On this page
- Which construction site inspections are required by law?
- What should a construction site health and safety inspection check?
- How often should a construction site be inspected?
- Who should carry out site inspections?
- How should inspection findings be recorded and closed out?
- What are the common failings with site inspections?
- How do inspections support the Principal Contractor's duties?
- Need independent site safety inspections?
A construction site health and safety inspection is a structured check of the site, the work in progress and the controls in place, carried out to find hazards and failures before they cause harm. Some inspections are required by law at fixed intervals. Others are part of the Principal Contractor's duty to monitor the construction phase. Both are needed.
Inspections are how contractors find out whether what is written in the Construction Phase Plan and RAMS is actually happening. This guide explains which inspections are statutory, what a general site inspection should cover, how often to inspect and how to make sure findings are closed out.
Which construction site inspections are required by law?
Several regulations require specific inspections by a competent person, with written reports. The main ones on construction sites are:
Work equipment for work at height
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require scaffolds and other work equipment used for work at height to be inspected:
- After installation or assembly in any position and before it is first used
- At suitable intervals
- For scaffolds and working platforms where a person could fall two metres or more, at intervals not exceeding seven days
- After any event likely to have affected its strength or stability, such as high winds or accidental damage
A written report must be completed before the end of the working period and a copy provided within 24 hours.
Excavations
CDM 2015 requires excavations to be inspected by a competent person:
- At the start of each shift in which work is carried out
- After any event likely to have affected the strength or stability of the excavation
- After any accidental fall of rock, earth or other material
A written report is required, although for routine start of shift inspections only one report is normally needed in any seven day period. Cofferdams and caissons have similar inspection requirements.
Lifting equipment
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 require lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set intervals: at least every six months for equipment used to lift people and for lifting accessories. Other lifting equipment must be examined at least every twelve months, unless a written examination scheme sets different intervals. Equipment must also be examined after installation and after exceptional circumstances.
Other work equipment
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require work equipment exposed to conditions that could cause deterioration to be inspected at suitable intervals. On site this includes plant, power tools and temporary electrical installations.
Temporary works
Temporary works are not covered by a single statutory inspection regime, but installation must match the checked design before loading. BS 5975 sets out the recognised process for inspection and permits to load. See our guide to BS 5975.
What should a construction site health and safety inspection check?
Beyond the statutory inspections, a Principal Contractor needs to monitor whether the site as a whole is being run safely. A general construction site inspection should cover the following areas.
Site set up and management
- Site boundary, hoarding and security against unauthorised access
- Signage, including the F10 notification where the project is notifiable
- Construction Phase Plan available and current
- Induction records and site attendance records
Welfare
- Toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, changing and rest areas in place and maintained
- Welfare adequate for the number of people on site
Access, egress and housekeeping
- Safe, clear pedestrian routes separated from vehicles
- Stairs, ladders and access points in good condition
- Materials stored safely and housekeeping under control
- Adequate lighting in work areas and on routes
Work at height
- Edge protection in place and complete
- Scaffold tags and inspection records current
- Openings and fragile surfaces protected
- Mobile towers and MEWPs used correctly by trained operatives
Excavations and ground works
- Excavations supported or battered as planned
- Edge protection, access and barriers in place
- Services located and marked
- Inspection reports current
Plant, vehicles and lifting
- Traffic management plan followed, with banksmen where required
- Plant operators trained and plant inspected
- Lifting operations carried out to the lift plan with exclusion zones in place
Health risks
- Dust controlled at source, with on tool extraction or water suppression
- Noise and vibration controlled, with hearing protection zones marked
- Hazardous substances stored, labelled and used in line with COSHH assessments
- Asbestos information available and followed where relevant
Fire and emergency
- Fire points, extinguishers and alarms in place
- Hot works permits in use
- Emergency routes clear and signed
- First aid provision and trained first aiders
Work in progress
- Work being carried out in line with the accepted RAMS
- Permits in place and complied with
- Supervision present and effective
- PPE suitable and correctly worn
A checklist helps with consistency, but inspectors should also look beyond it. The most serious issues are often the ones that do not fit a pre printed box.
