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    All templatesAudits · 3 pages · Updated 17 October 2026

    Workplace Inspection Checklist Template

    Three-page workplace inspection checklist: site, date, inspector and the areas covered; 28 checks in eight areas (housekeeping and access, fire and emergency, electrical, machinery and tools, manual handling, chemicals, PPE, welfare and reporting), each answered Yes, No or N/A with a three-level rating for a No; a summary, a findings list, an action list with owner and due date, and sign-off. It is a routine record, not the 120-item safety audit checklist, and the ratings are examples. A completed form does not show that you meet a legal requirement.

    What's inside

    Page 1: details, rating and the first checks

    1. Inspection details — site or building, date, start and end time, inspector, who accompanied, previous inspection, checklist version, and the type (routine round, before a change, after an incident, follow-up or other)
    2. Areas covered — four lines for area or zone, the area owner or person spoken to, and any area not inspected with the reason
    3. Finding rating — an example three-level scale with a meaning for each level: 1 High (make safe now), 2 Medium (fix in the short term) and 3 Low (fix as planned work)

    Pages 1 and 2: 28 checks in eight areas, each with Yes, No, N/A, a rating if No and a finding number or note

    1. Housekeeping and access (4) — floors and walkways, exits and routes, stairs and handrails, storage
    2. Fire and emergency (4) — extinguishers, fire doors and call points, exit signs and emergency lighting with the evacuation plan, first aid kit and contacts
    3. Electrical (3) — cables and plugs, sockets and extension leads, panels and isolators
    4. Machinery and tools (3) — guards and interlocks, emergency stops and controls, condition of machines and tools
    5. Manual handling (3) — lifting aids, carrying routes, storage heights
    6. Chemicals and hazardous substances (4) — labels and containers, safety data sheets, storage of flammable and incompatible substances, spill kit
    7. Personal protective equipment (3) — availability, condition, use
    8. Welfare and reporting (4) — toilets and washing, drinking water and rest area, temperature, ventilation and lighting, how to report a hazard

    Page 3: results and actions

    1. Summary — counts of checks answered Yes, No and N/A, of No by rating, and of repeat findings
    2. Findings — nine lines: finding number, check number, where exactly, what was found, rating, made safe on the spot, photo number
    3. Action list — nine lines: finding number, action, owner, due date, done on, checked by
    4. Sign-off — inspector, area owner and reviewing manager, the next inspection date and where the record is kept

    The checks, the rating scale and its wording are examples to replace with your own.

    What requires or shapes this record

    No source opened for this page prescribes a general workplace inspection checklist, its questions or its rating scale. OSHA's guide says inspections should be regular, that each workplace should make its own checklist and that inspections should be documented, and does not say they are legally required. CCOHS says the most useful checklist is the one made for your own workplace, and that the law in each place affects how often inspections happen and requires particular inspections of equipment such as elevators, boilers, cranes and fire suppression systems. Specific rules do ask for specific inspections: for example, 29 CFR 1910.22(d) asks US general-industry employers to inspect walking-working surfaces regularly and to correct hazards. This form is one record of a general look at working conditions. A completed form does not show compliance with any of those rules, and it does not replace an inspection that a rule sets for particular equipment.

    • CCOHS, Effective Workplace Inspections (OSH Answers, last revised 26 October 2022)

      The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says an inspection needs planning, should look at people, environment, equipment, materials and processes and should include rarely used areas such as parking lots and locker rooms. A checklist is a basic tool and must not make inspectors miss other hazards. An immediate danger is flagged at once without waiting for the report, and hazardous equipment that cannot be made safe is shut down and locked out. Findings are written as found, with the exact location. Each item gets a priority of A (major, immediate action), B (serious, short-term action) or C (minor, long-term action), based on how likely harm is and how severe. Each recommendation names a responsible person, a due date where practical and a status, and follow-up checks that actions were taken and worked. It says supervisors know the area but may lack objectivity. The page sets no general legal duty to inspect. The form's three ratings follow this A, B, C idea in our own wording; the wording and time frames on the form are ours.

    • CCOHS, Inspection Checklists: General Information (OSH Answers, revised 8 November 2024)

      CCOHS gives a general list of 22 areas to look at, each with example questions, among them the work environment, buildings, electrical, fire protection, hazardous products, personal protective equipment, walkways, protective guards, hygiene and first aid, and psychosocial hazards. It says the examples are not exhaustive, that the most useful checklist is one built for a specific workplace, that identifying hazards and assessing risk are good ways to find and rank hazards, and that the checklist should have space for the inspectors' signatures and the date. This form uses eight of those areas and leaves out others your site may need, such as pressure equipment, lifting components, powered equipment and psychosocial hazards; add them where they apply.

