for a site attendance, what questions should be asked?

During a site attendance or site visit, the key safety objective is to confirm that hazards have been identified, risks assessed, and effective controls implemented before and during the work. A strong site visit should test whether the work is planned, supervised, communicated, and carried out in compliance with the site safety program and applicable health and safety regulations. [4] [3]

Questions to ask on site should include:

• What work is being carried out today, where is it taking place, and what are the main hazards associated with each task?
• Has a task-specific risk assessment or hazard assessment been completed, reviewed, and communicated to the workforce?
• Have higher-level controls been applied first, such as elimination, substitution, engineering controls, and administrative controls, before relying on PPE?
• Are workers trained, competent, and authorized for the tasks they are performing, including any high-risk activities?
• Is the work area in safe condition, including housekeeping, lighting, access/egress, and protection from slips, trips, falls, falling objects, excavation collapse, or moving plant?
• Are emergency arrangements in place, understood, and suitable for the work, including rescue where required?
• Are incidents, near misses, hazards, and unsafe conditions being reported promptly and investigated?
• Are contractors complying with site rules, permit conditions, supervision requirements, and legal duties?
• Are required permits in place for high-risk work such as confined space entry, hot work, excavation, isolation/lockout-tagout, or work at height?
• Is the site meeting applicable occupational health and safety regulatory requirements on an ongoing basis?

[4] [14] For hazard identification and risk assessment, ask:

• What physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, environmental, and task-related hazards are present?
• Have atmospheric hazards been considered where applicable, such as oxygen deficiency, combustible gases or vapors, combustible dusts, and toxic gases or vapors?
• Have non-atmospheric hazards been identified, such as electrical, mechanical, engulfment, entrapment, temperature extremes, noise, chemical contact, traffic, and falling materials?
• Have changing site conditions been considered, such as weather, water accumulation, vibration, nearby traffic, adjacent structures, or other activities that could affect the risk level?
• Who completed the assessment, when was it reviewed, and does it cover the actual work being observed today?

[17] [10] For control measures, ask:

• What controls are in place to eliminate or reduce the identified hazards?
• Have hazardous energy sources been isolated and locked out or tagged out where required?
• Have spaces, lines, or equipment been drained, purged, flushed, blanked, capped, or otherwise made safe before work starts?
• Is ventilation provided where needed, and is atmospheric testing or continuous monitoring being carried out?
• Are barriers, warning signs, exclusion zones, and traffic controls in place to protect workers and others?
• Are safe access, egress, lighting, communication methods, and rescue equipment available and suitable?
• Are housekeeping standards being maintained so that waste, cords, debris, and materials do not create additional hazards?

[11] [8] [14] For PPE, ask:

• Has appropriate PPE been identified based on the hazard assessment?
• Were engineering and administrative controls considered before selecting PPE?
• Have workers been trained in PPE use, care, fit, limitations, inspection, and replacement?
• Is PPE being worn correctly and enforced by supervision?
• Is damaged or worn PPE removed from service and replaced?
• Do the tasks require specific eye, face, respiratory, hearing, hand, foot, head, body, fall protection, or high-visibility PPE?
• If workers provide their own PPE, is it adequate for the hazards present?

[3] [1] [6] Examples of PPE-specific questions include:

• Do workers perform hammering, cutting, grinding, sanding, masonry work, welding, or work in dusty or windy conditions that require eye and face protection?
• Are safety glasses impact-resistant and fitted with side shields?
• Are goggles tight-fitting and do they fully cover the eyes and surrounding area where needed?
• Are respirators required, and if so, is there a compliant respiratory protection program in place?
• For excavation or traffic-exposed work, are workers wearing suitable high-visibility and foot protection?

[1] [1] [1] [10] For permit to work, ask:

• What permits are required for today's work, and are they current, authorized, and available at the point of work?
• Does each permit clearly identify the location, purpose, date, duration, hazards, acceptable conditions, authorized workers, supervisor, attendants, and required controls?
• Have pre-entry or pre-work checks been completed before the permit was signed?
• Are additional permits required, such as hot work, confined space, excavation, or hazardous energy isolation permits?
• Are permit conditions being maintained throughout the job, and is the permit suspended or cancelled if conditions change?

[5] [5] [15] For site induction, training, and competence, ask:

• Has every worker, visitor, and contractor received a site induction before starting work?
• Does the induction cover site hazards, restricted areas, emergency arrangements, reporting lines, welfare arrangements, PPE rules, permits, and site-specific procedures?
• Are workers trained in the tasks they perform and in the hazards they may encounter?
• Are training records available, current, and in a language workers understand?
• Have workers been informed of permit-required spaces or other high-risk areas they must not enter without authorization?

[5] [5] [7] For emergency procedures and rescue, ask:

• What are the site emergency procedures, and do workers know how to raise the alarm, summon help, and evacuate?
• Who are the first aiders, rescue personnel, fire wardens, or emergency contacts, and how are they contacted?
• Is rescue capability suitable for the hazards present, especially for confined spaces, excavations, or work at height?
• Is emergency equipment available, inspected, and ready for use, including retrieval systems, rescue equipment, first aid supplies, fire extinguishers, and communication devices?
• Has the rescue team been notified where required, and are attendants or standby personnel in place?
• Have emergency and rescue procedures been reviewed with the work team before starting?

[4] [12] [10] For incident reporting and worker participation, ask:

• Do workers know how to report hazards, near misses, injuries, unsafe conditions, and permit deviations?
• Are all injuries reported immediately and investigated?
• Are workers encouraged to stop work or refuse unsafe work if conditions could cause harm?
• Are corrective actions tracked to completion and communicated back to the workforce?

[4] [4] For contractor compliance and coordination, ask:

• Who is the host employer, controlling contractor, entry employer, and subcontractor, and are responsibilities clearly defined?
• Have contractors been informed of site hazards, permit spaces, emergency arrangements, and site rules?
• Are contractor employees trained, supervised, and authorized for the work they are doing?
• Is there effective communication between the host, controlling contractor, and contractors about hazards and controls?
• Are contractor activities creating additional risks for others on site, such as fumes, ignition sources, excavation instability, traffic conflicts, or blocked access?

[2] [16] [7] For regulatory health and safety compliance, ask:

• Is there a documented safety program and is it being followed on site?
• Have required assessments, inspections, permits, monitoring, and records been completed and retained?
• Are supervisors enforcing safe systems of work, PPE use, and compliance with applicable regulations?
• Are competent persons designated where required, such as for excavations or other high-risk work?
• Are legal requirements for confined spaces, PPE, hazardous energy control, scaffolding, excavation, and emergency preparedness being met?

[4] [13] [9] A practical way to conduct a site visit is to ask these questions in sequence: what is the work, what can harm people, how severe and likely is that harm, what controls are in place, who is trained and authorized, what PPE is required, what permits are needed, what happens if something goes wrong, and how is compliance being verified. If those questions cannot be answered clearly at the point of work, the job should be paused until the risks are properly controlled. [11] [4]