Construction compliance guide
Construction Site Inspection Record: What to Check and Record
TL;DR
Record where and when you checked, what you found, who owns each action, the due date, the recheck and the evidence that closes it. Use a routine walkaround to spot changing conditions. Use the prescribed competent-person process where a regulation or piece of equipment requires one.
This guide is for Great Britain: CDM 2015 applies in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and related guidance.
A quick walkaround can pick up problems before they become an injury or delay. The useful bit is leaving a clear trail from finding, to action, to recheck.
This guide is for a general site inspection record. It does not replace statutory inspection rules for scaffolds, excavations, ladders, fall-arrest equipment or other work equipment. Those checks can have specific competence, timing and reporting requirements.
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What is a construction site inspection record?
It is a dated note of what was checked, what could create a risk, what you did about it and what still needs doing. It can cover a whole small site, one work area or a particular shift.
It helps a sole trader, a contractor supervising a few trades or a Principal Contractor coordinating several work fronts. It gives the team a clear list and shows the PC what was dealt with. The record is evidence that you looked and acted. It is not permission to restart work.
When should you do a site walkaround?
Set a frequency that fits the job’s risks, size, stage and changing conditions. A small extension may need a short check at the start of work and after a major change. A busy site may need more frequent checks.
Walk around again after an incident, near miss, severe weather, delivery problem, change in sequence, new subcontractor, access change or concern raised by the team. Choose a practical frequency from the work risks, stage and changes. A routine walkaround is not a universal daily legal inspection.
Some inspections are different. Scaffolding and certain excavation arrangements have specific inspection triggers and reports. A general walkaround can flag that one is needed, but it does not replace it. Use a competent person and follow the relevant regulation, design, manufacturer’s instructions and HSE guidance.
What to check on a whole-site walkaround
Look at the work fronts and access route as the job is being done. Do not rely only on yesterday’s RAMS or a clean office checklist.
- People and access: Are people briefed and supervised? Are walkways, stairs, ladders, doors and public protections usable?
- Work at height: Are edges, openings and fragile areas controlled? Are tools and materials prevented from falling? Is access equipment being used as planned?
- Plant and deliveries: Are reversing, unloading and pedestrian routes working? Is plant parked safely and controlled?
- Ground and temporary conditions: Have weather or ground changes affected the work? Are excavations and temporary works being dealt with under their own inspection requirements?
- Services, fire, welfare and environment: Are emergency arrangements, welfare, waste, dust, noise, vibration, fumes and chemicals controlled?
- Interfaces between trades: Could one team’s work create a risk for the next? Check shared access, isolations, deliveries and temporary protection.
Write the observation in plain language. “Housekeeping poor” is hard to action. “Plasterboard offcuts narrowing the rear stair; remove before the next delivery” tells someone what to do.
The fields your record should contain
Use these fields as a starting point and add whatever the site or client needs.
Inspection details
- Project name, site address and work area.
- Date, start time, finish time and relevant weather or ground conditions.
- Inspector’s name, role and contact or signature.
- Work fronts checked and relevant RAMS, Construction Phase Plan, permit, drawing or temporary-works reference.
Finding and immediate control
- What you saw, where it was and why it could create a risk.
- Immediate action: stop the task, keep people out, isolate plant, remove a load, add a barrier, clean the route or obtain advice.
- Person told and time told.
Corrective action and close-out
- Named action owner. “The team” is not an owner.
- Action required, due date and priority.
- Recheck date and the person who will recheck it.
- Close-out evidence: photograph, delivery record, revised RAMS, toolbox talk, permit, design note or a short explanation of what changed.
- Date closed, name of the person accepting close-out and any further action.
Keep open actions visible. If a fix cannot be done by the due date, record the reason, interim control, revised owner and new date. Extending a due date does not permit unsafe work to continue. Do not quietly mark an overdue action closed.
What to do when you find a serious problem
Stop the affected activity and keep people away from the danger. Isolate plant or services where that can be done safely. Tell the supervisor and the Principal Contractor where one is appointed.
