How to Run a Pre-Shift Safety Check in 10 Minutes
Fire exits clear. Radios charged. First aid kit stocked. A ten-minute checklist your duty manager can run before every shift, with a record the licensing authority will accept.
The pre-shift safety check is the cheapest insurance your venue has. It takes 10 minutes. It prevents the three most common licensing findings: blocked exits, missing first aid stock, and staff who have not read the day's brief.
Run it every shift. Sign it off. The record is its own defence.
The 10-minute routine
Minute 1-2: Fire exits
Walk every fire exit. Open it briefly. Confirm:
- It is unlocked and unobstructed
- The emergency lighting above it is working (test button)
- Nothing is stacked against it (no empty crates, no delivery boxes)
- Signage is visible and lit
One walk, five doors, two minutes. Note anything found in the log.
Minute 3: Emergency equipment
- Fire extinguishers in place, tamper seal intact, pressure gauge in the green
- Fire blanket in the kitchen accessible
- First aid kit stocked (check the inventory card)
- Defibrillator if you have one: indicator shows ready
A missing extinguisher or a depleted first aid kit is a licensing finding. One photograph of each location on a good day tells you what "normal" looks like.
Minute 4: Comms
- Radios charged and working (channel check between door and bar)
- Phone for emergency calls accessible (not in a locked office)
- Panic alarm test (if fitted)
- Door supervisor sign-in sheet current
Staff cannot respond to an incident they cannot communicate about. A radio check is 30 seconds.
Minute 5-6: Front of house
Walk the public areas as a customer would:
- Lighting working at normal levels
- No spilled liquids or broken glass on the floor
- Tables and chairs in intended layout (not blocking walkways)
- Bar access unobstructed
- Signage for age verification, search policy, CCTV, and licensing visible
Anything off pattern gets fixed or logged.
Minute 7-8: Back of house
- Staff area tidy; no stored deliveries blocking exits
- Cellar access clear
- Any power, gas, or water concerns flagged (smell of gas, wet floor near fuse board)
- Security doors locked where required
Minute 9: Staff brief
Three-minute stand-up with the shift:
- Who is on which position
- Any known issues from previous shift (noted in handover log)
- Expected busy times (door open, a specific act, promoter group arriving)
- Any specific risks (one-off event, large private booking, elevated local threat level)
Minute 10: Sign it off
One staff member signs the pre-shift log. Date, time, initials, anything found.
That is the document that survives. "Pre-shift walk complete, all items OK, no findings" is the default. "Fire extinguisher in cellar missing, reported to facilities at 17:42" is when the log earns its keep.
What the sign-off actually protects you from
- Licensing review: "Show me your pre-shift safety procedure." You produce the last 30 days of signed checks.
- Insurance claim: A customer slips. You show the log confirming the floor was checked clear 45 minutes before.
- Council environmental health visit: "Is your fire equipment maintained?" The log shows monthly visual checks and the formal service contract.
- Staff turnover: A new duty manager inherits the routine without needing three months of shadowing.
Common mistakes
- Batching the check. Fire exits checked at 17:00, equipment at 18:00, brief at 18:45. This is not a pre-shift check, it is three separate tasks. Do them in sequence.
- Same sign-off every day. If your log reads "all clear" for 300 consecutive shifts, nobody believes it. A real log has occasional findings.
- No handover. The closing duty manager notes anything the opening manager needs to know. Without a handover, findings disappear.
- Paper in a drawer. A pre-shift log in a binder nobody ever audits is a fiction. The board wants to see it, and wants to see it signed.
The digital version
A phone-based pre-shift check takes the same 10 minutes but solves the record-keeping. Each item is a tap. Photos attach to findings. Handover notes go to the next duty manager automatically. The log exports as a PDF for any licensing authority that asks.
Holocron ships with a pre-shift checklist built for UK venues. Every item is signed off by a named staff member. Findings become incident log entries automatically. The whole 90-day log exports in one click.