    • US OSHA, Safety Management: Hazard Identification and Assessment (page opened 17 October 2026, no date shown)

      OSHA's page says employers should include workers in inspections, cover contractors, subcontractors and temporary workers, inspect regularly without setting a frequency, and inspect before a change to operations, workstations, equipment or processes. Checklists should prompt what to look for, with categories that include housekeeping, slip, trip and fall hazards, electrical, fire protection, work practices, ergonomics and emergency procedures, and each workplace should develop its own. Hazards are ranked by the severity of the outcome, the likelihood and the number of workers exposed, with the greatest risks first, and inspections are documented so that you can check later that conditions were corrected. The page does not say that inspections are legally required.

    • 29 CFR 1910.22(a) and (d), General requirements: walking-working surfaces (US OSHA)

      A US rule for general industry. Paragraph (a) asks employers to keep workplaces, passageways and walking-working surfaces clean, orderly and free of hazards such as leaks and spills. Paragraph (d) asks them to inspect walking-working surfaces on a regular schedule and as needed, to correct or repair hazardous conditions before anyone uses the surface again, or block it off until then, and to have a qualified person do or oversee repairs that affect structural integrity. Checks 1 to 4 of the form touch this ground, but the rule does not set the form, its questions or a rating, and a completed form does not show you meet it. Rules elsewhere differ. The standard's own text is not reproduced here.

    Each source checked on 17 October 2026. Not legal advice; check the text in force for your site.

    Field by field

    The form has 28 checks in eight areas, answered Yes, No or N/A from what the inspector sees on the day, with a rating of 1, 2 or 3 for each No. The checks and the rating wording are examples written for a workshop, warehouse or small production area: delete, add and reword to suit your site, keep the wording the same between inspections so that results can be compared, and use your own risk matrix if you have one. The form is a general walk-through. It is not the 120-item safety audit checklist and does not replace an inspection that a rule sets for particular equipment.

    Site, date, time, inspector and accompanied by
    Why: A result belongs to one place, one day and one person. OSHA's page suggests including workers in inspections, and CCOHS notes that a supervisor knows the area but may lack objectivity, so the form asks who walked round with the inspector.
    Common mistake: Having the area's own supervisor inspect alone every time, so the same blind spots repeat.
    Inspection type
    Why: A routine round, an inspection before a change, one after an incident and a follow-up answer different questions. OSHA's page recommends inspecting before a change to operations, equipment or processes.
    Common mistake: Using one trend line for different types of inspection as if they measured the same thing.
    Areas covered and areas not inspected
    Why: CCOHS says to include rarely used areas. Writing down an area you could not enter, and why, means a gap in the inspection is a visible gap and not a silent one.
    Common mistake: Skipping the locked store or the roof and leaving no trace that it was skipped.
    Yes, No and N/A
    Why: Three answers keep "fine" apart from "not fine" and "does not apply". N/A needs a reason once per section so that the next inspector does not have to ask.
    Common mistake: Ticking Yes on a verbal assurance, or N/A to avoid a difficult No.
    Housekeeping and access (checks 1 to 4)
    Why: Clear, level, dry floors and walkways, exits that open from the inside, stairs and handrails, and storage that is stable. 29 CFR 1910.22 is one US rule on this ground; OSHA's checklist categories include housekeeping and slip, trip and fall hazards.
    Common mistake: Looking at the work area but not at the exit route behind the stock.
    Fire and emergency (checks 5 to 8)
    Why: A visual look at extinguishers, fire doors, call points, signs, lighting, the evacuation plan and first aid. It does not replace servicing, testing or the inspections your local fire rules set.
    Common mistake: Treating a tag in date as proof that the extinguisher is reachable, or the opposite.
    Electrical (checks 9 to 11)
    Why: A visual look at leads, plugs, sockets and panels. It does not replace testing or inspection of electrical installations or portable equipment where your rules or insurer require it.
    Common mistake: Opening panels or touching equipment that only a competent person should open.
    Machinery and tools (checks 12 to 14)
    Why: Guards and interlocks in place, emergency stops reachable, and defective items out of use. It is a visual look and does not replace any inspection of equipment that a rule or the maker sets.
    Common mistake: Checking that a guard exists, not that it is secure and not bypassed.
    Manual handling (checks 15 to 17)
    Why: Lifting aids available and used, clear carrying routes, and heavy or frequently used items stored at reachable heights. These are conditions you can see; they are not a manual handling risk assessment.
    Common mistake: Counting a trolley that no one uses as a control.
    Chemicals and hazardous substances (checks 18 to 21)
    Why: Labels, closed containers, hazard information where the chemicals are used, proper storage and a spill kit. CCOHS's list includes hazardous products and containers.
    Common mistake: Checking the store but not the decanted bottle at the workstation.
    Personal protective equipment (checks 22 to 24)
    Why: Availability in the right type and size, good condition and actual use. CCOHS's list includes personal protective equipment.
    Common mistake: Noting that PPE is on the shelf and not that people are wearing it.
    Welfare and reporting (checks 25 to 28)
    Why: Toilets and washing, drinking water, rest area, temperature, ventilation and lighting, and whether people know how to report a hazard, a near miss or an injury, which is how problems you did not see reach you.
    Common mistake: Skipping the welfare areas because nothing there looks like a safety hazard.
    Rating if No (1, 2 or 3) and finding number
    Why: CCOHS ranks items A, B and C by how likely harm is and how severe it could be; OSHA adds the number of workers exposed. The form's 1, 2 and 3 are our example levels, so replace them with your own scale if you have one.
    Common mistake: Rating everything 2 so the list does not say where to start.
    Findings: where exactly, what was found, made safe on the spot
    Why: CCOHS says to write each hazard and its exact location as it is found, and to flag an immediate danger at once. The made-safe column shows what was done before the report was written.
    Common mistake: A finding written as "housekeeping poor", which no one can fix or check.
    Summary counts
    Why: Shows what was found on one day: how many answers of each kind, and how many Nos at each rating. It is a count for this inspection, not a ranking of areas or people.
    Common mistake: Reporting the percentage of Yes answers and not listing the Nos at rating 1.
    Action list: owner, due date, done on, checked by
    Why: CCOHS says each action should name a responsible person, a due date where practical and a status, and that someone confirms it was done and worked. OSHA's page says to document inspections so correction can be verified.
    Common mistake: An action with no owner, or one closed by the person who raised it without a check that the fix held.
    Sign-off, next inspection and where the record is kept
    Why: Shows who inspected, who owns the area and who reviewed, and when the next inspection is due so the actions can be checked then.
    Common mistake: Signing the form and not setting the date of the next inspection.

