F E AT U R E How Digital Checklists Help You Keep Your Eye on Safety by Rebekah Veldhuizen, Raken
Every jobsite presents its own unique hazards and risks—hazards that construction crews are trained to recognize and handle. But with so much happening on a jobsite, checklists are invaluable. Is the crew positive that signage has been posted to keep workers out of hazardous areas? Have all electrical hazards been addressed? Have ladders been inspected for safety? Is the entire crew up to date with safety training or any needed certifications? These questions could go on and on. Which means it’s easy for one to
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be overlooked. But overlooking even one of these questions could have fatal consequences. That’s where checklists come in— checklists are meant to be the safety nets that ensure every single question has been asked.
The traditional way of using checklists Traditionally, checklists have been sent from the office, to the field, where they are then printed out. After completing the checklist (hopefully
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the paper isn’t lost or forgotten when needed), it is then scanned and sent back to the office. The office then reviews and manually saves it for their records. Sound confusing? While printing, completing, scanning, and sending aren’t the worst things in the world—any extra steps are opportunities for lost or inaccurate documentation—and lost time. And, the more complicated the process is for those in the field, the less likely it is that these checklists will be used correctly. Which could mean a question
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