reports/machine-inspection-checklist.html
Section 11, File Transfer, Cloud, Sample Reports

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Copyright Wolfgang Bühn, Mevas — The Heavy Equipment Inspectors
Terms of Use All rights for text, software and pictures ar with the author. The translation
in other languages, the partly or complete reprint and especially the hand
over to competing companies are forbidden according to the German Co-
pyright (Urheberrecht, Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb, BGB) . It
is punishable under criminal law.
However, this document can be bought as a PDF or Print for a fair price.
Contact Wolfgang Bühn by e-mail at mevas@mevas.eu.
Mevas—The Heavy Equipment Inspectors
Börnchener Dorfstr. 5 - D 01728 Bannewitz - Germany
www.mevas.eu - mevas@mevas.eu - +49 35206 39150
Section 12, Imprint, Terms of Use