Warehouse Safety Inspection Checklist Template

What the Warehouse Safety Inspection Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Set Up the Inspection

   5 tasks

   Answer which rules apply first; it adds the matching legal notes and tasks. Every due date counts from the date and time the inspection starts.

   • Record the site, the inspection date and who is involved — the site and areas covered, the date and time the inspection starts, which every due date counts from, the inspector, the person responsible for racking safety and the site manager who signs it off
   • Check last inspection’s actions are closed — every action from the last inspection, its owner and whether it was done; an action still open goes onto this inspection’s plan
   • Gather the inspection records — the racking inspection log and the last expert racking report, damage reports since, truck maintenance and examination records, operator training records, the fire risk assessment and the accident book
   • Review accidents, near misses and damage reports since the last inspection — each one points to a place or a job to look at closely on the walk, such as a racking strike, a near miss at a crossing or a slip in the same aisle
   • Plan the route and tell the shift manager — walk every area in the same order each month, while the warehouse is working so you see how people and trucks really move, and agree where the inspector can walk safely
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Racking & Storage

   8 tasks

   Inspect racking from the ground unless there are signs of damage at high level. Rate the worst damage green, amber or red; amber or red adds the tasks to deal with it.

   • Check uprights, beams and bracing for damage — dents, bends, splits and twisted bracing, beam connector locks in place, and base plates and floor fixings secure; uprights at aisle ends and corners take the most knocks
   • Check load notices on every run — a clear notice fixed to the racking showing the maximum load and any load configuration, and loads within it; a beam moved since the notice was written means the notice needs checking
   • Check racking protection and stability — column guards and end-of-run barriers in place and undamaged, racking fixed to the floor where trucks work, and nothing altered or removed without the supplier’s approval
   • Check pallets and stored loads — pallets sound and the right type for the racking, loads stable, wrapped and not overhanging, stacks stable and limited in height, and nothing left on the floor in the aisles
   • Check the racking inspection regime is running — visual inspections recorded weekly or at the interval the person responsible for racking safety has set, an expert inspection by a technically competent person within the last 12 months, and staff know how to report damage straight away
   • Rate the racking damage found — green needs no repair but is recorded and rechecked at the next inspection, amber needs repair as soon as possible, and red needs the area offloaded and isolated at once; the answer decides which of the next two tasks appear
   • Label amber-rated locations and book the repair — amber damage needs repair as soon as possible; once the load is taken off a damaged location it is not reloaded until it is repaired, a dated label shows it is out of use, and amber damage not repaired within four weeks is treated as red
   • Offload and isolate red-rated bays now — unload the bay, rope or barrier it off so nobody reloads it, tell the person responsible for racking safety the same day, and book the repair, usually a replacement component
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Aisles, Floors & Walkways

   6 tasks

   Walk every aisle and walkway. A floor defect that cannot be repaired at once is barriered or marked until it is.

   • Check aisles and gangways are marked and clear — storage areas, aisles and gangways marked on the floor, nothing stored across or in an aisle, and room for the trucks that use them to turn and pass
   • Check floor surfaces — holes, cracks, ruts, uneven or broken areas and standing water, especially where trucks run, and damaged areas barriered off until they are repaired
   • Check for spills, leaks and slip hazards — oil and hydraulic fluid from trucks, water from roofs and doors, shrink-wrap and packaging on the floor, and spill kits where they are needed
   • Check pedestrian walkways and crossing points — marked walkways, barriers where people walk beside trucks, crossing points where drivers can see them, separate pedestrian doors beside vehicle doors, and people using them
   • Check lighting, mirrors and warning signs — lighting working along aisles and at doors with no sudden change from bright to dark, mirrors at blind corners, and signs where truck drivers must sound the horn
   • Check stairs, mezzanines and open edges — handrails on stairs, guard rails on mezzanine edges and at loading points, and open pits and holes covered or guarded
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Loading Docks & Vehicle Traffic

   6 tasks

   Watch at least one vehicle being loaded or unloaded. Drivers, pedestrians and trucks should never share space without a control.

   • Check the yard traffic routes and signs — one-way systems and speed limits, road markings and signs, pedestrian routes kept apart from lorries, and reversing areas kept clear of people
   • Check how drive-aways are prevented at each bay — a trailer restraint, an interlock, keys or paperwork held until it is safe to go, or traffic lights, used every time so no vehicle pulls away before loading is finished
   • US: check trailers are chocked and braked before trucks board them — the trailer’s brakes set and wheel chocks under the rear wheels, and fixed jacks under a trailer that is not coupled to a tractor where they are needed
   • Check dock edges, levellers and dock plates — dock edges marked, levellers returned flush after use with toe guards in place, defects reported and repaired, and dock plates secure and strong enough for the truck and its load
   • Check where visiting drivers wait — drivers told the site rules when they arrive, clear about who is in charge while the vehicle is loaded, and waiting in a safe area away from the loading bay
   • Check loads are secured before vehicles leave — the vehicle floor checked before loading, loads stable and spread evenly, and the far curtain or side kept closed while a trailer is loaded from one side
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Forklifts & Handling Equipment

   7 tasks

   This phase checks the system around the trucks, not the trucks themselves. Each operator’s check of their truck at the start of a shift has its own checklist.

