A demolition safety checklist is the record that the things which kill people on demolition jobs were dealt with before the work started and are still dealt with today: a structure nobody surveyed, asbestos nobody removed, a gas main nobody cut off, a wall left standing on its own overnight, a member of the public inside the drop zone. This one follows the order a demolition supervisor actually walks the job — the plan, hazardous materials, services, the exclusion zone, the structure itself, the neighbors, then the work at the face, the plant, fire and waste — and it ends with a plain decision: carry on, or stop. You can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Pre-start check and daily check
Use the same form twice. The pre-start check happens once, before the first machine touches the structure, and confirms the groundwork: the survey, the written plan, the hazardous materials clearance, the service disconnections and the exclusion zone. The daily check repeats the same walk every shift, because a demolition site changes by the hour — yesterday's safe wall is today's free-standing one, and yesterday's clear floor is carrying fifty tons of rubble.
Do a fresh check whenever the sequence changes, after high winds or heavy rain, and after anything unexpected — a crack that was not there, a pipe that was not on the drawings, a material that looks wrong.
Hazardous materials come out first
Before any structure is demolished it needs a survey for asbestos and other hazardous materials that is allowed to be destructive — lifting floors, opening ducts, breaking into voids — because that is where the materials hide. A survey done while the building was occupied is rarely enough.
Everything the survey finds is removed by people trained or licensed to do it, and each area gets written clearance before demolition crews go back in. The checklist asks for that clearance, not just the removal. And if something suspect turns up mid-job that the survey missed, the right answer is to stop work in that area until it is sampled. The form scores that as a pass and still lists it, so it is never lost.
Services: off at the supply, in writing
A switched-off breaker or a closed valve inside the building is not a disconnection. Gas and electricity need to be cut at the supply side and confirmed by the utility or a competent person, with a reference you can write down. Water is usually capped but sometimes kept for dust suppression; drains are capped or protected so debris and slurry do not get in.
The form asks for each service separately, plus the ones people forget: telecoms and data, district heating, fuel lines, process pipework, and buried services near the work that stay live.
Exclusion zones, the public and the neighbors
The exclusion zone is the ground anything could fall onto or be thrown across, and the plan sets its size. The check is whether it is marked, kept clear, and entered only by people the supervisor has allowed in. Beyond it sits the public: hoarding, closed gates, signs, and a safe signed route where a footpath is closed.
Where a neighboring building shares a wall or stands close, the questions switch on: its condition recorded before work, support for any wall that loses its partner, monitoring where the plan calls for it, and weather protection for newly exposed faces. In England and Wales the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply; elsewhere local rules do.
Where this fits with the rules
In the US, demolition work falls under OSHA 1926 Subpart T, which among other things expects an engineering survey before work starts. In the UK, demolition is construction work under CDM 2015, and BS 6187 is the code of practice most contractors work to. This checklist is organized around the same topics, written in plain language that works on either side of the Atlantic, but it records what was checked — it does not certify that a job meets any regulation. Your demolition plan and the law where you work come first.
Speak while you walk, and the document writes itself: say "gas confirmed cut off by the utility this morning, reference on the board" at the meter, take the photo, and the answer and the evidence land in the right place.
Common questions
What should a demolition safety checklist include?
At minimum: the structural survey and written demolition plan, hazardous materials survey and clearance, confirmation that every service is disconnected, the exclusion zone and public protection, stability of what is left standing, protection of neighboring structures, dust and noise control, protection from falling material, plant and operator competence, fire and emergency arrangements, and how waste is separated and removed.
Who should carry out the check?
The person in charge of the demolition on site, or a safety lead or competent person working with them. The pre-start check is often done jointly with the principal or general contractor. Daily checks are normally the demolition supervisor's.
Is an asbestos survey required before demolition?
In most countries, yes — a survey that is allowed to be destructive, and removal of what it finds before demolition starts. The exact survey type and who may do the removal depends on where you are. This checklist records that the survey was done and that each area has written clearance; it does not replace the survey.
How big should the exclusion zone be?
Whatever the demolition plan says for that structure and method. A common starting point is at least the height of the part being brought down, increased for mechanical demolition and anything that could be thrown, but the engineer and the plan set the figure — this form checks it is marked, kept clear and controlled.
What happens to failed checks?
Each one becomes a finding in the report's summary, with the safety-critical ones listed first. In the ReportWalk app, start a re-inspection from the walk and every failed check comes back as its own card asking whether it is fixed, with a note and a photo. Re-inspections are free.