Life-safety equipment inspection and evidence log
Problem
Fire extinguishers, emergency lighting and fire exit routes are checked on a schedule set by the venue's safety certificate, but the record of that work is a paper tick sheet pinned in a plant room, or a spreadsheet tab that gets updated when someone remembers. Different staff check different areas depending on the rota, and each writes on whatever sheet is nearest. When a local authority officer, an insurer or an auditor asks for evidence that a specific extinguisher was checked within the required period, the answer depends on finding the right week's paper in a folder that may or may not still exist. An item skipped because the checker ran out of time before doors opened does not appear as skipped. It simply does not appear.
Product idea
A mobile tool built around the asset, not the form. Each extinguisher, emergency light and fire door gets a QR tag; scanning it opens that item's record, shows when it is next due, and lets the inspector mark pass, fail or note with an optional photo. A failed item raises a flag to the facilities manager immediately rather than waiting for someone to read the sheet. An overdue view lists every asset past its check window, by area, so a walk-round can be planned instead of guessed at. Any asset's full check history exports as a report for an auditor, insurer or local authority officer to review. It does not replace the work-order system: a failed extinguisher becomes a job there, not a repair carried out inside this tool.
Who it is for
Facilities managers, estates coordinators and maintenance supervisors doing the checks, with the venue operations director as the sponsor who has to answer for the safety certificate when an inspector or insurer asks.
Possible first version
A mobile web app with a manually imported asset register (a CSV of extinguishers, emergency lights and fire doors, each assigned a QR code to print and stick on), scan-to-check with pass, fail or note and an optional photo, an overdue dashboard by area, and PDF or CSV export of any asset's check history. Failed items appear on a simple list for the facilities manager rather than being pushed anywhere else. Out of scope for version one: printing or supplying the physical tags, integration with the work-order or building management system, and any automatic escalation beyond an in-app list.
- Build classification
- Workflow application
- Rough effort
- 3-5 week first release
- Roles involved
- Facilities manager, Estates coordinator, Maintenance supervisor, Venue operations director
- Relevant to
- Venue & stadium operator, Professional club, Collegiate athletics, Federation / governing body
- Systems in play
- Paper inspection forms, Maintenance and work-order systems, Building management systems
- Product framing
- Verify or inspect
Questions we get asked
We don't have QR tags on our equipment yet. What do we need before this is any use?
A spreadsheet listing each asset, its type and its location, and a way to print and stick a QR tag or barcode on each one. Neither is supplied by version one; both are ordinary sticker stock and a CSV export from whatever register you already keep. The tool is only as good as that initial list, so the honest first step is an afternoon walking the venue with a clipboard to confirm what actually exists and where, which is often out of date even in venues that think their asset list is current.
We already have a work-order system for maintenance. Does this replace it?
No. This handles the scheduled check and the evidence that it happened; the work-order system handles fixing what the check finds wrong. Version one does not write into it automatically, a failed item shows up on an in-app list and someone raises the job manually. That is a genuine gap worth closing later, but wiring two systems together before either is proven is how a first version turns into a three-month build.
What happens if an inspector fails an item halfway through a round, mid-event, with doors about to open?
The check still records as failed with a timestamp and whatever note the inspector has time to add; it does not block them from moving to the next item. The decision about whether a failed item stops doors opening is an operational judgement for the safety officer, not something the tool makes for them. Its job is to make sure the failure is on record immediately rather than remembered and written up afterwards, when detail gets lost.
Who ends up keeping the asset list current when equipment is added, moved or taken out of service?
Usually whoever owns the facilities budget, because they are the one who orders new extinguishers and signs off decommissioning. That is an ongoing task, not a one-off setup: a QR code pointing at a record for equipment removed six months ago is worse than no record, because it looks current when it is not. If nobody is assigned to keep the register honest, it will drift within a season.
Is this your workflow?
Tell us one sports workflow that still runs on paper, spreadsheets, WhatsApp or an outdated system. We will map it and show you what a simpler product looks like.
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