Resources • on-site inspections
On-site inspections playbook (tablet flow, offline drafts, QA)
Use this playbook to prep jobs cleanly, capture findings consistently on site, handle patchy connectivity without losing control, and run a fast QA pass before outputs leave the office.
- On-site
- Tablet
- Offline drafts
- QA
- Photo standards
Prep cleanly, capture consistently —
QA before outputs leave the office
A practical playbook for site teams and managers — covering pre-visit prep, tablet capture flow, offline drafts, and the QA pass that prevents report rewrites and client confusion.
Phase 01
Prep cleanly
Doors and locations are structured before anyone arrives. Confirm scope, stable IDs, access notes, and floorplans — most site friction comes from unclear scope and messy location naming.
Phase 02
Capture consistently
Same evidence pack per door — identity, outcomes, severity, and photos — before moving on. One door at a time. Standardised wording. Short factual notes. Capture at the door, not later from memory.
Phase 03
QA before sending
Quick checks before outputs leave the office prevent report rewrites and client confusion. Door IDs present, outcomes consistent, photos attached, locations readable — four things that must be right.
Site teams
Tablet flow, evidence standards, and fast repeatable capture so each door is complete before moving on.
Managers
QA checklist before reports and exports are issued — four things that must be right before anything leaves the office.
New inspectors
A clear "what good looks like" playbook — structured capture from day one without reinventing the workflow.
Most site friction comes from
unclear scope and messy location naming
Fix it before the visit. Doors and locations structured, access confirmed, and floorplans loaded — so every inspector arrives knowing what "done" means.
Four things to confirm before the visit
Confirm scope
Which buildings, floors, and areas are included — and who will be on site. Define what "done" means so there's no ambiguity at the end of the day.
Door identity
Stable IDs and a consistent location hierarchy — decided before capture starts. Whether using existing IDs, new ones, or QR tags, the scheme must be agreed and shared.
Access notes
Keys, escort requirements, safe access rules, and any restricted areas listed in advance. Blocked access mid-visit creates incomplete records and gaps that need follow-up.
Floorplans
If used for pinning or navigation, upload and verify they're readable on mobile before the visit — not while standing in the corridor looking for the stairwell.
Site kit · day plan
What to confirm before anyone arrives
Power
Charged devices and a spare battery pack — tablet batteries drain fast on large visits.
Access
Keys, permits, and escort contacts confirmed — plus restricted areas listed before the visit.
Door list
What "done" means — e.g. 100% of doors in scope captured, not just the ones that were easy to find.
Connectivity plan
Where you will sync — office Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot, or end-of-day. Decide before capture starts.
Fast capture is
repeatable capture
A few simple rules keep the record clean and eliminate the "I'll fix it in the office" problem. Complete each door before moving on — memory degrades fast across a large estate.
Three rules for fast repeatable capture
One door at a time
Complete identity + outcome + photos before moving to the next door. Don't plan to "fill in notes later" — the details that seem obvious on site become ambiguous within hours.
Use quick / standard reasons
Select from a shared fail-reason list rather than typing free text. Standardised wording reduces rework — "Closer inoperative" is searchable and filterable, "closer is broken lol" is not.
Keep notes short
Facts that justify the outcome and recommended action. One sentence per finding is enough when severity is in a field and photos are attached. Avoid vague prose that needs interpreting later.
Speed tips
Walk a floor completely before moving to the next — backtracking wastes time and increases missed-door risk.
QR scan instead of typing — on tagged estates, scanning opens the correct door record in seconds.
Photos before notes — while the defect is visible, capture the photo. Notes can be typed while walking to the next door.
Spot-check per floor — before leaving an area, confirm no doors were skipped and no obvious duplicates exist.
Patchy connectivity is normal —
make a simple rule for when drafts become live
Fire Door App is offline-friendly. Keep working when signal drops, sync when stable, confirm what's queued before marking the visit complete, and issue outputs only when everything has synced.
Four-step offline flow
Step 01
Capture in draft
Keep working even if signal drops. Findings, photos, and notes are saved locally as drafts — nothing is lost if connectivity fails mid-inspection.
Works without signalStep 02
Sync when stable
Office Wi-Fi or a strong mobile signal. Don't sync on a weak connection mid-visit — partial syncs can create inconsistent records.
Office Wi-Fi · end of dayStep 03
Confirm sync
Check what's still queued offline before marking the visit complete. A door marked complete but not synced is a missing record at export time.
Check queue before marking doneStep 04
Issue outputs when online
Generate PDFs and exports once everything has synced. Outputs generated from partial records are missing evidence and may need to be reissued.
All synced → then exportShared tablets: "offline" is per device and browser profile. If a tablet is handed over between inspectors, clear the offline cache and sign out before the next person starts.
