Inspection report: contents and template
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An inspection report records what was noticed during an inspection and who has to do what by when. This guide explains what the report is for and what belongs in it. It also comes with a free template for workplace inspections under German occupational safety law, as a Word file and as a PDF.
What is an inspection report?
The inspection report is the written record of an inspection. It states when and where the inspection took place and who was there, which defects were found and which measures are to follow. In German companies it is also called an inspection record, defect report or safety inspection report.
The occupational safety specialist and the company doctor have to inspect the workplaces at regular intervals and report any defects found to the employer or to the person otherwise responsible for occupational safety and accident prevention (Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). In practice, the report is the usual way of passing on this information.
What is the report for?
There is no formal requirement for the inspection report. In practice, it fulfils three tasks that follow from the regulations:
Reporting defects
the occupational safety specialist and the company doctor report the defects found to the employer and propose measures (Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). The report makes this traceable later on.
Providing evidence
the employer must have documents showing the result of the risk assessment, the measures defined and the result of their review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG, Section 3(3) DGUV Regulation 1). A report with this information can be part of that documentation.
Following up on measures
the employer checks whether the measures are effective and adjusts them if necessary (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). The report of the last inspection shows you what is still open.
What belongs in an inspection report?
No regulation specifies exactly what goes into the report. If it is also meant to document the risk assessment, it must contain the result of the assessment, the measures defined and the result of their review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG). The GDA guideline on risk assessment and documentation also lists deadlines and responsible persons.
One example of a simple report is the "Begehungsprotokoll" practical aid for the GDA-ORGAcheck. In practice, this information has proven useful:
- company, area inspected, date, time and reason for the inspection
- participants with their role
- each defect with location, description and photo
- an assessment of how urgent the defect is
- measure with responsible person and deadline
- a note on when the measure was completed and when its effect was checked
- status of the open items from the last inspection
- signatures of the inspectors and of the persons responsible
Structure of the template
The template is designed for workplace inspections in occupational safety. It is A4 landscape, and the Word file and the PDF have the same structure. It has four parts.
Header
At the top left there is an empty box for your logo. Next to it are the title "Inspection report" and the subtitle "Workplace inspection for occupational safety". These fields follow below:
- Company or client
- the company you are inspecting. External specialists enter their client here.
- Location or area
- the site, building or department you inspected.
- Date
- the day of the inspection.
- Time
- start and end of the inspection.
- Reason
- for example a routine inspection, an inspection after an accident or after a conversion.
- Participants
- a table with name and role, for example occupational safety specialist, company doctor, manager or works council.
Findings (defects)
The main table has one row per defect and ten columns:
- No.
- a running number you can refer to later.
- Location
- exactly where the defect is, for example "Hall 2, gate 3".
- Description
- what is wrong, in one or two sentences.
- Photo ref.
- number or file name of the photo showing the defect.
- Risk
- high, medium or low according to the legend below the table.
- Action
- what will be done to remove the defect.
- Responsible
- the person who carries out the action.
- Due date
- when the action has to be completed.
- Done on
- the day the action was carried out.
- Checked on
- the day someone checked that the action works.
Legend for the "Risk" column
- highact immediately
- mediumfix soon
- lowfix at the next opportunity
The three levels are a recommendation from practice, not a requirement. Adapt the scale to your risk assessment.
Open items from the last inspection
Here you carry over what remained open last time. This way you check at every inspection whether the earlier measures have been carried out. The table has five columns:
- No.
- the number from the last report.
- Defect
- a short description.
- Action
- the action defined at the time.
- Status
- for example open, in progress or done.
- Note
- what is still missing or what has changed.
Signatures
At the end, the inspecting persons and the responsible persons sign, each with place, date and name. The signatures are a recommendation from practice: they show that the persons responsible know the report. The footer shows the page number.
Download the template
Use the Word file if you want to fill in the report on your computer or adapt the template to your company. The PDF is meant for printing and filling in by hand.
Free of charge, no sign-up. A4 landscape.
Tips for filling it in
Fill it in on site
record defects during the walk-through, not afterwards at your desk. What you write down from memory becomes vague.
Name photos clearly
give each photo the number of its row, for example "03". The "Photo ref." column helps you find it again later.
Be specific
"Escape route in hall 2 blocked by pallets" helps more than "untidy".
One person and one date per measure
enter one person as responsible, not a department. Give a fixed date as the deadline instead of "soon".
Check the effect
the employer has to check whether the measures work (Section 3(1) sentence 2 ArbSchG). So only fill in "Checked on" once you have verified the effect.
Send the report out quickly
send it to the employer and to everyone who has to carry out a measure shortly after the inspection. The occupational safety specialist and the company doctor have to report defects to the employer (Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG).
Frequently asked questions about the inspection report
Is an inspection report mandatory?
There is no specific formal requirement for the inspection report. What is required is that the occupational safety specialist and the company doctor report defects found to the employer (Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). The employer has to document the result of the risk assessment, the measures and the result of their review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG). In practice, a report is the usual way to do this.
Who writes the inspection report?
No law specifies this. In practice, the person leading the inspection writes it, often the occupational safety specialist. The employer remains responsible for occupational safety (Section 3 ArbSchG).
Who receives the inspection report?
The defects go to the employer or to the person otherwise responsible for occupational safety (Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). The works council also receives the minutes of inspections to which it has to be called in (Section 89(5) BetrVG). The employer has to call it in to all inspections relating to occupational safety or accident prevention (Section 89(2) BetrVG). Whether the inspection by the safety specialist and company doctor is such an inspection is not expressly stated in the law. In practice, everyone who has to carry out a measure also receives the report.
Does the inspection report replace the risk assessment?
No. The risk assessment evaluates the hazards and shows which measures are necessary (Section 5(1) ArbSchG). The inspection report records what is noticed during a walk-through. With measures and review notes, it can be part of the documentation under Section 6(1) ArbSchG.
Can the template be adapted?
Yes. The template is a suggestion. Adapt the fields, columns and risk scale to your company and your risk assessment. You can edit the Word file directly for this.
Creating inspection reports digitally
On paper or in Word, the work after the inspection is left to you: matching photos, copying open items into the next report and asking around what has been done.
With Begehung.pro you record findings on site in the app, with photo, measure, responsible person and deadline, even without a network connection. The inspection produces the report as a PDF or Word file. Open findings reappear at the next inspection, and you use your own checklists at every inspection.
See what this looks like for occupational safety specialists on the page Software for occupational safety.
Sources
- Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG, German)
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG, German)
- Works Constitution Act (BetrVG, German)
- DGUV Regulation 1 "Principles of prevention" (German)
- GDA guideline "Risk assessment and documentation" (German)
- GDA-ORGAcheck, practical aid "Begehungsprotokoll" (German)
DGUV Regulation 1 is linked here as a DGUV model text. The version of your accident insurance institution is binding.
This guide is general information and not legal advice.