Health & Safety

Pre-start checks with a stop-work decision on them

The point of a pre-start check is that it can stop the job. Gaffer's checklist covers PPE, site conditions and equipment, records the weather and any hazards identified, and ends with an explicit all-clear — or a stop-work reason and the supervisor who was told.

No credit card required · One platform · Web & Android (iOS coming soon)

How pre-start checklists work in Gaffer

One checklist per job start, completed on site, ending in a decision rather than a signature.

An explicit all-clear

The checklist finishes with an all-clear flag. If it is not clear, a stop-work reason is recorded — so 'we had concerns' becomes a documented decision.

Conditions on the day

Weather conditions and hazards identified are captured at the time, which is what makes the record meaningful for work that is weather-dependent.

Escalated to a name

Where work stops, the supervisor is named on the record, so the escalation is evidenced rather than described.

What you get

Pre-start checklists sit with your jobs, RAMS and toolbox talks in the same platform.

  • Check date and time recorded against the job and site
  • Weather conditions captured at the point of the check
  • PPE checks, site checks and equipment checks recorded separately
  • Hazards identified on the day written into the record
  • Explicit all-clear decision to proceed
  • Stop-work reason and named supervisor where work does not proceed
  • Completed by a named person, offline-capable on the mobile app

Common questions about pre-start checklists

How is this different from a risk assessment?

A risk assessment covers the task in general and is written in advance. A pre-start check tests whether today's actual conditions match what the assessment assumed — the weather, the site, the kit and the people who turned up.

Why record a stop-work reason?

Because stopping work is the correct outcome sometimes, and a business that can evidence it stopped work for a documented reason is in a very different position from one that cannot show why a job was delayed.

Does every job need one?

That is your call, and it usually depends on the risk profile of the work. Many businesses use them for site work, work at height and anything weather-dependent, and skip them for routine domestic callouts.

Can it be completed offline?

Yes. Pre-start checks happen at the start of the day on site, which is exactly where signal is least reliable, so they are captured on the device and synced later.

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