Workplace Safety Inspection Checklist

Open the EHS log (Intelex, Cority, iAuditor — whichever system the plant uses) and pull every finding still in 'open' or 'in-progress' status. Items aging past 30 days get flagged for the safety manager. Carrying open findings forward without acknowledgment is the most common reason layered audits fail.

LPA discipline: the auditor cannot be the cell's own supervisor. Rotate auditors so each layer (operator, supervisor, manager) sees the floor with fresh eyes. Plan the route to cover every active work center and the chemical storage cage.

Safety glasses with side shields, hearing protection rated for the cell's noise level, steel-toe footwear, and any cell-specific PPE (cut-resistant gloves at the fab line, face shield at the grinder, FRC at the heat-treat oven). Auditors out of compliance lose all credibility with the floor.

Sample at least one operator per active work center. Check against the cell's posted JSA — eye, hearing, hand, foot, respiratory. Score compliance as a percentage so the trend is visible week over week.

Per HazCom 2012 (29 CFR 1910.1200), every secondary container needs the product identifier and hazard pictograms — not just the manufacturer's drum. Squirt bottles of solvent at the line are the usual gap.

Walk the painted aisles end-to-end. Pallets, hand trucks, scrap totes, and air hoses across the line are recurring offenders. Coolant and hydraulic leaks under presses are slip hazards and SPCC concerns at the same time.

Tools shadow-boarded, WIP within kanban marks, no personal items at the bench, sweep schedule signed for the shift. Score against the cell's posted 5S standard, not a generic template.

Per 29 CFR 1910.212, guards must prevent contact at the point of operation, ingoing nip points, and rotating parts. Check that interlocks have not been bypassed with tape or zip ties — the most common dodge on production presses under takt pressure.

Every accessible e-stop should drop power within the machine's rated stop time. Coordinate with the cell lead so this happens between cycles, not mid-run. Record the date on the machine's PM card.

Pull the machine-specific LOTO procedure (29 CFR 1910.147) and walk the energy isolation points on the equipment. Stored energy — pneumatic accumulators, hydraulic rams, capacitors, gravity loads — is where most LOTO programs fall short of the standard.

Forklift certifications are equipment-specific under 1910.178 — counterbalance, reach truck, and order picker each need their own evaluation. Same for crane, press brake, and any equipment with a documented authorized-operator list.

Apply a red 'Do Not Operate' tag, isolate the energy source, and notify the safety manager and shift supervisor before leaving the cell. Production loss is preferable to an amputation. Log the LOTO violation with photos for the corrective action that follows.

Monthly visual per NFPA 10: gauge in the green, pin and seal intact, hose clear, current month initialed on the tag. Annual service is the licensed vendor's job — flag any extinguisher more than 12 months past the last service punch.

NFPA 13 requires 18 inches of clearance below the deflector. Stacked WIP, banner signs, and the top of tall racks are common encroachments — the inspector cites this every year on the same plants.

Exit doors unlocked from the inside, egress paths free of pallets and stretch-wrap rolls, exit signs lit (test by killing the local circuit). 36-inch minimum aisle width per IBC 1018.

Map current with the latest plant layout — common gap after a line move or expansion. Muster point signs visible from inside the building and out at the assembly area.

Bag and red-tag any failed extinguisher, then file a work order with the licensed servicer. Replace with a backup unit at the same wall hook so the location is not left bare.

Walk the cells and storage cage and list every product in use. Cross-check against the SDS index — paper binder or MSDSonline / Chemwatch. Any chemical without an SDS triggers HazCom training before continued use.

NFPA 30 cabinet limits — typically 60 gallons of Class I-II liquids. Self-closing doors functional, bonding wire at the drum dispense, secondary containment sized for 110% of the largest container per SPCC.

Satellite accumulation drums: 'Hazardous Waste' words, contents listed, accumulation start date once full. SQG limit is 180 days from accumulation start; LQG is 90 days. Past-due drums are the easiest RCRA citation in the building.

ANSI Z358.1 requires weekly activation. Confirm the tag on each unit shows initials for the current week, water runs clear, and the 10-foot / 10-second access from chemical hazards is unobstructed.

Severity drives the response: 'Critical' = immediate hazard, stop work; 'Major' = corrective action within 7 days; 'Minor' = address by next inspection. Attach a photo for every finding so the floor can act on it without re-walking the cell.

Walk the supervisor through each finding before end-of-shift so containment carries into the next handover. Critical items get verbal acknowledgment, not just an email — supervisors miss inbox items during a busy shift.

Post the summary at the safety board within 24 hours so the floor sees what was found and what was fixed. Sustaining 5 of 5S — and any layered audit program — depends on this loop closing visibly.

One CAR per critical finding in the QMS — assigned owner, root-cause method (5-why or fishbone), containment action, permanent action, and an effectiveness check before closure. CARs closed without effectiveness verification are why the same defect recurs three months later.