How to use this checklist
Produce a clear before-and-after description of the asset, the reason for the change, the engineering assumptions that may be affected and the records needed to close the modification properly.
Use it when
- Changing equipment, structure, piping, controls, guarding, access or operating duty.
- Replacing an item with something that is not genuinely like-for-like.
- Adding reinforcement, brackets, supports, platforms or attachments to existing plant.
- Preparing a scope for an internal engineer, consultant, OEM or fabrication contractor.
Do not use it to
- Declaring a modification safe or compliant simply because every box is checked.
- Replacing a formal management-of-change process used by the site or organisation.
- Bypassing project-specific design, verification, certification or statutory requirements.
- Treating an unknown failure mechanism as a straightforward modification scope.
Stop and escalate when
These conditions deserve an explicit competent-person decision rather than being treated as routine checklist gaps.
!
The change affects a pressure boundary, lifting duty, rated capacity or primary load path.
!
A guard, interlock, emergency stop, protective device or other safety function is being altered.
!
The original material, design basis or allowable operating limits cannot be established.
!
The asset has repeated cracking, deformation, leakage or other unresolved failure history.
!
The proposed change transfers load into existing plant that has not been checked for the new action.
03
Working checklist
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01
1. Identify the asset and the reason for change
Start with the problem and the current asset, not with a preferred solution.
Record site, plant area, asset number, equipment description and exact physical location.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify the person or team requesting the change and the accountable asset owner.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
State the operating problem, hazard, reliability issue or improvement objective in plain language.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Describe the current condition and current operating arrangement.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Describe the proposed final condition, including what will be removed, added, relocated or re-rated.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record the required completion date and why that date matters.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
State whether the plant is operating, restricted, isolated or out of service while the change is assessed.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
02
2. Establish the original engineering basis
The engineer needs to know what justified the existing asset before judging the proposed final state.
Collect current arrangement, fabrication, assembly and interface drawings.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Collect equipment datasheets, nameplate data, ratings, model numbers and serial numbers.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify the original design code, Australian Standard, company specification or OEM requirement where known.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record original design loads, capacity, pressure, temperature, speed, duty cycle and service environment where relevant.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Collect original calculations, design reports, certificates or previous verification records if available.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify previous repairs, modifications, concessions or departures from the original design.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Confirm whether the available drawings match the actual installed plant.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record any important unknowns instead of silently assuming them.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
03
3. Define every part of the proposed change
Small physical changes can create large engineering consequences when they alter stiffness, load path, controls or interfaces.
Describe all geometry, dimensions, thicknesses and locations that will change.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify new or changed materials, grades, fasteners, welds, coatings and purchased components.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record any change in equipment mass, centre of gravity, support reactions or dynamic behaviour.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record changes to load, capacity, pressure, temperature, flow, speed, cycle frequency or operating envelope.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify structural, piping, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic and civil interfaces affected by the change.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify any change to controls, software, alarms, trips, permissives, interlocks or emergency functions.Escalation-sensitive
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify any change to guards, access, platforms, stairs, ladders, walkways or maintenance clearances.Escalation-sensitive
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify temporary works, lifting arrangements, supports or shutdown conditions needed to install the change.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
List other equipment that must still fit, move, be removed or be maintained after the change.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
04
4. Check loads, hazards and consequences
The modification scope should identify what could change in the safe operating basis, even before detailed calculations begin.
Identify dead, live, operating, impact, vibration, fatigue, thermal, wind, seismic and accidental loads that may be relevant.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Ask whether the change creates a new load path or increases load in existing plates, welds, bolts, foundations or supports.Escalation-sensitive
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify stored energy, pressure, gravity, rotating parts, hot surfaces and other hazardous energy sources.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Review foreseeable failure modes and what happens if the modified item fails.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Check whether the change could reduce stability, clearance, visibility, drainage, ventilation or safe access.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Check whether inspection, lubrication, cleaning, isolation and replacement remain practical.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify environmental exposure, corrosion, abrasion, chemicals, temperature or weather conditions that affect the design.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record any production, quality, environmental or emergency-response consequences of a failure.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
05
5. Define the engineering and verification pathway
Make the required outputs explicit before work is released for manufacture or installation.
Nominate the engineering discipline and person responsible for the design basis.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Define required calculations, analysis, drawings, specifications and design report outputs.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Decide whether independent verification, RPEQ involvement or another formal review is required.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify required material certificates, welder qualifications, WPS/PQR records, bolt records or supplier documentation.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Define fabrication hold points, dimensional inspection, NDT and acceptance criteria before work begins.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Define commissioning, proof testing, pressure testing, function testing or performance testing as applicable.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Define any temporary operating restrictions until final verification or close-out is complete.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Identify required approvals under the organisation's management-of-change or project governance process.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
06
6. Plan installation and close-out
A modification is not finished when the fabrication is installed. The final asset state must be traceable and supportable.
Prepare an installation sequence, isolation plan and access arrangement appropriate to the work.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record deviations from the issued design and obtain engineering disposition before covering or commissioning the work.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Capture as-built dimensions and photographs of concealed or difficult-to-inspect details.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Update drawings, equipment registers, maintenance plans, inspection tasks and spare-parts information.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Update operating procedures, training material, alarms and safe-work instructions where affected.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Record commissioning results, defects, punch-list items and final acceptance.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Archive the final design basis, calculations, drawings, QA records, test results and approvals together.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Confirm who formally accepts the modified asset back into service.
Add measurement, evidence or notes
Overall notes
Record the final screening context
Note operating restrictions, missing documents, work orders, competent-person decisions or assumptions that affect the result.
Minimum useful attachment pack
The checklist is most useful when the evidence can travel with the request.
Five questions before you call it complete
1Can another engineer understand the current state without visiting site first?
2Can the proposed final state be described without relying on verbal explanation?
3Have all affected interfaces and safety functions been identified?
4Is it clear what must be designed, verified, inspected, tested and updated?
5Will the final records show what was actually installed rather than only what was originally proposed?
Common gaps and weak evidence
The scope says 'add a gusset' or 'fit a larger motor' but never defines the actual problem, failure mechanism or performance objective.
Drawings show the new part but not what changes in load, duty, controls, access or interfaces.
The engineer designs to an old drawing while field modifications and previous repairs remain undocumented.
The hardware is fitted but as-built records, inspection results, procedures and maintenance tasks are never updated.