Guide · Site readiness
Pre-installation site readiness checklist: what to confirm before you install equipment
A pre-installation site readiness checklist answers one question before a crew and a crated unit leave your depot: can this installation actually happen on the planned day? Most failed installation visits fail not because of the equipment but at a doorway that is 3 cm too narrow, a single-phase socket where the unit needs three-phase power, a drain that sits higher than the outlet, or a site contact who is on holiday.
Updated October 20, 2026This checklist is written for companies that deliver and install equipment: packaging and CNC machines, production lines, lab analysers, imaging systems and freezers, commercial kitchens, refrigeration, coffee and vending machines. It is not a construction site-prep list (clearing, grading, building foundations) and not an IT go-live list.
How to use it: for every item, ask the customer the question, compare the answer with the manufacturer's spec for the unit you are installing, and mark the item Ready, Review or Blocked. Replace our example values with the values from your data sheets. A site is ready only when every blocker is cleared and a named person on your team has signed off.
1. Delivery route and access
Walk the route from the truck to the installation point. Every door, lift and corner is a possible stop.
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Clear width and height of every door on the route, measured at the narrowest point with the door fully open | Opening narrower than the crated unit plus a handling margin | You find out at the door, with the crew on the clock |
| Lift: inside cabin length, width and height, door width, rated load | Cabin too short for the crate, or rated load below unit + pallet truck + two people | Uncrating in the lobby or carrying by stairs is a different job with different equipment |
| Stairs, steps and thresholds: how many, how high, is there a ramp? | Two steps at the entrance and no ramp | Decides whether you bring ramps, a stair climber or extra people |
| Corridors and corners: width at each turn, ceiling height, low pipes, ducts, sprinklers or lights | A 90° corner that a long unit cannot turn | Long units fail at corners, not at doors. Door width alone is not enough |
| Vehicle access: parking, loading dock or room for a tail-lift truck, distance to the entrance, surface and slope | No dock, gravel yard, or a delivery window you did not know about | Decides the vehicle type and whether you need a forklift or pallet truck on site |
| Floors along the route: raised access floors, fresh tiles, sensitive surfaces | Raised floor rated below the load of unit + transport equipment | Damage claims, and in the worst case a broken floor panel |
2. Space and floor at the installation point
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Available footprint (length × width × height), including the swing of doors and drawers | Space measured for the cabinet, not for opening it | The unit fits but cannot be operated or serviced |
| Clearances on each side and at the rear, as required by the manufacturer | Unit pushed against a wall, no rear clearance for the condenser | Overheating, voided warranty, no access for later service |
| Floor type and load rating: ground slab, upper floor, mezzanine, raised floor | Upper floor with an unknown rating for a heavy machine or freezer | Heavy units need written confirmation, sometimes from a structural engineer |
| Is the floor level within the range of the adjustable feet? Any drainage slope? | Kitchen floor slope beyond what the feet can correct | Lab instruments and combi ovens need a level base. Some machines need anchoring |
| Is anchoring or drilling allowed? | Rented space, landlord forbids anchors | You need an alternative mounting before you go |
| Is there an old unit to remove or disconnect first? Who does it? | Old unit still in place on install day | The most common “nobody told us” delay |
3. Utilities
Check each utility at the point of use, not “somewhere in the building”.
Electrical
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage, phases and frequency at the outlet (e.g. 230 V single-phase or 400 V three-phase; in North America 120 V, 208 V or 240 V) | Single-phase supply where three-phase is required | No power means no commissioning. An electrician often needs weeks |
| Breaker rating and whether the circuit is dedicated | Unit needs a dedicated 32 A circuit, site has a shared 16 A circuit | Nuisance trips or an unsafe installation |
| Plug or socket type (Schuko, CEE, NEMA) or hard-wired isolator. Distance from socket to unit | Wrong socket type, socket behind another appliance, cable too short | A small detail, and a frequent reason to cancel |
Water and drain
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Water connection type and size (e.g. ¾″), shut-off valve within reach, pressure range | No valve near the unit, pressure outside the spec | Coffee machines, ice machines, dishwashers and combi ovens fail or lose warranty |
| Water hardness and whether a filter or softener is installed | Hard water and no treatment | Scale damage. Treatment is often a warranty condition |
| Drain type (floor drain, gravity drain, condensate), distance and height relative to the unit outlet | Drain sits higher than the outlet, or none within reach | A gravity drain only works downhill. Otherwise you need a pump |
Compressed air, gas, exhaust and network
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Compressed air: pressure, flow, connection type, dry or oil-free air if required | Compressor too small or not oil-free | Packaging machines and some lab systems will not run within spec |
| Gas: natural gas or LPG, connection size, shut-off, licensed fitter booked | No certified gas fitter booked for the day | You may not connect gas equipment without one |
| Exhaust and ventilation: hood or extraction above the unit, ducting, room ventilation for the heat load, fume extraction in labs | Combi oven planned without a hood, freezer in a small unventilated room | Heat, steam and fumes. Sometimes a permit question |
| Network: wired port or Wi-Fi at the location, IT contact, firewall rules | No port, guest Wi-Fi blocks the device | Remote service, telemetry, payment terminals on vending machines, lab data systems |
4. Environment
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature range in summer and winter, day and night | Unit next to an oven, or in an unheated warehouse | Cooling capacity and instrument accuracy depend on it |
| Humidity and condensation risk | Damp basement or wash-down area | Electronics, optics and some materials degrade |
| Vibration sources nearby: presses, compressors, heavy traffic | Analytical balance or imaging system next to a press | Measurements drift, calibration fails |
| Dust, chips, direct sunlight, drafts, water splash | Lab instrument under an air-conditioning outlet, machine in a dusty hall without protection | Shorter service life and more service calls |
For lab instruments, see lab instrument site preparation: how to confirm the manufacturer's requirements with the lab before the engineer travels.
