Prevention and Control of Hazards

Effective Workplace Inspections

On this page
Why are workplace inspections Should supervisors be on the inspection
important? team?
What is the purpose of inspections? How long should an inspection take to
do?
How do you plan for inspections?
How frequent should inspections be
What types of hazards do we look for in a
done?
workplace?
How are inspections actually done?
What type of information is needed to
complete an inspection? What should the final report have in it?
Are there other types of reports that may What should I know about follow-up and
be useful? monitoring?

Who should be on the inspection team?

Why are workplace inspections important?

Workplace inspections help prevent incidents, injuries and illnesses. Through a critical examination of
the workplace, inspections help to identify and record hazards for corrective action. Health and safety
committees can help plan, conduct, report and monitor inspections. Regular workplace inspections
are an important part of the overall occupational health and safety program and management system,
if present.

What is the purpose of inspections?

Inspections are important as they allow you to:

listen to the concerns of workers and supervisors

gain further understanding of jobs and tasks

identify existing and potential hazards

determine underlying causes of hazards

recommend corrective action

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

 monitor the steps taken to eliminate hazards or control the risk (e.g., engineering controls,
administrative controls, policies, procedures, personal protective equipment)

meet regulatory and management system requirements

How do you plan for inspections?

Planning is essential for an effective inspection.

What to Examine

Every inspection must examine who, what, where, when and how. Pay particular attention to items
that are or are most likely to develop into unsafe or unhealthy conditions because of stress, wear,
impact, vibration, heat, corrosion, chemical reaction or misuse. Include areas where no work is done
regularly, such as parking lots, rest areas, storage areas and locker rooms.

Workplace Elements

Look at all workplace elements – the people, the environment, the equipment, the materials, and the
process.

People include the number of workers, demographics, shift schedules, and supervision.

Environment includes the workplace structure and setting, and the conditions that surround the
workers such as noise, vibration, lighting, temperature, and ventilation.

Equipment includes machinery, tools, and apparatus for producing a product or a service, as
well as safety devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) that may be required.

Materials include items such as parts, ingredients, chemicals, services, and wastes.

Process involves how the worker interacts with the other elements in a series of tasks or
operations.

What types of hazards do we look for in a workplace?

Hazards can occur due to unsafe workplace conditions and practices involving the workplace
elements.

Types of workplace hazards include:

Safety hazards such as those caused by inadequate machine guards, hazardous energy
(mechanical, electrical, gravitational, pneumatic, etc.), vehicles, machinery , tools , lack of fall
protection , confined spaces , and housekeeping .

Biological hazards caused by organisms such as insects, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and
parasites.

Chemical hazards caused by a solid, liquid, vapour, gas, dust, fume. or mist.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

 Ergonomic hazards caused by improper work methods, incorrect manual material handling ,
and poorly designed workstations, tools, and equipment. These place physiological (repetitive
and forceful movements, awkward postures, overloading) and psychological (workload, time
pressure) demands on the worker that can lead to musculoskeletal injuries.

Physical hazards caused by noise , vibration , weather , heat , cold , radiation, pressure,
combustible dusts , odours, and indoor air quality .

Psychosocial hazards that can affect mental health or well-being such as overwork, stress ,
bullying , or violence and harassment .

What type of information is needed to complete an inspection?

Diagram of Area

Use drawings of the plant layout or floor plans to help you draw a diagram. Divide the workplace into
areas based on the process. Visualize the activities in the workplace and identify the location of
machinery, equipment, and materials. Show the movement of material and workers, and the location
of air ducts, aisles, stairways, platforms, emergency response equipment, alarms and fire exits.
Appendix A shows a sample diagram. Use several simple diagrams if the area is large. Ask workers
and supervisors for their comments on the information - they know the area better than anyone else.
Inspection diagrams should be reviewed periodically and updated as needed to remain accurate.

Equipment Inventory

Know what type of machinery or equipment is present. Review technical data sheets, or
manufacturers' instructions and safety manuals. Read work area records to become familiar with the
hazards of the equipment. Be aware of any engineering safety controls required to safely operate the
equipment.

Hazardous Product or Chemical Inventory

Determine which products are used in the workplace and whether safety data sheets are available.
Find out if all sources of exposure are properly controlled. Make sure that all workers have received
education and training in how to safely use, handle and store the products they work with. Check that
all hazardous products are labelled appropriately according to Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS ) requirements.

Management Documents

These documents include workplace policies, rules and regulations, procedures, safe work practices,
emergency response plans, reports, and records. Being familiar with the normal safe operating
conditions for the area can help inspectors to recognize unsafe deviations.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

Checklists

A checklist helps to clarify inspection responsibilities, controls inspection activities and provides a
report of inspection activities. Checklists help with on-the-spot recording of findings and comments but
be careful. Do not allow the inspection team to become so intent on noting the details listed in the
checklist that it misses other hazardous conditions. Use checklists only as a basic tool. Refer to the
related documents for sample checklists that you can use as a guide to develop a checklist that is
customized for your workplace.

