Downloadable Safety Checklists

Raise your inspection game and build a total safety culture from the ground up by integrating the use of standardized safety checklists in your organization’s safety protocols.

Safety Risk Assessment Template

This basic risk assessment or safety checklist template can be used to identify, assess, and control hazards in the workplace. Learn how to use this template to perform an effective risk assessment and how to use a risk matrix in our beginner’s guide to performing risk assessments. This template can be used at any time when doing the following:

Assess risk and control measures, ideally before the commencement of new tasks.
Document all hazards observed and capture photos with the ability to annotate to provide further context.
Provide an overall risk rating of the hazard and include the relevant control measures put in place.
Assign corrective actions immediately while observing hazards.
Complete the assessment with any final recommendations before signing off and generating a report on your mobile device.
Once completed, export it into a safety checklist PDF, CSV, Excel, or Word report for recordkeeping and store it securely on the cloud.

Risk Assessment Safety Checklist

Published 25 Apr 2024 Article by Jairus Andales | 4 min read

What is a Safety Checklist?

A safety checklist is a simple tool that outlines a set of specific steps, items, or procedures to follow in order to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals or the proper functioning of equipment and systems. It’s used by frontline workers to identify hazards, mitigate risks, and apply control measures before performing tasks. Safety officers also use it to perform routine site checks and assess employees’ safety behavior. From construction and manufacturing to hospitality and offices, every industry should take advantage of mobile-ready safety checklists that can be customized and downloaded.

What is the Importance of a Safety Checklist?

Safety checklists make it easy for organizations to conduct workplace inspections, which are beneficial to promoting safety in the workplace. In fact, a yearly estimate of 2.3 million women and men are affected by work-related accidents or diseases brought by poor working conditions. This is where the use of health and safety checklists can help in reducing or removing risks that can cause incidents, injuries, and illnesses.

Also, a safety checklist assists assigned safety inspectors in identifying risks and hazards in the workplace and monitoring if safe work practices and standards are being followed. Apart from those, organizations can achieve the following benefits with the use of standardized safety checklists:

Compliance with Regulations
Improved Accountability on Safety Responsibilities
Emergency Preparedness

What to Include in a Safety Risk Assessment Checklist

A safety risk assessment checklist can help organizations systematically assess and prioritize safety concerns if it covers key elements, including the following:

Task, Activity, Procedure, or Worksite Description
Hazard Identification
Risk Rating
Control Measures
Recommendations
Sign-off

How Do You Create a Safety Checklist?

Following a structured process to ensure a safety checklist addresses specific safety concerns in the workplace is recommended to tailor it to the requirements of your organization.

Hence, you may use this guide to help you create an effective one:

Determine the specific purpose of the safety checklist and define the scope by outlining the boundaries of what the checklist will encompass.
Involve relevant stakeholders, including employees, safety officers, supervisors, and managers, in the checklist development process by gathering input on potential hazards, safety concerns, and best practices related to the tasks or areas.
Research relevant safety regulations, industry standards, and legal requirements to ensure that your checklist aligns with them.
Include a space for inspectors to add notes or comments about the condition or compliance of each item and record findings, observations, or actions taken.
Review and finalize the checklist, incorporating any necessary changes or improvements.

How to Use One in Your Organization

Using a safety checklist based on its intended purpose and goals is key to identifying and managing potential hazards and risks. Here’s how you can integrate this tool into your safety management processes:

Train employees and relevant personnel on how to use the checklist effectively. Familiarize them with the purpose, importance, and proper completion of the assessment.
Establish a schedule for conducting and reviewing safety assessments based on factors like task frequency, changes in processes, or regulatory requirements to ensure they remain up to date.
Use the checklist to systematically list, assess, and document all potential hazards and risks associated with the identified tasks or areas. Also, assess the severity and likelihood of each hazard and calculate the overall risk level.
Identify control measures and safeguards to mitigate or eliminate identified hazards. Make sure to allocate resources and set timelines for implementing control measures.
Maintain thorough records of the assessments for regulatory compliance purposes and ensure they’re easily accessible and well-organized.
Communicate the assessment findings and recommended control measures to all relevant employees.
Regularly review and update the checklist to align with changing safety regulations and standards.

