During a walk-around, you notice a cracked mirror and a frayed handrail. What should you do?

• A. Do not operate; report defects to maintenance and tag the machine out of service
• B. Patch with tape and continue
• C. Ignore
• D. Take a photo and continue

Answer: (A)

When you find defects during a pre-use walk-around, the priority is to prevent starting or using the machine until it’s repaired. A cracked mirror can obscure the operator’s view, creating blind spots, while a frayed handrail can fail and lead to a fall or loss of control. Because these issues affect safety directly, you should not operate the equipment. Report the defects to maintenance and tag the machine out of service so it cannot be started until repairs are completed by qualified personnel. This approach stops usage of a defective machine and ensures it’s inspected and fixed before it’s put back into service.

Patching with tape, ignoring the defects, or taking a photo and continuing do not address the hazards and could lead to an incident.