SDLG Excavator Daily Inspection Checklist for Contractors and Operators
Watch — 67 seconds: the complete SDLG range in Kenya
The excavator family this checklist serves — every SDLG machine in one film from the Ruai yard.
Video not playing? Download it or watch on YouTube — and for a machine of your own, call +254 718 686 967.
On an excavator, the ten-minute walkaround is not a formality — it is the shift's cheapest insurance, because the leak caught at seven in the morning costs a hose, and the same leak found at noon costs a pump, a tow and the afternoon. This is the SDLG excavator daily inspection checklist for contractors and operators: a printable walkaround covering leaks, fluids, tracks, pins, hoses, safety devices and defect reporting — the rows a technician would walk, in the order a walkaround actually walks, reviewed and built for Kenyan sites.
Quick answers if you are printing now: the twelve rows below are the set, the sign-off discipline is the method, and the defect reporting path is what turns findings into fixes. The loader version of the same discipline sits in the wheel loader daily inspection checklist, the grader version in the grader daily inspection checklist and the undercarriage deep-dive in the excavator sizes explained guide; the desk at +254 718 686 967 supplies the printed pads and the technician reviews behind them.
| The method | Ten minutes, same order, every shift, signed — the walkaround is not the inspection, the habit is |
| The rows | Leaks, fluids, tracks, pins, hoses, safety devices and defect reporting — the rows a technician would walk first |
| The technician review | The checklist is reviewed with the workshop — the rows, limits and defect path agreed with the people who fix what the rows find |
| The output | Signed findings reported the same day — a checklist without a defect path is paperwork; with one, it is maintenance |
| Verification date | 2026-11-03 |
The walkaround, in order
| # | Row | What good looks like | What the finding means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine oil, coolant and hydraulic levels — cold, on level ground | Between the marks, specified fluids only | A falling level between checks is a report, not a top-up |
| 2 | Leaks — engine, hydraulics, swing motor, final drives | Dry pans, dry lines, dry ground under the parked tracks | The excavator hoses check and leak rows together: Monday's weep is Friday's failure at a fraction of the price |
| 3 | Fuel water separator | Drained until clean fuel shows | Water in the glass is the injector's warning letter — drained daily, answered never |
| 4 | Air filter restriction indicator | Green before the first start | Showing means replacing now — dust is the engine's tax collector, and it collects on inspection evidence |
| 5 | The track inspection excavator duty demands: tension, chain, rollers, sprockets, shoes | Tension per the manual, no missing hardware, no oil weeps on the finals | Laterite and rock accelerate every wear line — the daily glance is the undercarriage's cheapest insurance |
| 6 | The pins and bushings excavator rows: boom foot, stick, bucket linkage, swing bearing grease bank | Greased to the chart, boots intact, no play beyond limits | Dry pins wear the bores they live in — grease is cheaper than line-boring |
| 7 | Hydraulic hoses at flex points — boom foot, stick pivots, blade lines where fitted | No chafe, no weep, clamps and guards in place | Chafe at the flex point is a hose failure dated and scheduled — caught early, re-clamped; caught late, replaced under pressure |
| 8 | Bucket teeth, edges and attachment hardware | Teeth seated, edges within limits, pins and retainers secure | Wear past limits costs the adapter it was hired to protect |
| 9 | The excavator safety devices rows: ROPS cab integrity, seatbelt, travel alarms, lights, beacon, mirrors and camera where fitted, fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, access steps and handholds | All present, charged, undamaged, tested at key-on | The rows that never earn money and always save it — the travel alarm is the row the banksman hears |
| 10 | Dash self-test and fault codes | Bulb check completes, no active codes | Codes are reported, never cleared blind — the code is the diagnosis knocking |
| 11 | First movements at idle | Slew, travel, boom, stick and bucket smooth and drift-free | The function test before the load test — behaviour changes reported the same day |
| 12 | Housekeeping: clean steps and handholds, spill-free deck, clear egress | Three points of contact possible everywhere the operator walks | Most site injuries are slips — the clean machine is the safe one |
Defect reporting: where the checklist earns its keep
The defect reporting excavator path is the second half of the discipline. The rows: findings recorded on the sheet at the moment they are found; reported to the supervisor or workshop the same shift with machine number and row description; a defined decision path — fixed, monitored or grounded, decided by someone qualified; and the record kept, so the trend a row reveals across weeks guides the parts orders and service plans. The pre start excavator inspection finds the problems; the defect path fixes them. A site that walks the rows but buries the findings has bought paperwork — and a checklist the workshop never sees is a diary, not a maintenance system.