To give you a visual overview, here’s how a safety risk assessment checklist can be used and turned into a report:

Safety Checklist Sample Report

Commonly Used Safety Checklists

Here are some examples of safety checklists in different use cases and nature of work:

General Workplace Safety Checklist – used to inspect the workplace for potential hazards, unsafe conditions, and safety compliance
General Fire Safety Checklist – aids in verifying the presence and functionality of fire safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, and emergency exits
Radiation Safety Checklist – aims to inspect safety measures for handling and working around radiation sources, including protective shielding and radiation monitoring
Ladder Safety Checklist – helps when checking if ladders are safe for use, covering aspects like ladder condition, setup, and proper use
Agricultural Safety Inspection Checklist – addresses safety concerns in agricultural settings, including areas like equipment operation, pesticide handling, and animal handling

FAQs About Safety Checklists

What is the role of safety checklists in emergency preparedness?

Safety checklists play a crucial role in emergency preparedness by ensuring that emergency response plans, evacuation procedures, and first aid supplies are in place and readily accessible. Apart from that, safety checklists help organizations streamline and standardize their processes for the following:

Resource Inventory
Emergency Contact Information
Equipment Checks
Incident Reporting
Regulatory Compliance
Documentation and Accountability

How can safety checklists improve safety culture?

Safety checklists promote a culture of safety by emphasizing the importance of regular workplace safety inspections, hazard identification, and compliance with safety measures. They encourage employees to actively participate in maintaining safety standards, hence ensuring these benefits:

Increased Awareness
Open Communication
Continuous Improvement
Reduced Incidents
Improved Employee Involvement

What is the role of a safety checklist in regulatory compliance?

Using a safety checklist helps organizations adhere to safety regulations by providing a structured approach to identifying and addressing compliance requirements. They help serve these purposes:

Identification of Regulatory Requirements
Documentation of Compliance Efforts
Consistency in Compliance
Demonstration of Due Diligence
Streamlined Tracking, Reporting, and Recordkeeping

Create Effective Safety Checklists Using SafetyCulture

Why use SafetyCulture?

Safety checklists are invaluable assets for organizations committed to creating and maintaining a safe and compliant work environment. Their significance lies not only in their creation, which involves meticulous analysis of potential hazards and compliance requirements, but also in their consistent use. These structured documents provide a roadmap to safety excellence by promoting awareness, accountability, and operational improvement.

These are just a few of the main reasons why organizations must seek out ways to streamline their safety operations, one example being integrating technology and tools like SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) into their core efforts.

SafetyCulture is a mobile-first operations platform that empowers safety officers, frontline workers, and organizations to improve their Safety Management System (SMS) by automating tasks and improving workflows by doing the following:

Ensure regular inspections and audits of safety processes across various sites in the organization using the Scheduling feature.
Share updates, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and best practices on safety-related processes using the Heads Up feature.
Follow systematic processes of safety inspections and audits using checklists and templates you can download for free.
Raise safety concerns and report risks, hazards, or any areas of concern in the workplace to document and address them using the Issues and Actions features.
Gain organizational performance insights on safety-related measures and concerns using the Analytics dashboard.
Share results of safety inspections by generating and exporting reports in various formats, including PDF, Excel, Word, or Weblink, and store them on SafetyCulture’s secure cloud.
Standardize how safety inspections are conducted by creating and deploying training programs for all responsible workers and stakeholders.
Manage the safety of lone workers in your organization using SHEQSY by SafetyCulture.
Get on-demand access to top-quality and specialized work gear like Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and other assets in one centralized location through the SafetyCulture Marketplace.

Also, check out how this customer finds the value of using SafetyCulture in their workplace:

“We’ve now used SafetyCulture for over a year to perform safety inspections and field reports. All our foremen have either iPhones or iPads and use them to write their daily reports. This app walks you through inspections and lets you take photos of hazardous situations and then suggests ways to correct them.” – Mike Haller, Safety Director at The Gallegos Corporation in Colorado