The present invention features a method whereby each vacuum nozzle in a multi-spindle component placement machine is inspected placement cycle. This process also allows for updating calibration of the nozzle position as well as immediate feedback regarding the condition of the vacuum nozzle. A chipped orifice or otherwise damaged nozzle is detected using a vision system and comparing the currently acquired image of each nozzle with the image of an "ideal" nozzle. Likewise, contamination such as adhesive on the nozzle is detected before that contamination can affect placement accuracy. Because of the nozzle inspection during the placement cycle, there is no slowdown of the placement machine cycle rate.