The Kenyan-site sharpening
The excavator daily checks Kenya duty adds three local intensities. Dust: the air filter row at every shutdown, not every service — quarry and murram dust load elements faster than temperate charts assume. Heat: coolant and hose rows carried with extra honesty through the hot months, radiators kept clean where dust mats them shut. Ground: the track, roller and sprocket rows carry more weight where laterite chews steel and mud packs the frames — the daily tension glance and the greasing chart are the difference between an undercarriage that reaches its hours and one that reaches the workshop early.
Misuse patterns that defeat checklists
- The batch sign-off: a week's sheets signed in one sitting — the habit faked is the protection lost.
- The silent defect: noted but not reported — the finding that waits is the failure that chooses its own hour.
- Cleared codes: the diagnosis hung up on — the engine calls back at a worse hour.
- The track glance skipped: tension and weeps assumed — the undercarriage invoices the assumption by the thousand hours.
- The paper without a path: sheets filed, nothing fixed — paperwork where maintenance should be.
Five checks before the checklist is trusted
- The order is fixed: same sequence every shift — order is what makes ten minutes enough.
- The sign-off is real: operator, machine, date, every shift — no batch signing.
- The defect path is defined: found → recorded → reported → decided → fixed, with owners.
- The records are read: trends reviewed weekly by the people who order parts.
- The review is technician-backed: the rows, limits and path agreed with the workshop — the SDLG excavator service support arrangement makes the findings fixable.
Working the knowledge with the desk
The checklist is free — the desk prints pads, supplies the filters, grease and wear parts the rows consume, and reviews the checklist with the workshop so the rows match the machines and the limits match the manuals. For fleets standardising across equipment, the same walkaround discipline scales to every class — the excavator walkaround checklist above, the loader and grader versions linked earlier, one habit across the fleet. And for contractors who want the discipline enforced rather than hoped for, the desk's service programme adds the technician reviews, the records and the visits — because the excavators that never miss a shift are rarely the newest ones; they are the ones whose ten minutes, every morning, are signed.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the SDLG excavator daily inspection?
A ten-minute walkaround before the first start: leaks, fluids, fuel separator, air filter, tracks, pins, hoses, bucket hardware, safety devices and fault codes — same order, signed every shift.
2. How long should the daily check take?
About ten minutes in a fixed order — long enough to catch the findings, short enough to be done every shift without argument.
3. Which rows matter most on Kenyan sites?
Dust sharpens the air filter row, heat sharpens the coolant and hose rows, and laterite or mud sharpen the track, roller and greasing rows beyond temperate-climate lists.
4. What happens when a defect is found?
Recorded on the sheet at the moment, reported the same shift, and decided by someone qualified — fixed, monitored or grounded — with the record kept so trends guide parts and service planning.
5. Should fault codes be cleared?
No — codes are reported for diagnosis, never cleared blind; the code is the machine's diagnosis arriving early.
6. How often should tracks be checked?
Every shift — tension, chain, rollers, sprockets and final-drive weeps together; the undercarriage's daily glance is its cheapest insurance.
7. Is the checklist the same across the range?
The discipline is; the rows scale per class and configuration — the loader and grader versions are linked on this page, one habit across the fleet.
8. Who reviews the checklist programme?
The SDLG desk at +254 718 686 967 — printed pads, technician review of the rows and limits, the parts the rows consume, and the service visits behind them.
Equip your excavator fleet's inspection programme
Send your fleet list — we supply the pads, the technician review, the parts and the service visits behind the checklist, with a written quotation within 24 hours.
Disclaimer: The checklist on this page is a general inspection discipline, not a substitute for the official operator's manual for each machine; manual-specific intervals, capacities and procedures govern. Figures verified 2026-11-03.