Inspection Checklists - General Information

Inspection Checklists - Sample Checklist for Manufacturing Facilities

Inspection Checklists - Sample Checklist for Offices

Inspection Checklist - Sample Checklist for Chemical or Product Inventory

Inspection Checklist - Sample Checklist for Outdoor Areas

Past Inspection Records

Past inspection records show what has been previously identified. They also show what an earlier
inspection team concentrated on and what areas it did not inspect. Do not simply repeat or copy
previous inspection results. Use the older inspection reports to help look for issues, and then
determine whether recommendations were implemented. Note if the changes have been effective.

Are there other types of reports that may be useful?

Yes. Before performing a workplace inspection, inspectors should become familiar with any potential
health and safety issues or trends identified through other types of reports.

The following describes other types of reports:

Ongoing inspections

Hazard reports

Incident and investigation reports

Inspection compliance orders

Pre-operation checks

Pre-start engineering health and safety reviews

Job hazard analysis (JHA)

Periodic inspections (preventive maintenance)

Monitoring device data (occupational hygiene)

Internal and external audits

Health and safety summaries

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

Ongoing inspections: Supervisors and workers should conduct ongoing inspections as part of their
job responsibilities. Such inspections identify hazardous or unusual operating conditions as they occur
during the course of work. A hazard report may be generated to either correct the issue immediately
or to request further corrective action.

Hazard Reports about unsafe working conditions and hazards may be submitted directly or
anonymously by workers, and by the health and safety committee or representative. Reports may
include corrective action recommendations from the committee.

Incident and investigation reports include a detailed inspection of the work area where the incident
occurred and a root cause analysis. Being aware of how and why an incident occurred can help
inspectors to identify the same hazard elsewhere. Incident trends can help to prioritize specific
hazards, for example, if there have been several slip-trip-fall incidents or musculoskeletal (MSD)
injuries in recent months.

Inspection compliance orders and tickets (fines) may be given by inspection officers from the
jurisdictional health and safety regulator, fire department, electrical authority, and other regulatory
bodies. Inspection may occur at any time, for a targeted blitz, or in response to a reportable incident,
fatality, or complaint. These legal orders must be complied with and receive immediate priority.

Pre-operation checks are performed by workers at the beginning of their shift, before they begin to
use the machine, vehicle, equipment, or process. Daily checks by users assure that the equipment
meets minimum acceptable safety requirements. The frequency of these inspections varies with the
amount and conditions of equipment use. Several pre-operation checklists may be completed each
day by different workers. These checks are also done after workplace shutdowns, provided no
modifications have been made.

Pre-start engineering health and safety reviews involve inspections of new or modified equipment
or processes. A cross-functional team of workers, managers, and safety specialists are encouraged to
participate in the review. In some cases, the review and report documents must be completed and
stamped by a qualified engineer before the new or modified equipment may be legally operated.

Job hazard analysis (JHA) is used to identify potential hazards in each step of a worker’s job and
tasks, and to develop safe processes for them to use. Reviewing JHAs can help observers to detect
unsafe conditions or acts as workers carry out their regular job tasks.

Periodic inspections are regular, planned inspections of the critical components of equipment or
systems that have a high potential for causing serious injury or illness, or are necessary for
emergency response. The inspections are often part of preventive maintenance procedures or hazard
control programs. Laws and regulations may specify that qualified or competent persons must inspect
certain types of equipment, such as elevators, boilers, pressure vessels, hoists and cranes,
scaffolding, transport docks, warehouse racking, vehicles, fire suppression systems and fire
extinguishers at determined points in the work process and at regular intervals (e.g., monthly,
quarterly, annually).

Monitoring devices may be used to sample and record data about potentially hazardous
environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, noise, dust, carbon monoxide, radiation, chemical leaks,
etc.). Sampling may be performed by automated sensors or by an occupational hygienist.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

Internal audits are performed throughout the year by qualified workers, generally to support a health
and safety management system, and to verify that the overall workplace inspection program is
effective.

External audits are performed by accredited auditors, hired by the employer to perform scheduled
health and safety management system audits. Corporate insurance providers may also request an
audit. These reports are useful as the auditor may have identified new areas of concern or existing
issues that should be prioritized.

A periodic summary of key items and trends from all of these reports may be prepared by the
employer’s health and safety specialist for presentation to the health and safety committee and
operations team on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. They may be called ‘executive summaries’
or ‘management reviews’. Using an existing summary report can save time during the inspection
preparation phase.

Who should be on the inspection team?

Health and safety committee members and representatives are obvious choices of personnel to carry
out formal inspections, especially if they have received training or certification.

