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Construction Site Pre-Start Checklist

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Use this checklist before the shift’s planned work begins. It helps the site supervisor connect today’s work packages with the right crews, current conditions and required clearances. The result is a shared plan and a visible list of work that must remain on hold.

Have the current work plan, site notices and relevant approved procedures available. The qualified site team must define hazards, controls and legal prerequisites. Brief the people doing the work and anyone coordinating interfaces; record the actual date, shift and areas covered.

If a prerequisite is missing or conditions have changed, identify the affected work and the person authorized to clear it. Record the clearance reference before changing a hold to a start. Do not use a completed checklist as a substitute for a permit or authorization.

Play guides the supervisor through separate method, permit, competence and equipment checks, an actual work-area review, the crew briefing and the recorded decision. Form is available to review the resulting record.

Prefer guided mode? Try Play - answer one question at a time in full screen view.

    Use one run per defined work package and crew. Expand the scope only through the approved site plan.
    Record the project and exact work area from the current authorized plan.
    Name the actual activities and package/reference for this crew, including scope boundaries.
    Enter the actual local date and time of this briefing.
    Click to Assign task
    Choose the person responsible for the defined work-start decision. Assignment does not grant authority.
    Record the approved crew roster or attendance reference, including the relevant trade leads. Do not copy unnecessary personal records.
    The qualified site team supplies hazards, controls and current legal prerequisites.
    Record relevant weather, access, work-scope or interface changes and the current assessment reference where useful. Leave the answer blank when there is no additional change to report; the work-area checks still apply.
    Check the approved method and assessment revisions against the actual work. Add the reference or a mismatch here when useful; the approved site records remain authoritative and mismatches need the designated authority.
    Check any permits required by the site procedure for this activity and shift. Add their reference, status, validity/scope and issuer when applicable. Leave blank when no permit is required; this field does not waive an applicable permit.
    Have authorized staff check competence against the assigned activities. Add verification references or gaps when useful; assignment alone does not establish competence.
    For equipment used in this activity, have authorized staff verify the required asset/release status. Add references or unavailable equipment when applicable; leave blank if no equipment-release check is relevant.
    Confirm any overlapping work, shared access, deliveries or vehicle/pedestrian interfaces with the relevant leads. Add agreed controls or unresolved conflicts when present; leave blank when none apply.
    The supervisor tailors these starter checks to the approved work package before briefing. Use the actual site controls; record observations or blockers in task notes.
    Check the authorized route and boundaries against the current plan. Note obstructed access, changed exclusions or conflicting work; do not enter an uncleared area.
    Confirm the actual overlap with other trades, vehicle/pedestrian routes and planned deliveries with the coordinating leads. Add an owner for unresolved conflicts.
    Compare the current conditions with the limits and review triggers in the approved site procedure. Ask the qualified lead to reassess changed conditions; this template supplies no generic threshold.
    Use current approved site information in a language and format the crew understands.
    Brief the actual alarm/reporting method, safe-location arrangements and relevant contacts. Ask the crew to identify the route for this work area. Add the site-information reference or an exception only when useful.
    Ask a practical question about the current work, relevant controls or any important change. Record the response and clarification needed; attendance alone does not establish understanding.
    The crew is identified in the opening answer. Add a separate attendance-record reference or late-arrival follow-up if needed; do not duplicate an existing crew/attendance record.
    A completed checklist is not a permit. Affected work remains on hold until the designated authority clears it.
    If an activity is held, record its blocker, affected scope, accepted owner and clearance needed; create an open corrective task. Leave blank when no activities are held.
    Use only the designated site authority’s decision for the identified scope. Keep unsafe or uncleared work on hold.
    Record when the designated authority made the decision for this defined work scope.
    Add a supporting approval or clearance reference when the site process requires one, or identify a decision maker different from the supervisor above. The actual decision and time remain separate required answers.
    Tell affected crews the authorized start or hold scope and any restrictions or re-review trigger. Add a communication reference, exception or next trigger when useful; a routine completed briefing need not be transcribed.

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Details

Before you begin

Have the current work plan, site notices and relevant approved procedures available. The qualified site team must define hazards, controls and legal prerequisites. Brief the people doing the work and anyone coordinating interfaces; record the actual date, shift and areas covered.

Exceptions and handoffs

If a prerequisite is missing or conditions have changed, identify the affected work and the person authorized to clear it. Record the clearance reference before changing a hold to a start. Do not use a completed checklist as a substitute for a permit or authorization.

Worked example

Level 2 ceiling works held because another trade controls access. The supervisor identifies the interface owner and waits for that owner’s approved clearance before starting affected work.

Review and improve

Review briefings with changed conditions captured, unresolved blockers before work starts, crew questions resolved or assigned. Use recurring failures and staff feedback to revise the approved process; record the reviewer and revision date.

Qualified site personnel supply actual hazard controls, permits and local legal criteria. Not a permit-to-work or competence certification. Do not publish restricted site plans or staff personal records.

Who it's for

A supervisor starts the day with a shared plan for authorized work and named owners for blockers; affected work remains held until cleared.

How to use

  1. Save one checklist per defined work package and crew, or tailor a reusable template. Play follows the briefing sequence; Form reviews the record and List supports actions.
  2. Record the project/area, planned activity, briefing time, supervisor and crew reference.
  3. Verify the method, applicable permits, competence and equipment release separately. Tailor the visible access, shared-work and changed-condition starter checks to the actual work area.
  4. Brief current emergency/reporting arrangements and ask the crew to explain the important changes; record attendance and understanding.
  5. Identify held activities and clearance owners. Record the actual authorized decision, time and approval reference, then communicate the scope and next review trigger.

Site procedures and designated authorities control the work. A completed briefing record is not a permit or authority to start uncleared work.

Related workflows

Record an adverse finding accurately, then create a separate open corrective task with an owner and due date. An answered observation is not approval to start, accept or release work.

Required answers identify this run and its essential decisions or results. Optional supporting references and exception notes may stay blank when no additional entry is needed. Perform every applicable site-required check and keep its authoritative evidence in the approved system; a field being optional does not waive the check.

Construction Site Pre-Start Checklist Frequently Asked Questions

Is a pre-start the same as site induction?

No. Induction introduces a person to the site and its arrangements. A pre-start briefing addresses the work and changed conditions for this shift; both may be required.

What should happen when one trade is blocked?

Identify that work package and its dependency, assign a clearance owner and communicate the hold. Unaffected work may proceed only under the site’s authorized plan.

Does this checklist authorize work?

No. Work authorization comes from the site’s qualified personnel and approved procedures. The checklist records readiness and the resulting decision.

Why use Play rather than only a Form?

Pre-start is an ordered activity: verify current conditions and prerequisites, brief the crew, check understanding and then record the authorized decision. Play supports that sequence; Form lets the supervisor review the collected record.

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