5. Safety and permits
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Site rules: safety induction, PPE, permit to work, hot-work permit | Crew turned away at the gate because of a missing induction | A full day lost, even though the site was “ready” |
| Landlord or building approval for drilling, ducting or roof penetrations | Approval missing on the day | Work stops halfway |
| Special zones: clean rooms, food hygiene areas, explosion-protection zones | Crew arrives without the right clothing or tools | Access refused, or a compliance problem |
| Which work needs a licensed trade (electrical, gas, refrigerant), and who books it? | Each side assumed the other booked the electrician | The classic gap between two companies |
6. People and timing
| Ask the customer | Typical blocker | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Site contact on the day, with a phone number, and a deputy | Contact on holiday or off shift | Nobody opens the door or knows where the unit goes |
| Access hours, delivery window, key holder, security desk, parking permits | Building closes at 4 pm, no parking permit | The crew waits or goes home |
| Other trades: will the electrician or plumber finish before your crew arrives? | Electrician booked for the same afternoon | Your crew installs nothing and still bills the day |
| Downtime constraints: production stop, kitchen closed, lab shutdown | Line cannot stop on the planned day | Rescheduling at short notice |
| Who signs off the installation on the customer side, and who marks the site Ready on your side? | No one with authority present at handover | Open questions stay open and the invoice waits |
7. Photos to request
A photo with a tape measure in it beats a number in an email. Ask for:
- every door and narrow point on the route, with a tape measure visible across the opening
- the lift interior and the plate showing its rated load
- the installation spot: one wide shot and close-ups of the floor and the wall behind it
- the socket or isolator, including its label or breaker
- the water valve, the drain and the hood or ducting above the spot
- the old unit that will be removed
- anything the customer is unsure about
Ready, Review or Blocked: how to decide
- Ready: every answer is within your spec, the photos confirm it, and a person on your team has checked it.
- Review: an answer is borderline or unclear (for example, a door is exactly as wide as the crate). Someone on your team has to look at it.
- Blocked: an answer is outside the spec. Name the blocker, the person who resolves it and the date by which it must be solved. Do not dispatch until it is cleared.
Software can sort the answers. The decision to send a crew should always be made by a person. How to define blockers and clear them in time: blockers before dispatch.
How to collect it without email ping-pong
Sent as an attachment, this checklist usually comes back half-filled, with photos spread over three emails. InstallCue turns it into a guided survey the customer completes on site. Why that works better than a thread or a spreadsheet: site survey software vs. email and spreadsheets.
- Start from a template. InstallCue comes with 15 starter templates you can adapt: ten for equipment (CNC machines, packaging and processing lines, automation cells, HPLC, LC/MS and GC/MS, liquid handlers, commercial ice machines, dishwashers, walk-in refrigeration and a generic template) and five detailed trade checklists (heat pump, solar PV with battery storage, wallbox, split air conditioning, kitchen installation).
- Send a secure link. InstallCue can email it, or you copy it into your own message, for example on WhatsApp. The link expires after 14, 30 or 60 days. The customer needs no account and no app. The survey opens in the phone's browser in the customer's language (English, German, French or Italian), with inch or metric units for the market.
- The customer works through it on site. They enter measurements, tick off utilities, add photos where you require them and confirm each section. Progress is saved, so the survey can be finished later; answers entered without a connection stay on the phone until it is back.
- Every answer is checked against your thresholds as soon as it is saved. An answer outside them becomes a blocker, with the reason. The survey stands at Needs information, Blocked or Needs review until a person decides.
- Missing information gets chased automatically. When the customer's email address is on file, InstallCue sends up to two email reminders and stops as soon as the survey is complete.
- A person on your team reviews the survey and marks the site Ready.
- The crew gets an install pack with the answers, photos and the site contact, as a read-only link or printed. You send it with “Send to crew”.
No setup fee. Open the customer view to see what your customer sees, use the calculator to work out what one repeat visit costs you, or view the plans. If you want to talk it through first, book a call.
FAQ
- What is a site readiness checklist?
- A site readiness checklist is the list of conditions a customer site must meet before equipment is delivered and installed. It covers the delivery route, space and floor, utilities, environment, safety and permits, people and timing, and supporting photos. Each item is compared with the manufacturer's requirements before a crew is dispatched.
- What is the difference between a site survey and a site readiness check?
- A site survey collects facts about the site: measurements, utilities, photos. A site readiness check compares those facts with the requirements of the specific unit and decides Ready, Review or Blocked. You need both.
- Who should fill in the checklist – the customer or a technician?
- For most equipment installations, the customer can answer the questions on site if they are guided step by step and asked for photos: a customer self-survey. A technician then reviews the answers. A visit by a technician is still worth it for complex sites, for example production lines, heavy machines on upper floors, or sites where several trades are involved.
- When should I send the site readiness checklist?
- As soon as the order is confirmed. Send it early enough that a blocker can still be fixed before the planned date. The trades the customer may need, such as an electrician, a plumber or a gas fitter, often have long lead times.
- Which items most often stop an installation?
- Door and lift dimensions, the wrong power supply (phase, breaker, socket), a missing drain or water shut-off, no extraction above cooking equipment, and people issues: no site contact, no access outside office hours, or an old unit still in place. All easy to ask about, expensive to discover on the day.
- Does the customer need an app or an account to complete the survey in InstallCue?
- No. The customer opens a secure link in the phone's browser, in English, German, French or Italian. Progress is saved, so the survey can be finished later. The link expires after the period you choose: 14, 30 or 60 days.
See how InstallCue checks site readiness · Plans and prices
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