--- title: "Inspection checklist: how to design one that works | attendo" description: "What an inspection checklist is, five rules for one that gets filled in properly and the mistake of designing it without asking the technicians." url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/inspection-checklist" lang: "en" --- # Inspection checklist: how to design one people actually fill in Also known as: Maintenance checklist An inspection checklist is the list of checks carried out during an inspection, with its record and, where needed, its signature. ## The rules of a checklist that works - **Fewer than 20 items.** Beyond that, people tick everything without looking, and a checklist ticked without looking is worse than none: it gives false confidence. - **Checkable, not a matter of opinion.** “Supply temperature: \_\_\_ °F” works; “general condition: OK or not OK” does not. - **In the order you walk around the equipment**, not the order of the manual. - **With reference values** alongside, so the technician can decide without calling. - **With room for the unexpected.** The free-text notes field is where the things you did not expect show up. ## The usual mistake Designing it in an office without asking the people who will fill it in. Technicians know which fields are unnecessary, which are missing and in what order things really get done. Half an hour with two of them saves three versions. ## In attendo [Checklists](https://attendo.me/en/modules/checklists) are designed by dragging controls: text, checkboxes, numbers, dates, drop-downs, photos and signature. Out-of-range values are flagged on the spot, and every inspection records which template version it used. - [attendo Field Service](https://attendo.me/en/field-service) ## Where it is used in attendo ### Modules - [attendo Checklist](https://attendo.me/en/modules/checklists): Inspections with photo, signature and location, closed on site - [attendo Forms](https://attendo.me/en/modules/forms): Public and QR forms that create the document, no account needed - [Mobile app and Field Radar](https://attendo.me/en/modules/mobile-app): The service report on your phone, offline, and a map of who can go ### Industries that use these modules - [Facility maintenance and services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/facility-maintenance) - [HVAC and refrigeration](https://attendo.me/en/industries/hvac) - [IT services and MSPs](https://attendo.me/en/industries/it-services) - [Manufacturing and industrial plants](https://attendo.me/en/industries/manufacturing) - [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries) ## Related terms Maintenance ### Maintenance task list Job plan · PM routine A maintenance task list is the set of operations carried out on a type of equipment, with their frequency. It is the template that preventive work orders come from. Field work ### Service report Job sheet · field service report A service report is the document that records what the technician did on a job: tasks, time, materials, notes and evidence. Maintenance ### Work order WO A work order (WO) is the document that describes a maintenance job: what needs to be done, on which equipment, by whom and when. ### On the blog #### How to design a checklist technicians actually fill in A checklist ticked without looking is worse than no checklist at all. It takes time, creates paperwork and gives confidence nobody has earned. And the culprit is almost never the technician: it is the design. 4 min read [See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary) ## Shall we look at it with your data? We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you. - With your operation, not a generic demo - A real person from our team replies - No cold calls afterwards Would you rather talk first? - Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530) - Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me) - Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)