Inspections should be undertaken by the Department Head who will be responsible for managing the relevant contract. An inspection should check that the item complies with relevant regulations or code of practice, but also the state of maintenance of the equipment and the condition of the personnel operating it. Third parties inspections should be arranged for any equipment which the company is responsible for damage to.

1 Drilling rigs inspection

Check-lists for both land and offshore rigs are available for checking on the completeness and state of the equipment and maintenance/ inspection procedures.

2 Marine vessels inspection

All water transport vessels taken on under a charter party or other contract should be "classed". If the contractor has a current certificate by an acceptable Classification Society (ABS; Bureau Veritas; DNV; Lloyds), it can be assumed that the vessel meets legal requirements. An inspcection by a company representative is still required.

3 Aircraft inspection

Company invited to tender must have been audited, and be approved. In some case the legislation requires obligatory use of military aircraft or national air carriers where auditing may not be possible. In such circumstances, ensure all possible steps are taken in planning and arranging procedures to control these situations.

4 Handling equipment inspection

All lifting equipment (cranes and slings) should be certified by a "competent society". Special attention should be paid to the condition of slings and to their markings.

5 Vehicles inspection

Special attention should be paid to roadworthiness and safety equipment (in particular to compliance with Group recommendations with respect to seat belts, reversing alarms and roll-over bars), together with the proposed scheduled maintenance programme.

6 Consumables inspection

If possible material such as mud chemicals/cement should be inspected at the point of delivery. A check should be made that the packing is as specified in the order. Photographs are always useful either in case of a claim against the supplier or, in case of subsequent damage during transport by a third party, to show that it was in good condition when handed to the carrier.

7 Casing inspection

New casing is inspected as part of the purchase formalities. Second hand casing (pre-owned but unused) is normally sold on an as-is, where-is basis. Unless the staff of the current venture are personally familiar with the up-to-date history of the casing it should be properly inspected by one of the specialist service companies prior to finalising the purchase.

Note that the number of times the casing will have to be handled, and the skill/experience of the transporters, may be more relevant than its initial condition.

Used and recovered casing should only be considered in very exceptional circumstances.

8 Wellheads inspection

In general wellheads should be assembled and tested prior to delivery. If the wellhead supply is the responsibility of the company rather than the drilling contractor the test should preferably be witnessed by one of the future well-site staff