Other criteria for selecting the inspection team are:

knowledge of regulations and procedures

knowledge of potential hazards

experience with work procedures involved

Engineers, maintenance personnel, occupational hygienists, health and safety professionals,

supervisors or managers may be a part of the inspection team or they may be called upon to help with
certain aspects of the inspection, or to help explain equipment or processes.

Large workplaces may have more than one inspection team. The various teams can have separate
areas to inspect or use a rotation schedule.

Should supervisors be on the inspection team?

It depends. Supervisors are responsible for taking action to prevent incident, illness and injury.
Supervisors have an advantage in safety inspections because of familiarity with workers, equipment
and environment. This familiarity is also a disadvantage because it can interfere with a supervisor's
objectivity. If the supervisor is not on the inspection team, before inspecting a department or area, the
team should contact the supervisor in charge but the supervisor should not act as a tour guide.

If the supervisor of the area does not accompany the inspection team, consult the supervisor before
leaving the area. Discuss each recommendation with the supervisor. Report items that the supervisor
can immediately correct. Note these on the report as corrected. This documentation keeps the
records clear and serves as a reminder to check the condition during the next inspection.

Although a supervisor may interpret reporting as a criticism, the inspection team cannot fail to report
hazards. Aim to be objective and maintain an attitude that is firm, friendly, and fair.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

How long should an inspection take to do?
It is difficult to accurately estimate how long each inspection will take. The time required depends on
what is found, how many questions are asked, and how large and complex the work area is.
Inspections are ineffective when the given time allows for only a quick look. When it is impractical to
inspect the entire workplace at once, consider assigning smaller inspection zones to more teams, or
rotate which section of the workplace is inspected each month (if allowed by jurisdictional safety
regulations).

How frequent should inspections be done?

The purpose is to keep the workplace free of hazards. The schedule should state:

when to inspect each area or item within the workplace

who carries out the inspection

what degree of detail to inspect each area or item

How often inspections are performed will depend on several factors:

legislative requirements for your jurisdiction

past incident records

number and size of different work operations

type of equipment and work processes

number of shifts - the activity of every shift may vary

new processes or machinery

High hazard or high risk areas and activities should receive extra attention.

It is often recommended to conduct inspections as often as committee meetings. Do not conduct an

inspection immediately before a committee meeting but try to separate inspections and meetings by
at least one week. This time allows for small items to be fixed, the inspection report to be written, and
gives the committee an opportunity to focus on issues requiring further action.

How are inspections actually done?

Discuss the planned inspection route before undertaking the inspection. Review where inspection
team members are going and what they are looking for. For example, during the inspection, "huddle"
before going into noisy areas. This discussion eliminates the need for arm waving, shouting and other
unsatisfactory methods of communication.

For inspections, wear personal protective equipment (PPE) where required. If you do not have PPE
and cannot get any, do not enter the area. List this as a deficiency during the inspection. Re-inspect
the area when PPE is provided.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

Observation

Look for deviations from accepted work practices. Use statements such as: "a worker was observed
operating a machine without a guard." Do not use information derived from inspections for disciplinary
measures.

Some common hazardous work practices include:

using machinery or tools without authority

operating at unsafe speeds or in other violation of safe work practice

removing guards or other safety devices, or making the devices ineffective

repairing or adjusting equipment that is in motion, under pressure, or electrically charged

using defective tools or equipment or using tools or equipment in unsafe ways

using expired materials, and equipment that has not been inspected or maintained on schedule

using hands or body instead of tools, push sticks, lift-assists, or carts

handling materials in unsafe ways, including improper lifting, carrying, pulling, or pushing

incorrect material storage including overloading, crowding, creating unbalanced stacks, mixing
incompatible items, or failing to use secure chemical cabinets

failing to use or maintain, or improperly using, personal protective equipment or safety devices

creating unsafe, unsanitary, or unhealthy conditions by improper personal hygiene, poor

housekeeping, and eating or smoking in unauthorized areas

using compressed air to clean a person’s skin, hair, or clothes

standing or working under suspended loads, scaffolds, shafts, or open hatches

psychosocial hazards, such as workers who are overloaded, fatigued, working in conflict with
others, or working in isolation (working alone)

Inspection Principles

When conducting inspections, follow these basic principles:

Draw attention to the presence of any immediate danger - other items can await the final report.

Shut down and "lock out" any hazardous items that cannot be brought to a safe operating
standard until repaired.

Do not operate equipment. Ask the operator for a demonstration. If the operator of any piece of
equipment does not know what dangers may be present, this fact is cause for concern.

Never ignore any item because you do not feel you have the knowledge to make an accurate
judgement of safety.

