Determine which installations are covered
Spain’s Industry Act 21/1992 provides for regulations to define installations, requirements and checks. There is no identical inspection or interval for every item at a site.
The inventory must identify the installation, relevant characteristics, commissioning and available documentation. Power, category, use or age may affect the regime. Modifications and transitional provisions of the corresponding rules must also be reviewed.
What an inspection body is
The Industry Act defines inspection bodies through their technical capability, resources, impartiality and independence in verifying regulatory requirements. Their regime combines prior technical accreditation and a responsible declaration to the competent authority.
Before contracting, check that the scope covers the specific installation and activity. Accreditation in one field does not establish competence under every regulation, and a maintenance company does not become an inspection body merely by performing maintenance.
Maintenance, checks and inspection
Maintenance preserves operating conditions. Checks under Article 4 of Royal Decree 1215/1997 address installation, deterioration and exceptional events affecting work equipment and must be carried out by competent people.
Statutory inspections are governed by specific regulations determining the agent and procedure. All three activities may coexist. Replacing one with another because they are all called a review leaves obligations and risks unaddressed.
Prepare a useful schedule
For each installation, record the regulation, inspection type, last result, next date and internal owner. The deadline must derive from the applicable regime and report, rather than a generic frequency copied between sites.
For example, fire protection has specific inspection rules and exceptions. Scheduling must distinguish these from maintenance operations and allow time to contract the activity and resolve defects before applicable deadlines.
Documentation and access
The operator must provide the inspection body with access and necessary information. Depending on the case, relevant documents may include design, certificates, registration, manuals, modifications, maintenance and previous reports.
Documentation must correspond to what is installed. An extension not reflected in drawings may change the inspection’s scope. Identify discrepancies beforehand and inform technical personnel rather than complete files using unchecked information.
Manage results and defects
The report must translate into actions with an owner, deadline and evidence of correction. A defect’s consequences depend on its classification and the regulation, including possible restrictions or suspension where appropriate.
The Fire Protection Installations Regulations (RIPCI) provide an example of specific inspection and rectification rules. A repair invoice does not necessarily establish statutory closure: the required procedure and check must be verified in each case.
Hypothetical example: a site with several contracts
A site has maintenance contracts for electrical and fire protection installations. When organising its inventory, it notices that these contracts do not clearly identify outstanding statutory inspections.
The records and rules for each installation are reviewed, dates and owners assigned, and the contracted bodies’ scope verified. Maintenance continues, but is no longer treated as automatic proof of every obligation.
