Equipment Appraisal Site Visit

The Equipment Appraisal On-Site Visit

You have now engaged the appraiser, and they are on their way to do a site visit. What do you do now?

Don’t Panic! It will be ok; at this point, you have done everything to make sure the visit goes as smoothly as possible.

Have a Plan:

1. Know who is going to be escorting the appraiser through the location. Make sure the person has all the knowledge about the equipment the appraiser may need such as history, maintenance, & costs.
2. Have a copy of your asset list for yourself, don’t rely on the appraiser to bring you a copy, have it all yourself and ready to go.
3. Have a route picked out, try to have a flow to the walkthrough that either matches your asset list or is the most time efficient. Don’t forget to schedule for a break – this is hard mental work on both you and your appraiser.
4. If the machinery isn’t running (the best due to safety) it’s perfectly fine if you choose to describe what you are using the machinery for. As a matter of fact, this helps the appraiser determine that’s its being used in its highest and best use.
5. Speak Clearly and Loudly– You don’t want the appraiser getting the wrong information (remember, we are half deaf too).
6. Describe every piece you have: We actually make the escort do this – this eliminates mistakes by making sure the appraiser is fully aware of the options and history and sometimes even industry jargon.
7. Make sure the appraiser has contact information for you in case there are questions later.
8. Do the Appraisal After or Before Work Hours – This helps a few things:

• First is safety – the machinery appraiser will be climbing in and around the machines to look for data.
• Second is no distraction – whoever is escorting the appraiser around the shop needs no distractions / phone calls / emergencies / etc. This allows a better flow of information, and these problems can ultimately cost you time and frustrate your appraiser.
• Third is Employee Curiosity – Every employee wants to know what’s happening. And trust us, we have heard horror stories about the water cooler talk, “Are we going out of business? Should I update my resume? Are we selling? Is the owner leaving? Is the owner DEAD?” We have heard them all and have been asked them all during business hours.
• Fourth is Sound Level – If we can hear what you are saying, we can record the data better and therefore have a better basis for our research.
• Last is Pictures – No Employees having to move or run out of the picture. Save yourself productivity and interrupted workflow.

You are now done with the part of the Machinery Appraisal you can control. Time to leave it in the hands of the appraiser you have made an informed decision on hiring.