   • Check pre-use checks are done and defects acted on — a recorded check for every truck on every shift, defects reported to the supervisor, and a truck with a safety-critical defect kept out of use until it is repaired
   • Check operator training and authorisation records — only trained and authorised operators drive, each on the truck types they were trained on, with refresher training where it is due
   • Check truck keys are controlled — keys kept in a secure place, issued by a responsible person and returned at the end of the shift, and no truck left unattended with the key in or the keypad live
   • UK: check each truck’s thorough examination is in date — a report of thorough examination of the lifting parts within the last 12 months, or 6 months for a truck that lifts people, kept for at least two years
   • Check the battery charging and refuelling areas — a separate, ventilated charging area with no smoking or naked flames, chargers protected from trucks, facilities to flush and neutralise spilled electrolyte, and LPG cylinders changed outside
   • Check pallet trucks, roll cages and other handling aids — in good repair with wheels running freely, hand pallet trucks inspected at least every 12 months, and damaged roll cages taken out of use
   • Watch how trucks are driven — speed suited to the area, forks lowered when travelling, no passengers, horns used at blind corners, and trucks never parked in front of exits or fire equipment
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Fire Safety & Emergency Exits

   6 tasks

   A blocked or locked exit adds a task to clear it before the inspection goes on.

   • Check every fire exit and escape route is clear — routes and exits free of pallets, stock and trucks, and exit doors opening easily in the direction of escape and not locked
   • Clear the blocked or locked exit now — move the obstruction or unlock the door before the inspection goes on, and find out why it happened so it does not happen again
   • Check exit signs and emergency lighting — exit signs in place and visible, signs showing the way where the exit is not obvious, and emergency lighting tests up to date
   • Check alarm call points and extinguishers can be reached — nothing stacked in front of them, and the monthly extinguisher checks recorded
   • Check combustible waste and storage — packaging and waste in suitable containers and removed regularly, no combustible rubbish stored against the building, and flammable materials kept away from ignition sources
   • Check fire doors and fire protection equipment — fire doors closing properly and not wedged open, and sprinklers, alarms and fire doors undamaged and clear of stock
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: PPE, First Aid, Welfare & Housekeeping

   6 tasks

   Look at how people are working as well as at the building. Ask, do not only look.

   • Check PPE is worn and in good condition — safety footwear, high-visibility clothing and gloves as the risk assessment requires, worn by staff and visitors, with replacements available
   • Check first aid provision — a stocked first-aid box, a notice saying who the first aiders or appointed persons are and where the box is, and enough first aiders on every shift
   • Check toilets and washing facilities — clean, lit and ventilated, with hot and cold water, soap and a way to dry hands, and easy to reach from the warehouse floor
   • Check general housekeeping — shrink-wrap, strapping, broken pallets and packaging cleared from the floor, and waste bins and skips emptied before they overflow
   • Watch manual handling at picking and packing — heavy or awkward items, high and low picks, twisting and long carries, and whether pallet trucks, roll cages and other handling aids are available and used
   • Ask workers what concerns them — two or three people on the floor about near misses, damage they have seen and anything that makes the safe way of working hard to follow
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: Findings, Actions & Sign-Off

   6 tasks

   Every finding gets a risk rating, an owner and a due date. The site manager approves the inspection and action plan, and nothing after that step can be completed until a decision is recorded.

   • Record every finding with a risk rating — each finding, where it is and a rating of high, medium or low; high means someone could be seriously hurt soon if nothing changes
   • Agree an action, owner and due date for each finding — high-risk findings fixed or controlled within days and the rest planned, each action with the person who can fix it
   • Confirm urgent hazards are controlled — red-rated racking offloaded and isolated, blocked exits cleared and anything else that could cause serious injury made safe on the day it was found
   • Site manager approves the inspection and action plan — the findings, ratings, owners and dates checked, and any urgent hazard confirmed as controlled, before the plan is issued
   • Re-check high-risk actions are done — walk back to each high-risk finding after its due date and record whether the fix worked; anything still open is escalated to the site manager
   • Site manager signs off and confirms the next inspection — the inspection recorded as complete, the action plan filed with the inspection record, and the date of next month’s inspection confirmed on the recurring schedule