How often should a construction site be inspected?
There is no single legal frequency for general site inspections. The frequency should reflect the size, pace and risk of the project. A typical pattern on an active site is:
- Daily: supervisor and site manager walk rounds, focusing on the day's high risk activities
- Weekly: a recorded site inspection by the site manager or project health and safety adviser
- Periodically: an independent inspection or audit by someone outside the site team, often monthly
- As required: statutory inspections at their own intervals
High risk phases, such as demolition, deep excavations, heavy lifting or work in live environments, justify more frequent monitoring.
Who should carry out site inspections?
Statutory inspections must be carried out by a competent person for that type of equipment or structure. General inspections can be carried out by site managers, supervisors or health and safety advisers who understand the work and the risks.
Independent inspections have particular value. Site teams can become used to conditions that an outsider would recognise immediately. A fresh pair of eyes, reporting to someone above the site team, often identifies the issues an HSE inspector would pick up.
How should inspection findings be recorded and closed out?
An inspection only reduces risk if the findings are acted on. A good close out process includes:
- 1Recording each finding with its location, a clear description and a photograph where useful
- 2Rating the finding by risk so priorities are clear
- 3Stopping or making safe anything that presents an immediate danger
- 4Assigning each action to a named person with a target date
- 5Verifying close out with evidence
- 6Tracking open actions until they are closed
- 7Reviewing trends to find repeat issues and their underlying causes
A long list of open actions from previous inspections is itself a finding.
What are the common failings with site inspections?
- Inspections carried out but not recorded
- Checklists completed from the site office without walking the site
- The same findings raised week after week without escalation
- Actions closed without anyone checking the work
- Statutory inspection reports missing, out of date or completed by someone not competent
- Inspections focused only on safety, with health risks such as dust ignored
- No link between inspection findings and RAMS, briefings or toolbox talks
How do inspections support the Principal Contractor's duties?
Under CDM 2015 the Principal Contractor must plan, manage, monitor and coordinate the construction phase. Inspections are the main evidence of monitoring. They also feed directly into RAMS reviews, toolbox talks and updates to the Construction Phase Plan. For the wider picture, see our guide to Principal Contractor duties under CDM 2015.
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Frequently asked questions
How often should a construction site be inspected for health and safety?
There is no single legal frequency for general site inspections. Some specific inspections have fixed intervals, such as scaffolds at least every seven days and excavations at the start of every shift. General health and safety monitoring should be frequent enough to pick up problems before they cause harm. On most active sites that means daily checks by supervisors, a weekly recorded inspection by the site manager and periodic independent inspections or audits.
Who can carry out statutory inspections on a construction site?
Statutory inspections must be carried out by a competent person. That means someone with the skills, knowledge and experience to recognise defects in the equipment or structure being inspected. For scaffolds this is usually a trained scaffold inspector. For excavations it is someone with experience of excavation support and ground conditions. For lifting equipment thorough examinations, it is normally a specialist engineer from an inspection body.
What is the difference between a site inspection and a health and safety audit?
A site inspection checks physical conditions and working practices at a point in time. An audit looks at whether the management system is working, including documents, competence records, permits, RAMS, inspection records and how findings are closed out. Both are needed. Inspections catch immediate hazards. Audits find the underlying reasons why the same problems keep appearing.
How long must construction inspection reports be kept?
Reports of inspections of work equipment for work at height and of excavations under CDM 2015 must be kept at the site until the construction work is completed and then at an office for a further three months. Thorough examination reports for lifting equipment have their own retention requirements under LOLER. Many contractors keep all inspection records for longer as part of their project records.
What should happen after a site inspection?
Every finding should be recorded, assigned to a named person and given a target date based on the risk. Anything presenting an immediate danger should be stopped or made safe straight away. The person who raised the finding should confirm it has been closed out, ideally with photographic evidence. Repeated findings should be investigated to understand why they keep happening.
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