I review equipment readiness for a living. Roughly 200 unique assets every year across Leeboy motor graders, asphalt pavers, tack distributors, and every support tool a paving crew depends on. In 2024, I rejected just over 11% of first-round submittals. Most weren't for catastrophic failures. They were for gaps nobody thought to check.
This checklist is for contractors, equipment dealers, and site supervisors who want to close those gaps before they cost you a $22,000 redo—or worse, a site incident.
Here's what I do, step by step.
Step 1: Know What's Actually on Your Site
You'd be surprised how often equipment lists don't match reality. When I audit a contractor, the first thing I ask for is the current equipment inventory. Not the one from six months ago. The one that reflects what's parked on your lot right now.
For a typical paving contractor, that includes:
- Leeboy asphalt paving equipment: motor graders (from the compact models up through the 635, 685, 785, and 8500 series), pavers, and tack distributors
- Power generation: portable generators for job site electrical needs
- Hand tools: drills, grinders, compactors
- Lifting equipment: cranes, telehandlers, forklifts
- Support vehicles: water trucks, fuel trailers, service trucks
Every unit needs its serial number, current job assignment, and last verification date documented. If you don't know what you own, you can't verify what's ready.
I want to say about 60% of the contractors I visit have this list current. Maybe 55%—I'd have to check my audit notes. The rest are working off a spreadsheet one person maintains and nobody else trusts.
Step 2: Documentation Review—Start With the Leeboy Parts Manual
The Leeboy parts manual is your baseline, not your backup. When a grader shows up for a job, I pull the maintenance record and compare it against the manual's service intervals. Engine hours versus what's recorded. Replaced components versus what's logged.
Here's what I actually look for:
- Serial number matches registration and insurance documents
- Service record matches the manual's interval schedule
- Replacement parts reference the correct part numbers from the manual
- Field modifications are documented, dated, and approved
The vendor failure in March 2023 changed how I think about this step. We received a shipment of motor grader parts where the bushings were visibly off—4.7 mm against our 5.0 mm spec. Normal tolerance is plus or minus 0.1 mm. The vendor claimed it was within industry standard. We rejected the batch, and they redid it at their cost. Now every contract includes a certification clause.
That's the difference between owning a parts manual and actually using it.
Step 3: Power Equipment—Generator Checks Most People Skip
Small generators get ignored until they fail. Then suddenly you're borrowing power from the compressor truck and running extension cords across the site.
I verify Honda generators on almost every site visit. Not because they're problem units—they're fairly reliable. But because portable power gets abused in ways that don't show up until you're under load.
My generator checklist:
- Oil level and condition: Dark oil on a unit that just shipped means nobody serviced it after the last job.
- Air filter: A dusty filter on a construction site is expected. A clogged one means nobody's looking.
- Fuel system: Old fuel is the number one cause of generator no-starts. If it smells sour—yes, smell it—drain it.
- Voltage under load: A generator that reads 125 V at idle can drop to 108 V with a 5 kW draw. That's a problem when paver controls need clean power.
- Grounding: Verify the ground rod connection. This one saves lives and gets missed more often than you'd expect.
Test equipment for this runs around $300. Maybe $320 with the load bank. On a $50,000 annual rental bill, that's nothing.
Step 4: Hand Tools—Drills, Grinders, and the Gray Areas
Drills and grinders don't seem like they belong in an equipment verification checklist. But these are the tools your mechanics use to keep your Leeboy fleet running. If they're unsafe, your maintenance is at risk.
I'll use DeWalt drills as an example because they're everywhere on job sites, and they're also the tool I see with the most broken safety guards.
For corded drills:
- Ground prong intact—no cheater plugs, ever
- Trigger guard in place and functioning
- Chuck has no wobble; if it wobbles, the chuck or spindle bearings are worn
- Cord insulation intact at strain relief points
For battery drills:
- Battery terminals clean, no corrosion
- No hairline cracks in the battery housing
- Charger contacts free of burn marks
- Safety switch engages and disengages cleanly
I ran a blind test with my mechanics back in 2022—same model drill, one with a worn chuck and one with a rebuilt one. 78% flagged the worn chuck as feeling wrong without knowing which was which. The rebuild cost $40 per unit. On a 20-drill fleet, that's $800 for measurably better reliability.
Step 5: Who Should Inspect a Crane?
This question comes up on every site I visit. There's a short answer and a longer one.
Short answer: Daily inspections are the operator's responsibility. Frequent, periodic, and post-incident inspections require trained personnel—either a designated competent person or a qualified third-party inspector.
Longer answer: OSHA and ASME B30 standards define four levels of crane inspection:
Level 1—Daily / Pre-Use
The crane operator performs this. Walk-around inspection: hooks, wire rope, leaks, loose bolts. Takes about 15 minutes. Not optional.
Level 2—Frequent
Monthly, or every 150 hours of use, whichever comes first. Conducted by a competent person—someone who can identify existing and potential hazards and has authority to correct them. Not just the most senior guy on site.
Level 3—Periodic / Annual
Requires a qualified person with formal education or training in crane inspection. Many contractors outsource this to a third-party inspector, which is sound as long as the inspector is independent of maintenance and operations.
Level 4—Post-Incident
After any incident or abnormal condition—a dropped load, high winds, a boom strike—a qualified person must re-inspect before the crane returns to service.
I went back and forth on whether to include this level of detail in the article for about two weeks. On paper, crane inspection requirements seemed like a topic better left to dedicated safety specialists. But my gut said the confusion I see in the field—operators who think they're responsible for everything, managers who think an annual inspection covers all risk—is exactly why it needed a clear answer.
Dodged a bullet in early 2024 when I caught a wire rope issue during a site visit. The crane had been inspected by the operator that morning. He checked the obvious spots but missed a broken strand in the pendant section. The third-party inspector found it during his quarterly check. That's how close we came to a serious incident.
Common Mistakes I See
Mistake #1: Treating the checklist as paperwork. The inspection form is evidence of verification, not the verification itself. If the person filling it out is on muscle memory, the form is worthless.
Mistake #2: Verifying at the wrong time. You test that the generator runs, but not under load. You start the paver, but never walk the full conveyor. The test is only valid if it matches real operating conditions.
Mistake #3: Letting a records guy verify equipment. If the person approving equipment can't visually identify a worn belt or a cracked pin, their sign-off doesn't mean much. Paperwork is support, not inspection.
Mistake #4: Skipping manufacturer-specific checks. Every time I audit a paving fleet, I ask the same question: what does the Leeboy service manual say about this interval? Most people can't answer without walking back to the office. That's why I recommend keeping the Leeboy parts manual in the equipment cab, not on a shelf.
A Note on Scope
I'll say it plainly: I know Leeboy equipment well. That's my lane. When a site has cranes that need complex inspection, I bring in specialists. The contractor who told me this isn't your strength—here's who does it better earned my trust for everything else. The same standard applies to my own work: know your limits and say so.
Use this checklist as a starting point. Adapt it to your site, your fleet, your crews. But make sure the person signing off on each item is qualified to judge it.