    Worked example

    IllustrativeExtract from a routine inspection of an invented warehouse (invented site, people and references)

    CheckAnswerFinding and ratingAction (owner, due)
    1 Floors and walkwaysNoStretch-wrap offcuts and a power lead lying across the aisle at dock door 2. Cleared on the spot. Rating 3.Move the waste bin to the door and re-route the lead (warehouse supervisor, 7 days).
    2 Exits and routesNoPallets of boxed stock 40 cm from the fire exit at bay 6. The door still opens but the route is narrowed. Rating 2.Move the stock and mark a no-storage line (warehouse supervisor, 3 days).
    5 ExtinguishersYesAll four checked are in place with a current tag.
    12 Fixed guardsNoThe chain guard on conveyor 3 was off and lying on the floor while the conveyor was running. The supervisor stopped and isolated the conveyor at once. Rating 1.Refit the guard and find out why it was removed (maintenance lead, same day). Review how guards are checked after maintenance (maintenance lead, 14 days).
    19 Safety data sheetsNoThe folder of sheets for the cleaning chemicals is missing from the wash bay. Rating 2.Replace the folder and agree where it lives (EHS coordinator, 5 days).
    21 Spill kitN/ANo liquids are stored in this bay; reason written once for the section.
    Summary28 checks: 22 Yes, 4 No, 2 N/A. The Nos are one at rating 1, two at rating 2 and one at rating 3. One repeat of last month's findings (the no-storage line at bay 6).The area owner and manager sign; next inspection in a month.

    The rating of each finding is the inspector's judgement; a different scale could rate the same finding differently. The counts describe one day and do not rank areas. The figures are invented to show the method and are not benchmarks.

    When a spreadsheet stops being enough

    A paper form or spreadsheet works for one area and one inspector. It stops working when many areas and sites are inspected on a schedule, when findings must reach an owner with a due date and a reminder, when the same finding appears again and again, and when a hazard found on the round must reach the hazard or incident process instead of staying on a sheet.

    A software record versions the checklist so an answer is tied to the question that was asked, captures answers, ratings and photos on a phone, turns a No into an action with an owner, a due date and a check that it was closed, and shows repeat findings by check and by area. Ask what happens offline, because stores and plant rooms often have no signal. The list below applies the inspection and audit rule used for the safety audit checklist template. Nothing in it shows that a product ships this checklist or this rating, so ask to have your own checklist and scale set up in a demonstration.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Inspection Management”, “Audits & Inspections”, “Inspections”, “Offline Inspections”, “Mobile Inspections”, “Equipment Inspection”, “Audit Management”, “Internal Audit”, “Safety Management” or “EHS Management”, with a sourced inspection or safety-audit checklist capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 79 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.