Look up, down, around, and inside. Be methodical and thorough. Do not spoil the inspection
with a "once-over-lightly" approach.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

 Clearly describe each hazard and its exact location in your rough notes. Allow "on-the-spot"
recording of all findings before they are forgotten. Record what you have or have not examined
in case the inspection is interrupted.

Ask questions, but do not unnecessarily disrupt work activities. This interruption may interfere
with efficient assessment of the job function and may also create a potentially hazardous
situation.

Consider the static (stop position) and dynamic (in motion) conditions of the item you are
inspecting. If a machine is shut down, consider postponing the inspection until it is functioning
again.

Consider factors such as how the work is organized or the pace of work and how these factors
impact safety.

Discuss as a group, "Can a problem, hazard or incident be generated from this situation?”. “How
serious are the potential outcomes?” “Do any safety regulations apply?”. Determine what
corrections or controls are appropriate.

Do not try to detect all hazards simply by relying on your senses or by looking at them during the
inspection. You may have to request that equipment is monitored to measure the levels of
exposure to chemicals, noise, radiation, or biological agents.

Take a photograph if you are unable to clearly describe or sketch a particular situation.

What should the final report have in it?

Refer to Appendix - Figure 2 for an example inspection report

Introduction

On top of the page enter the department or area inspected, the date and time frame of the inspection,
and the inspection team's names and titles, including any technical experts.

Observation

List the observed unsafe conditions and acts. Number each item consecutively. For traceability, it is
recommended to assign a unique item identification tag or code that includes the year and month of
the inspection (e.g., 2022JAN - Item 3, January-2022-Area B-Item3, 01-2022 #3, etc.).

State exactly what has been detected and accurately identify its location. Instead of stating "machine
unguarded," state "guard missing on upper pulley #6 lathe in North Building." A person who was not
present should be able to find the same item based on the information provided.

Include or scan any hand-written notes, checklists, and diagrams to the final report. Make sure that
photographs are linked to the correct items.

Classification

Now that the observed items have been listed, they can be further classified and evaluated.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

Assign a hazard classification to each listed item according to the chosen scheme (e.g., electrical,
material handling, machine guarding, ergonomic, biological, psychosocial, etc.).

Note if the item is a recurring safety issue. Unresolved issues may indicate that previous corrective
actions were not properly implemented, were not effective, or that there is a systemic root cause to
address.

Assign a priority level to the hazards observed to indicate the urgency of the corrective action
required. For example:

A = Major / High - requires immediate action

B = Serious / Medium - requires short-term action
C = Minor / Low - requires long-term action

Priority levels should reflect your specific workplace activities, conditions, and hazards. Perform a risk
assessment to evaluate the probability of the hazard resulting in an incident, injury or illness, and the
potential severity of outcomes. Hazards that score high in both will have the greatest priority.

Follow-Up

After each listed item, specify the recommended corrective action(s) (e.g., control methods , repair
work order, items to purchase, training, etc.). Assign a responsible person and establish a definite
correction due date if possible and appropriate. One listed hazard may require several corrective
actions. Note the action completion status (e.g., open, on hold, closed, etc.).

Since some corrective actions may take longer to complete, consider copying all unfinished items
from the previous report onto the new report (include their unique ID numbers).

Review and Distribution

The final report may be written by a single designated person who receives the inspection notes, or
by the inspection team together during a post-inspection meeting. Each inspection team member
should review it for accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness before it is distributed.

Report issues and recommendations in a concise, factual way. Management should be able to
understand and evaluate the problems, assign priorities, and quickly reach decisions.

What should I know about follow-up and monitoring?

Review the information from regular inspections to identify where corrective action was needed.
Determine if these actions have been taken. Use older reports to identify trends. Analysis of
inspection reports may show the following:

priorities for other corrective action

need for improving safe work practices

insight about why incidents are occurring in particular areas

need for education and training in certain areas

areas and equipment that require more in-depth hazard analysis

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

The health and safety committee can review inspections, identify trends, and monitor the progress of
the recommendations. This analysis can be used as part of the continual improvement process for the
occupational health and safety program or management system.

Appendix

Figure 1 : Example of a floor diagram

Figure 2: Example of Workplace Inspection Report

Workplace Inspection Report

Date (DD-MM-
YYYY)

Time (Start - End)

Department / Area

Inspected By
(Name / Title)

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS

 Observation Classification Follow-Up

Item Item Hazard Repeat Priority Recommended Responsible Due Action

ID Description Type Item? A/B/C Corrective Person Date Status
and Y/N Action(s)
Location

Report Review
Date
(DD-MM-YYYY)

Copies To
(Name / Title)

Fact sheet last revised: 2022-10-26

Disclaimer
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information,
CCOHS does not guarantee, warrant, represent or undertake that the information provided is correct,
accurate or current. CCOHS is not liable for any loss, claim, or demand arising directly or indirectly
from any use or reliance upon the information.

Effective Workplace Inspections CCOHS