Escalate when the risk involves structural stability, temporary works, an excavation, a scaffold, live services, fire or a method that no longer matches the RAMS. Bring in the competent person, designer, temporary-works coordinator, utility owner or emergency service the situation requires.
Record the decision and the reason. A barrier and a note do not make a dangerous condition safe. Recheck after the corrective action and only resume when an appropriately competent person confirms that the work can proceed under suitable controls.
Who owns the record on a small site?
The Principal Contractor plans, manages, monitors and coordinates the construction phase where a project has, or is reasonably foreseeable to have, more than one contractor. Count the whole project, including trades working one after another. A contractor still has to plan and carry out their own work safely, cooperate with the PC and tell the PC about risks and changes.
On a single-contractor job, the contractor may hold the practical record. On a multi-contractor job, agree who checks shared areas, who receives reports and who owns actions affecting more than one trade. The record should name the person with authority to get the fix done.
Keep the paperwork with the job
The Site Book helps small UK contractors prepare RAMS, Construction Phase Plans, site inductions, permits and site records for real jobs. Review the output against the work, brief your team and use competent people for specialist checks.
On Business, The Site Book can help you keep inspection records and corrective actions with named owners, due dates and close-out evidence. It does not replace supervision or a competent person’s decision.
Common questions
Is a daily site inspection a legal requirement?
There is no single daily inspection rule for every general construction walkaround. Set a sensible, risk-based frequency and respond to changes. Scaffolding or excavation support can have their own inspection triggers and reports.
Does a checklist prove the site is safe?
No. A checklist records what you looked at and what needs doing. It cannot replace competent judgement, the RAMS, a design or a statutory inspection.
Who should sign off a corrective action?
The named owner should complete or arrange it. An appropriately competent person should recheck the result and record evidence; this may be the supervisor where they are competent for this check. The person accepting close-out needs enough authority and knowledge to decide whether the control works.
Do scaffolds and excavations go on the same form?
You can cross-reference them, but do not treat the general form as their prescribed report. Follow the relevant regulation, design, manufacturer's information and competent-person process.
Can I use the record to restart work?
The record helps show what was found and done. It does not itself permit a restart. Restart only when an appropriately competent person confirms that the danger is controlled and the method, equipment or temporary works are suitable.
What an inspection record gives you — and what it cannot
Pros
- Leaves a dated trail from finding, to immediate control, to named owner, due date, recheck and close-out evidence.
- Gives the team a clear action list and shows the Principal Contractor what was dealt with.
- Picks up changing conditions before they become an injury or delay.
Cons
- A record of a check is evidence you looked and acted — it is not permission to restart work.
- It does not replace statutory inspection rules for scaffolds, excavations, ladders, fall-arrest equipment or other work equipment.
- A quietly closed overdue action, or an extended due date without an interim control, proves nothing and hides the risk.
| Record | Include | Close-out |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection details | Project, site address, work area, date, times, weather or ground conditions, inspector's name, role and contact or signature. | Reference the relevant RAMS, CPP, permit, drawing or temporary-works design. |
| Finding and immediate control | What you saw, where it was, why it could create a risk, the immediate action taken and the person told and time told. | Stop the task, keep people out, isolate plant, remove a load, add a barrier or obtain advice. |
| Corrective action | Named action owner, action required, due date, priority, recheck date and who will recheck it. | Record the reason, interim control, revised owner and new date if a fix slips. |
| Close-out | Photograph, delivery record, revised RAMS, toolbox talk, permit, design note or short explanation of what changed. | Date closed, the name of the person accepting close-out and any further action. |
Keep every walkaround finding with the job.
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- HSE: Construction inspection and reporting form CIS47 — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- CDM 2015 regulations 13, 15, 22 and 24 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 21 September 2026
- Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 21 September 2026
- HSE: Principal contractors — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- HSE: Managing health and safety in construction, L153 — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- HSE: Using contractors — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- HSE: Construction administration — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026