Do workplace inspections
Your own walk-around checklists, due on a schedule, done on a phone, with findings turned into hazards.
What this is for
A regular walk around the shop finds problems before someone gets hurt. You write your own checklist for your site, set how often it's due and who usually does it, and they walk the site with it on their phone. Anything Not OK gets a note and a photo, and is either fixed on the spot or raised as a hazard straight away. Sign OS doesn't supply the checklist items; a guide beside the editor lists topics to think about.
What is on this screen
Each part of the screen above, top to bottom, and what changing it affects.
Workplace inspections list
- New checklist
- Safety contacts and HR only. Opens a blank checklist with the guide beside it.
- Checklists · Overdue · Due in N days · Done in 30 days
- How many checklists are in use (or yours to do), how many are past their due date, how many are coming up, and how many were signed off in the last 30 days. N is the machine service reminder days from the safety settings.
- Needs attention
- Checklists overdue or due soon, and inspections already under way, each with a way straight to it.
- Checklists
- Each checklist with Overdue, Due soon or When needed, its area, how often, who usually does it and when it's next due.
- History · Filter by area
- Every inspection, newest first, with Under way or Signed off, how many items were Not OK and how many hazards were raised. Pick an area to see just that area's history.
- No longer used
- Checklists you've stopped using. Their inspections are kept.
Writing a checklist
- Name · Area or location
- What it's called and where it's done. Areas you've used before are offered as you type, and each area gets its own history.
- How often · Next one due
- Every week, fortnight, month, 3 months, 6 months or year, or When needed for no schedule. After each inspection the next due date moves on from the day it was signed off.
- Usually done by
- They get the reminder along with the safety contacts, and can start the inspection from their own phone.
- Show when it's due on the planner
- Puts a marker on the planner on the due day, like a machine service. It takes no capacity.
- Sections and items
- Group items in the order you walk the site. Add, move and remove sections and items with the buttons beside them.
- Save checklist · Stop using it
- Every save is a new version. Inspections already done keep the version they used. Stop using it ends its reminders and takes it off the list.
- Guide: What a sign shop walk-around usually looks at
- Topics to consider, such as walkways, exits and extinguishers, first aid, leads and tags, guarding, ladders and heights, chemicals, PPE, manual handling, vehicles and amenities. It's a list of topics only; the items are yours to write.
One checklist
- Start the inspection · Carry on with it
- For safety contacts, HR and the usual inspector. Starts a new inspection, or goes back to the one already under way.
- Schedule
- The area, how often, when it's next due, who usually does it, how many items and the version.
- History
- Every inspection done with this checklist, with the version it used and how many items were Not OK.
- The checklist · What's checked
- Safety contacts and HR change it here; the usual inspector sees the items.
Doing an inspection
- Progress bar
- How many items are answered, and how many are Not OK. It stays at the top as you scroll.
- OK · Not OK · N/A
- Tap one for each item. It saves straight away, so a dropped signal loses nothing already tapped.
- What's wrong?
- For a Not OK item: say what you saw. It's needed before you can sign off.
- Add a photo
- Take or add photos of the problem.
- Fixed on the spot · What did you do?
- Tick it when you sorted it there and then, and say how.
- Raise a hazard
- Pick how bad it looks and raise a hazard straight away. It's filled in from the item and your note, set to the checklist's area, linked back to the inspection, and sent to the safety contacts like any hazard report.
- Sign-off
- Once every item is answered, add any comments, tick the box, sign with your finger and type your name. Only the person doing the inspection signs.
- Discard this inspection
- For one started by mistake. It won't count as done; hazards already raised from it stay open.
A finished inspection
- Print or save as PDF
- Prints the whole record: every item and answer, notes, what was done about each finding, comments and the signature.
- The inspection
- Area, who did it, when it started and was signed off, the due date it covered, the checklist version, the count of OK, Not OK and N/A, and hazards raised.
- Findings
- Each Not OK item with Hazard raised, Fixed on the spot or Nothing raised, the note, the photos and a link to the hazard.
- Every item · Sign-off
- The whole checklist as answered, and the inspector's signature.
Before you start
- Your shop is on Workshop or Scale. Safety contacts and HR write checklists and see every inspection; anyone else sees the checklists they usually do and their own inspections.
- Set who your safety contacts are under Settings, HR & safety, Safety, so reminders and hazards go to the right people.
Step by step
- 1
Open HR & Safety → Workplace inspections and press New checklist.
- 2
Name it, set the area, how often and when the next one is due, and pick who usually does it.
- 3
Write your items in sections, using the guide for topics to think about, and press Save checklist.
- 4
When it's due, open the checklist on a phone and press Start the inspection.
- 5
Walk the site and tap OK, Not OK or N/A for each item. For Not OK, say what's wrong, add a photo, and either tick Fixed on the spot or raise a hazard.
- 6
At the bottom, sign it off. The next due date moves on by itself.
Tips & gotchas
- Reminders go on the same days as machine services (Settings, HR & safety, Safety), and weekly once overdue if your shop repeats reminders.
- Hazards raised from an inspection show A workplace inspection under Came from, so the safety contact can see where it was found.
- Changing a checklist never changes an inspection already done.
- Sign OS doesn't write your checklist or tell you what the law needs you to check. Ask your state's safety regulator if you're unsure.
Related guides
Report a hazard, and deal with itAnyone reports from their phone; the safety contact records what was done and gives out actions.Choose your safety contact and state regulatorWho gets hazard and incident reports, your regulator's number, and safety reminders.Keep a record of safety meetingsWho came, what was talked about, the records discussed and the actions agreed, with a reminder for the next one.Keep a plant & equipment registerEvery machine, its warranty, service schedules, a repair and service log, and out-of-service tags.