Published 9 May 2024
Article byJairus Andales
|4 min read
What is a Take 5 Safety Checklist?
A take 5 safety checklist is a tool used to identify health and safety hazards before starting work on a site. Performing health and safety checks using the take 5 procedure (Stop, Look, Assess, Control, and Monitor) helps workers and contractors mitigate exposure to hazards and health risks. The 5-minute safety inspection should take place to prevent any accidents, injuries, or near misses.
How to Complete a Take 5 for Safety Check
Conducting a take 5 safety check is a straightforward approach to help workers, contractors, and safety professionals ensure that the job to be done is safe to implement by proactively identifying the risks involved and their likelihood to happen.
Here are the 5 steps involved in the take 5 safety procedure, and some real-life examples of how each step can be undertaken.
1. Stop and think about the potential dangers associated with the job.
Some questions that you can ask yourself during the inspection or a take 5 safety check are the following:
- Do I clearly understand what is required?
- Am I trained to do the work and familiar with the equipment/task?
- Are the tools and equipment in a safe condition?
- Do I have approved documentation for the task?
- Have I informed others who may be affected by my work?
- Do I have the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the task (identified in the risk assessment/method statement)?
Sample Report for the Stop section
2. Look and identify any hazards.
Follow these steps when filling out this part of your take 5 safety checklist or template:
- List the type of hazard you’ve identified.
- Create corrective or preventive actions.
- Take or attach photo evidence of the identified hazard.
- Describe the hazard.
Sample Report for the Look section
3. Assess the risk; consider any possible threats of damage or injury.
Now that you’ve identified the hazards, you must also assess the risks involved in such hazards. For this section of the template, you can do the following:
- Set an action priority based on the hazard’s risk level (Extreme Risk, High Risk, Medium, or Low Risk).
- Add notes for further instructions or actions.
- Identify the hazard’s likelihood level (Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, or Almost Certain).
Sample Report for the Assess section
4. Control hazards by implementing suitable control measures to reduce risk.
In this section, describe the most appropriate or recommended control measures that you or the respective team members/personnel should take. The description must be specific and assigned accordingly.
Sample Report for the Control section
5. Monitor hazards to successfully mitigate the likelihood of injuries or damages.
Hazard identification is only the first step toward ensuring and improving safety on the job site. Hence, the continuous implementation of control measures and monitoring actions are a must. This section must be used to specify or summarize what kind of next steps should be taken.
Sample Report for the Monitor section
What to Include in a Take 5 Safety Checklist
Take 5 Safety Checklist Sample Report | SafetyCulture
To guide you better in creating and using a take 5 safety checklist, here are the basic details and sections you must include:
- Title Page – briefly discusses the task, location, and date of the conducted take 5 safety check
- Stop Section – guide questions that tackle the potential dangers or hazards you may encounter during the task
- Look Section – where hazards on the job site are identified.
- Assess Section – where the hazards’ risk levels are analyzed and set
- Control Section – recommended control measures to address risks and hazards
- Monitor Section – established protocols for monitoring if control measures are implemented and effective
- Completion – section for the worker and supervisor to sign off the take 5 safety check
FAQs About Take 5 Safety
Take 5 in safety, especially in the context of workplace, is the process of pausing a task and taking a five-minute assessment to identify potential hazards and risks that come along with it. Take 5 also typically involves five steps which are stop, look, assess, control, and proceed.
Workers and contractors are typically the ones who conduct take 5 safety checks. Doing this helps them ensure that they can mitigate the risks that may be involved in their work. Apart from that, this safety measure is also crucial to identifying health and safety hazards and proactively addressing them.
Conduct a take 5 safety check either before starting any task or while doing it, though the former approach is more encouraged and effective. Using a checklist in this process is essential to help you cover everything you need and avoid overlooking things that can put your health and safety at risk while working.
Every time a new task or job is about to start, a take 5 safety check should be done. Another instance when this is applicable is when there are changes in the job conditions specific to an operational area (which must be defined by the site or project manager).
Improving Workplace Safety Beyond Take 5 with an Inspection App
Conducting and promoting take 5 safety measures presents various benefits to organizations and their employees toward safe and quality implementation of their work. Hence, using different ways and tools in improving your operations is a must for maximum efficiency.
Streamline your take 5 safety checks using SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) mobile and web inspection app. Eliminate paperwork and automate workflows for easier data collection and documentation.
SafetyCulture is the world’s #1 mobile inspection app that helps workers and project managers proactively manage safety and quality in the workplace with the use of mobile devices or tablets. Use SafetyCulture for your take 5 safety checks and be able to:
- Complete Take 5 Safety checks using checklists, templates, and forms. Don’t miss recurring inspections by using the Scheduling feature.
- Take or attach photos and add annotations to provide evidence or documentation while doing an inspection.
- Spot and record issues during inspections and safety checks. You can also create and assign actions so that respective team members or personnel can address them.
- Generate inspection reports after completing inspection checklists or templates and securely save all reports online. Depending on your needs, you can export reports into various formats, such as PDF, CSV, Excel, and Word.
- Track your organization’s inspection frequency and historical performance using the Analytics dashboard for continuous improvement.
Try SafetyCulture for free!
Free Take 5 Safety Templates
Inspection template
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Take 5 Pre-Start Safety Checklist
This digital Take 5 pre-start safety checklist is designed to help workers and contractors minimize health and safety risks and hazards. It should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete. Stop and answer the questions in the template before proceeding with your work. The checklist asks the user to confirm they have received training, are aware of safety processes, and have actively identified hazards and risks. Complete the Take 5 by providing a digital signature.
Inspection template
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Take 5 Group Safety Checklist
Use this Take 5 Group Safety Checklist when performing Take 5 pre-starts with a group of attendees. Ask the group all safety, process, and hazard identification questions before starting work. Confirm Yes/No for all responses, and document all reasons for any “No” responses. Have everyone provide their digital signature at the end of the Take 5, including the supervisor in charge. Automatically sync your completed reports in the cloud and access documents online using the SafetyCulture web or mobile app.
Inspection template
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Take 5 Risk Assessment
This Take 5 Risk Assessment should be completed before commencing a task. STOP for 5 minutes to think about the task and answer the questions. Identify if hazards have been adequately controlled. Use the SafetyCulture app to take photo evidence of any identified hazards.
Inspection template
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Take 5 Construction Checklist
This Take 5 Construction Safety template can be used to take note and raise awareness for construction workers of hazards and assess risks on the construction site. Focus on the critical risk activities, document Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) references used, and assess risks identified. Generate digital PDF reports on your mobile using the SafetyCulture app and securely save all your reports in the cloud.
Inspection template
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Toolbox Talk Template
Download Free Template
A toolbox talk is an effective pre-start exercise to have your workers gather to identify high-risk tasks and hazards before each shift. Use this general toolbox talk template to record all concerns discussed and raised by the team. Record all attendees and have them provide their digital signature on the SafetyCulture app. Save all your reports securely in the cloud.
Article by
Jairus Andales
Jai Andales is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture since 2018. As a content specialist, she creates well-researched articles about health and safety topics. She is also passionate about empowering businesses to utilize technology in building a culture of safety and quality.
