Daily site inspection checklists, with free templates

A daily site inspection takes a few minutes at the start of the shift, and it is the moment most problems are cheapest to fix: before anyone climbs, digs or switches on. This guide explains where inspections fit in the law, what a useful daily check covers, and how to make the habit stick. It ends with a printable checklist you can use tomorrow.

What the law says about inspections

There is no single daily checklist that the OHS Act requires every workplace to complete. What the Act does require is the outcome a daily inspection supports. Under section 8(2), an employer’s duties include keeping systems of work, plant and machinery safe (8(2)(a)), establishing the hazards of the work and the precautions needed (8(2)(d)), and making sure work is done under the general supervision of a person trained to understand the hazards, who has the authority to make sure the precautions are followed (8(2)(i)).^[1]

Some regulations go further for particular work. For example:

• on construction sites, excavation work must be supervised by a competent person appointed in writing (Construction Regulations, regulation 13(1)), and so must scaffolding work (regulation 16(1))^[2]
• lifting tackle must be examined by a competent person appointed in writing at intervals of no more than three months, and the integral parts of a lifting machine, such as ropes, chains, hooks and brakes, at intervals of no more than six months (Driven Machinery Regulations, regulation 18(10)(e) and 18(6))^[3]

A short daily inspection is how supervisors keep an eye on all of this between the formal examinations, and a dated record of it is how you show the supervision happened.

What a useful daily check covers

Keep it short enough to be done properly every day. A good daily site check usually covers:

• Access and housekeeping: walkways clear, materials stacked safely, no trip hazards, adequate lighting
• Work at height: edge protection in place, openings covered, ladders and scaffolds in good condition and tagged where applicable
• Excavations: barricaded, shored or sloped where needed, spoil kept back from the edge
• Plant and equipment: pre use checks done, guards in place, operators authorised
• Electrical: leads and plugs undamaged, distribution boards closed, earth leakage protection working
• Fire and emergency: extinguishers in place and in date, exits and routes clear, first aid box stocked, first aider on site
• People: induction done for everyone on site, the right protective equipment worn, toolbox talk held
• Contractors and visitors: signed in, inducted, supervised

Each item should be answerable yes or no, with space for a note and a photo when the answer is no.

Making the habit stick

• Same time, same person. Make the check part of opening the site, done by a named supervisor.
• Act on a no straight away. A failed item should become an action with an owner, not a tick in a box.
• Keep it on site. The checklist is only useful if it is done where the work is, not filled in later at the office.
• Review it. Change the checklist when the work changes. A checklist written for the slab stage is not right for roofing.

The template

The daily site safety inspection checklist is a printable A4 PDF with the sections above, yes, no and not applicable boxes for each item, space for notes and actions, and a sign off for the person doing the inspection and the supervisor.

Doing it on a phone instead

ProComply comes with standard daily inspection checklists for each industry, including a daily site safety inspection. With checklists, the inspection is done on a phone on site, with photos and a signature, and the phone’s location is compared with the site. The submission is locked with a SHA-256 checksum, and a failed critical item raises an issue automatically.