Operational Risk Assessment Checklist

Pull two random equipment-specific LOTO procedures and observe a live energy isolation. Verify all energy sources (electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, stored) are addressed per 29 CFR 1910.147. Annual authorized-employee retraining is the most commonly missed element.

Walk every press, mill, lathe, and rotating equipment in the cell. Confirm fixed guards, interlocks, and light curtains are in place and functional. Bypassed interlocks are the most common finding — check for tape, magnets, or jumpered switches.

OSHA 1910.178 requires equipment-specific training. An operator certified on a counterbalance is not certified on a reach truck or order picker. Verify each active operator has a current evaluation (every three years) for each PIT class they run.

Walk every exit path. Common findings: pallets staged in egress, exit signs burned out, panic hardware blocked, or fire extinguishers past inspection date. Verify the assembly point is marked and known to floor staff.

Run the past-due gauge report from the calibration system. Any gauge used on a CTQ dimension that is past due red-tags every part inspected on it since the last good cal — that is the audit trail you do not want. Attach the export.

Sample the last five setup changeovers per cell and confirm a signed first-article was completed before run release. Skipped FAIs are the leading cause of full-lot scrap on changeovers. Aerospace cells need AS9102 forms, not just an internal sheet.

Any NCR open more than 30 days without disposition is a finding. Walk the segregation cage — parts physically tagged but not in the QMS, or in the QMS but missing from the cage, both indicate a broken closed-loop process.

Pull the X-bar R or p-charts for the top three CTQ characteristics on each line. Check Cpk versus the customer-required minimum (commonly 1.33). Charts with no recent data points or unaddressed out-of-control signals indicate the system is being maintained on paper only.

Pull supplier scorecards for the top 20 suppliers by spend. Flag any with OTD below 90% or PPM above customer-allowed thresholds. Confirm AVL is current — buyers issuing POs to suppliers not on the AVL is a common audit finding.

Identify every part where only one qualified source exists. Note the lead time, the inventory buffer, and any active second-source qualification. Sole-source on a long-lead casting with no buffer is the kind of exposure that takes a plant down for a quarter.

For every part launched in the last quarter, confirm the PPAP level required by the customer and that all elements are on file. Customer-specific Level 3 elements (control plan, PFMEA, MSA, capability study) are commonly skipped on internal launches but caught on customer audit.

Walk the floor kanbans and compare card quantities to the last six months of consumption. Demand drifts; kanbans rarely get re-sized. Stale kanbans cause either stockouts (under-sized) or hidden inventory (over-sized).

Verify monthly generation volumes against the VSQG / SQG / LQG thresholds. Slipping into LQG without re-notifying EPA is a common citation. Pull the last six months of e-Manifests and confirm signed copies match disposal facility records.

Tier II (EPCRA 312) is due March 1; TRI Form R is due July 1. Confirm a named owner and last-year submission. For chemicals near the de minimis threshold, recheck inventory — drift across the threshold without filing is an EPA-common finding.

Cross-check the chemical inventory against the SDS binder or system. Any chemical introduced in the last 12 months without a corresponding SDS update and operator HazCom retraining is a 1910.1200 gap.

Walk every oil and chemical storage area. Containment cracks, drain plugs missing, or rainwater pooled in containment are typical findings. Confirm the SPCC plan reflects current tank inventory and the most recent five-year review is signed by a PE.

The quality manager and EHS lead jointly score findings. Major = regulatory exposure, stop-work condition, or imminent customer impact. Minor = procedural drift caught early. Capture the photo evidence used to support the scoring.

Each major finding gets its own CAPA in the QMS, assigned to a named owner with a containment action, root cause (5-why or fishbone), corrective action, and an effectiveness verification rule. CAPAs closed without effectiveness check are how the same finding recurs next quarter.

Walk the plant manager and EHS lead through each major finding on the floor where it was observed. Floor-level briefing drives faster containment than an emailed report and surfaces context that the assessor missed.