SDLG Excavator Daily Inspection Checklist for Contractors and Operators
Watch — 67 seconds: the complete SDLG range in Kenya
The excavator family this checklist serves — every SDLG machine in one film from the Ruai yard.
Video not playing? Download it or watch on YouTube — and for a machine of your own, call +254 718 686 967.
On an excavator, the ten-minute walkaround is not a formality — it is the shift's cheapest insurance, because the leak caught at seven in the morning costs a hose, and the same leak found at noon costs a pump, a tow and the afternoon. This is the SDLG excavator daily inspection checklist for contractors and operators: a printable walkaround covering leaks, fluids, tracks, pins, hoses, safety devices and defect reporting — the rows a technician would walk, in the order a walkaround actually walks, reviewed and built for Kenyan sites.
Quick answers if you are printing now: the twelve rows below are the set, the sign-off discipline is the method, and the defect reporting path is what turns findings into fixes. The loader version of the same discipline sits in the wheel loader daily inspection checklist, the grader version in the grader daily inspection checklist and the undercarriage deep-dive in the excavator sizes explained guide; the desk at +254 718 686 967 supplies the printed pads and the technician reviews behind them.
| The method | Ten minutes, same order, every shift, signed — the walkaround is not the inspection, the habit is |
| The rows | Leaks, fluids, tracks, pins, hoses, safety devices and defect reporting — the rows a technician would walk first |
| The technician review | The checklist is reviewed with the workshop — the rows, limits and defect path agreed with the people who fix what the rows find |
| The output | Signed findings reported the same day — a checklist without a defect path is paperwork; with one, it is maintenance |
| Verification date | 2026-11-03 |
The walkaround, in order
| # | Row | What good looks like | What the finding means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine oil, coolant and hydraulic levels — cold, on level ground | Between the marks, specified fluids only | A falling level between checks is a report, not a top-up |
| 2 | Leaks — engine, hydraulics, swing motor, final drives | Dry pans, dry lines, dry ground under the parked tracks | The excavator hoses check and leak rows together: Monday's weep is Friday's failure at a fraction of the price |
| 3 | Fuel water separator | Drained until clean fuel shows | Water in the glass is the injector's warning letter — drained daily, answered never |
| 4 | Air filter restriction indicator | Green before the first start | Showing means replacing now — dust is the engine's tax collector, and it collects on inspection evidence |
| 5 | The track inspection excavator duty demands: tension, chain, rollers, sprockets, shoes | Tension per the manual, no missing hardware, no oil weeps on the finals | Laterite and rock accelerate every wear line — the daily glance is the undercarriage's cheapest insurance |
| 6 | The pins and bushings excavator rows: boom foot, stick, bucket linkage, swing bearing grease bank | Greased to the chart, boots intact, no play beyond limits | Dry pins wear the bores they live in — grease is cheaper than line-boring |
| 7 | Hydraulic hoses at flex points — boom foot, stick pivots, blade lines where fitted | No chafe, no weep, clamps and guards in place | Chafe at the flex point is a hose failure dated and scheduled — caught early, re-clamped; caught late, replaced under pressure |
| 8 | Bucket teeth, edges and attachment hardware | Teeth seated, edges within limits, pins and retainers secure | Wear past limits costs the adapter it was hired to protect |
| 9 | The excavator safety devices rows: ROPS cab integrity, seatbelt, travel alarms, lights, beacon, mirrors and camera where fitted, fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, access steps and handholds | All present, charged, undamaged, tested at key-on | The rows that never earn money and always save it — the travel alarm is the row the banksman hears |
| 10 | Dash self-test and fault codes | Bulb check completes, no active codes | Codes are reported, never cleared blind — the code is the diagnosis knocking |
| 11 | First movements at idle | Slew, travel, boom, stick and bucket smooth and drift-free | The function test before the load test — behaviour changes reported the same day |
| 12 | Housekeeping: clean steps and handholds, spill-free deck, clear egress | Three points of contact possible everywhere the operator walks | Most site injuries are slips — the clean machine is the safe one |
Defect reporting: where the checklist earns its keep
The defect reporting excavator path is the second half of the discipline. The rows: findings recorded on the sheet at the moment they are found; reported to the supervisor or workshop the same shift with machine number and row description; a defined decision path — fixed, monitored or grounded, decided by someone qualified; and the record kept, so the trend a row reveals across weeks guides the parts orders and service plans. The pre start excavator inspection finds the problems; the defect path fixes them. A site that walks the rows but buries the findings has bought paperwork — and a checklist the workshop never sees is a diary, not a maintenance system.