Common mistakes
Four things that cause problems during or after site
Marking complete before capturing
Marking work "done" before outcomes and photos are recorded — creates gaps that need rework when the report is generated.
Inconsistent location naming
Using different labels between inspectors — "Floor 2" vs "2nd floor" vs "Fl.02" — breaks repeat-visit comparisons and filters.
Photos filed, not attached
Saving photos to shared folders instead of attaching to the door record — makes evidence impossible to attribute at audit without manual detective work.
Assuming shared drafts between devices
A different device will not have the same offline drafts. Per-device, per-profile — handover without clearing cache leaves orphaned drafts.
These checks prevent the
rebuild-the-report problem
Four things to verify before marking the inspection complete — and four failure modes to watch for before reports leave the office. Catch them here, not in a client dispute later.
Before you mark complete
Four QA checks — every inspection
Door IDs present
No unknown or duplicate identifiers. Every door has a stable, unique ID — not "Door 1" and "Door 1 (copy)".
Outcomes consistent
Severity and pass/fail rules applied consistently across inspectors — same scale, same wording, no "urgent" buried in notes.
Photos attached
Evidence pack complete per failed door — overview and at least one close-up attached to the door record, not filed separately.
Locations readable
"Floor 02" not "2nd floor" — someone else can find the door without help. Consistent with how locations appear elsewhere in the register.
End of day
Handover checklist — recommended
Sync status
Confirm drafts are synced — or list what remains offline and why, so the next person knows the state before continuing.
Exceptions list
Doors you couldn't access — with reasons and follow-up needs. A missing door without a reason is a gap in the record.
QA owner
One person responsible for "ready to export" — so nobody assumes the QA pass was done by someone else.
Next visit needs
Access, permits, or open-up items needed for follow-up — noted now before the site context is lost.
Missing identity
Photos without a door ID
Photos captured without being attached to a door record — makes evidence impossible to attribute. "Which door is this?" becomes unanswerable at audit.
Inconsistent outcomes
Pass on-site, fail in the report
Outcome recorded as Pass on site but written as Fail in the summary because the notes were unclear. Inconsistent severity and fail-reason wording between inspectors compounds this.
Partial packs
One or two photos, not the agreed set
One photo captured for a failed door when policy requires overview plus close-up. Partial packs mean reports can't be compared across visits and auditors have to request more evidence.
Renamed locations
Changing floor names mid-project
Changing floor or area names after capture starts breaks repeat-visit comparisons. "Floor 2", "2nd floor", and "Fl.02" are three different locations in filters and reports.
Quick answers on
offline workflows, consistency, and compliance
Four questions that come up when teams roll out this playbook. Deeper guidance is in the related guides.
Offline & connectivity
Yes. Fire Door App is designed for offline-friendly site workflows — inspectors can keep capturing findings in draft mode even when signal drops, then sync when they're back on a stable connection.
It installs to the home screen as a PWA so teams can open it quickly on site and receive updates directly. Make a simple team rule for what must be synced before any visit is marked complete or any output is generated.
Plan to work entirely in draft mode. Capture consistent photos and notes at each door, and build a simple rule for "what must be synced before the visit is marked complete" — usually end-of-day at the office or on a strong mobile connection.
The key risk is assuming that "done on site" means "synced to the live record". It doesn't until sync is confirmed. Keep the draft queue visible and check it before issuing any outputs.
Consistency & compliance
Two things together: lock door IDs and location naming before capture starts, then standardise the evidence pack — consistent outcomes, a shared fail-reason list, and a clear photo set per door.
Consistency is a structure problem, not a training problem. When the ID scheme, location hierarchy, and checklist are agreed centrally and shared with every inspector before day one, individual variation drops significantly without additional instruction.
No. Fire Door App supports workflows and evidence retention — it helps teams capture consistent, auditable records and generate outputs without retyping.
Compliance and competent-person decisions remain your responsibility. This playbook is a practical workflow guide, not a substitute for applicable standards, building owner requirements, or professional guidance on fire door inspection and assessment.
Quick facts
On-site playbook at a glance
Offline
Capture in drafts, sync on stable connection, confirm queue before marking done
Per device
Offline drafts are per device/profile — shared tablets must clear cache on handover
QA rule
IDs present, outcomes consistent, photos attached, locations readable — before export
Consistency root
Lock IDs + location hierarchy before day one, then share the checklist with every inspector
End of day
Sync status, exceptions list, QA owner, and next visit needs noted before leaving
Compliance
Workflow tool — not a compliance guarantee. Standards and competent-person decisions are your responsibility
Get started
Make the next site visit boring
Capture one building with consistent IDs, photos, and QA — then issue a clean output pack without rewrites.
Make the next site visit boring.
Consistent capture, then clean outputs.
Run one building with structured prep, tablet discipline, and QA — then issue reports without rewrites or loose evidence.