The Kenyan-site sharpening
The excavator daily checks Kenya duty adds three local intensities. Dust: the air filter row at every shutdown, not every service — quarry and murram dust load elements faster than temperate charts assume. Heat: coolant and hose rows carried with extra honesty through the hot months, radiators kept clean where dust mats them shut. Ground: the track, roller and sprocket rows carry more weight where laterite chews steel and mud packs the frames — the daily tension glance and the greasing chart are the difference between an undercarriage that reaches its hours and one that reaches the workshop early.
Misuse patterns that defeat checklists
- The batch sign-off: a week's sheets signed in one sitting — the habit faked is the protection lost.
- The silent defect: noted but not reported — the finding that waits is the failure that chooses its own hour.
- Cleared codes: the diagnosis hung up on — the engine calls back at a worse hour.
- The track glance skipped: tension and weeps assumed — the undercarriage invoices the assumption by the thousand hours.
- The paper without a path: sheets filed, nothing fixed — paperwork where maintenance should be.
Five checks before the checklist is trusted
- The order is fixed: same sequence every shift — order is what makes ten minutes enough.
- The sign-off is real: operator, machine, date, every shift — no batch signing.
- The defect path is defined: found → recorded → reported → decided → fixed, with owners.
- The records are read: trends reviewed weekly by the people who order parts.
- The review is technician-backed: the rows, limits and path agreed with the workshop — the SDLG excavator service support arrangement makes the findings fixable.
Working the knowledge with the desk
The checklist is free — the desk prints pads, supplies the filters, grease and wear parts the rows consume, and reviews the checklist with the workshop so the rows match the machines and the limits match the manuals. For fleets standardising across equipment, the same walkaround discipline scales to every class — the excavator walkaround checklist above, the loader and grader versions linked earlier, one habit across the fleet. And for contractors who want the discipline enforced rather than hoped for, the desk's service programme adds the technician reviews, the records and the visits — because the excavators that never miss a shift are rarely the newest ones; they are the ones whose ten minutes, every morning, are signed.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the SDLG excavator daily inspection?
A ten-minute walkaround before the first start: leaks, fluids, fuel separator, air filter, tracks, pins, hoses, bucket hardware, safety devices and fault codes — same order, signed every shift.
2. How long should the daily check take?
About ten minutes in a fixed order — long enough to catch the findings, short enough to be done every shift without argument.
3. Which rows matter most on Kenyan sites?
Dust sharpens the air filter row, heat sharpens the coolant and hose rows, and laterite or mud sharpen the track, roller and greasing rows beyond temperate-climate lists.
4. What happens when a defect is found?
Recorded on the sheet at the moment, reported the same shift, and decided by someone qualified — fixed, monitored or grounded — with the record kept so trends guide parts and service planning.
5. Should fault codes be cleared?
No — codes are reported for diagnosis, never cleared blind; the code is the machine's diagnosis arriving early.
6. How often should tracks be checked?
Every shift — tension, chain, rollers, sprockets and final-drive weeps together; the undercarriage's daily glance is its cheapest insurance.
7. Is the checklist the same across the range?
The discipline is; the rows scale per class and configuration — the loader and grader versions are linked on this page, one habit across the fleet.
8. Who reviews the checklist programme?
The SDLG desk at +254 718 686 967 — printed pads, technician review of the rows and limits, the parts the rows consume, and the service visits behind them.
Equip your excavator fleet's inspection programme
Send your fleet list — we supply the pads, the technician review, the parts and the service visits behind the checklist, with a written quotation within 24 hours.
Disclaimer: The checklist on this page is a general inspection discipline, not a substitute for the official operator's manual for each machine; manual-specific intervals, capacities and procedures govern. Figures verified 2026-11-03.
