What this is
What is a first aid kit inspection?
What is a first aid kit inspection?
It is the periodic check that a first aid kit's contents are complete, sealed, in date and matched to the size and hazard classification of the area it serves, alongside a check that enough trained first aiders are available for the shift. It is a stock and provision check, not a review of the injuries the kit might be called on to treat.
Who should carry out the inspection?
Typically the designated first aider or the area owner, since the check is a physical count of contents rather than a technical assessment. What matters is that the person actually opens the kit and checks items individually, rather than confirming the seal is intact and stopping there.
What does restocking immediately mean in practice?
The template's own help text is explicit: a missing or expired item is replaced there and then, not logged as a follow-up action. A kit noted as short one item and left that way until the next round has, in effect, been operating incomplete for the length of that gap.
Scope
When is a first aid kit inspection required?
This inspection is scoped to the kit's contents and the site's first aid provision. It does not cover fixed emergency equipment or the competency of the people assigned to use the kit.
Use this template when
- A monthly check is due on a first aid kit at a site, department or vehicle
- An item has just been used and the kit needs restocking and re-checking before it is closed out
- A new kit has been installed and needs its first check against the correct size and type for its location
- Staffing on a shift has changed and first aider provision needs re-assessing against the required number
- A kit has previously failed and a follow-up is needed to confirm it was actually restocked
Do not use it for
- Eyewash and Shower Inspection, which covers fixed emergency equipment for chemical exposure rather than stocked supplies
- First aid training or certification record, which tracks whether an individual first aider's competency is current, not what the kit contains
- General Workplace Inspection, a broad walkthrough that will not reliably catch an expired item sealed inside a kit
- Incident or injury log, which records what happened to a person, not the state of the equipment that treated them
- AED maintenance beyond the kit's own defibrillator field, where a standalone device programme covers battery and pad servicing in full
Compliance mapping
Which OSHA 1910.151 requirements does this satisfy?
The duty to provide first aid is close to universal, but the specific kit contents are usually set by a referenced consensus standard rather than the regulation itself.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| OSHA 1910.151(b) | Trained person and adequate first aid supplies readily available absent a nearby infirmary, clinic or hospital | Provision check |
| ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 | Minimum kit contents defined by workplace hazard classification, referenced by OSHA as presumptively compliant | Kits |
| WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation, first aid | Number of trained first aid attendants required scaled to headcount and hazard rating | Provision check |
| WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation, first aid | First aid supplies kept complete, clean and readily accessible | Kits |
| OSHA 1910.151(b) | Supplies maintained in a usable condition, which excludes expired contents | Kits |
| ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 | Kit location identified and readily accessible to those it serves | Kits |
What it does not cover
- Eyewash and Shower Inspection, the separate check of fixed emergency flushing equipment rather than stocked supplies.
- First aid attendant certification record, which tracks whether an individual's training is current, a duty this template only counts against a headcount.
- AED maintenance programme, where the kit's defibrillator field checks pad and battery expiry, but a full device servicing record belongs in its own programme.
- Incident or injury log, which records what happened to a person, not the state of the equipment that treated them.
- General Workplace Inspection, a broad walkthrough that will not reliably catch an expired item sealed inside a kit.
Global
First Aid Kit Inspection requirements by country
The duty to provide first aid is near universal, but the contents standard and the attendant ratio it is checked against vary by jurisdiction.
OSHA 1910.151(b); ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 as the referenced contents standard
OSHA requires adequate supplies without listing contents; ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 is treated as presumptively adequate where followed.
A kit that meets Z308.1's classification for its workplace type is the practical benchmark an OSHA citation would be measured against.
WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, first aid provisions
Attendant numbers and kit level are scaled to workforce size and hazard rating, set out in provincial tables rather than left to employer judgement.
The Provision check's headcount question is not a courtesy in this jurisdiction; it maps directly to a table the regulator enforces.
Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981; BS 8599 as the contents benchmark
The regulations require adequate and appropriate provision; BS 8599 sets out the contents expected for different workplace risk levels.
A UK site following BS 8599 kit contents is applying a different standard from Z308.1, and the two should not be assumed interchangeable.
How to complete it
How to complete a first aid kit inspection, step by step
The template prompts a pass or fail on seal, contents and expiry. The judgement calls that decide whether the record means anything sit around those checks.
The only way to know contents are complete is to check them against the list, individually, on a cadence that does not simply trust the last person's seal. A programme that only checks the seal is checking whether the kit was opened, not whether it is usable.
The field for restocking exists because the expectation is immediate replacement. Recording a shortfall and leaving it for the next round means the kit has been operating short for the length of that gap, which is the exact failure the inspection exists to prevent.
A kit can be full and still wrong for its location, a general-purpose kit at a bench that regularly produces burns, for instance. Judging the kit against the work actually done nearby is a separate decision from judging whether it is stocked.
The required number of trained first aiders depends on who is actually on site at the time, not who is rostered generally. A pass recorded against a headcount from the wrong shift, or against roster strength rather than attendance, overstates the actual coverage.
What auditors find
Most common first aid kit inspection findings
Findings on this template rarely concern whether an inspection happened. They concern whether the kit was actually opened and counted, not just glanced at.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Contents recorded complete on the strength of an intact seal, without opening the kit. | OSHA 1910.151(b) | Require a physical item count against the kit's list regardless of seal condition. |
| Expired items retained inside a kit that otherwise passed. | ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 | Check expiry on every item at each inspection and remove anything past date immediately. |
| Kit size or type does not match the hazard classification of the area it serves. | ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 | Reclassify the location and reissue the correct kit type rather than upsizing the existing one informally. |
| Required number of trained first aiders not met for the shift, but Provision Adequate recorded as yes. | WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation | Score provision against actual attendance on shift, and escalate a genuine shortfall rather than closing the check. |
| Missing items noted for restocking but not actually replaced before the inspection was closed. | OSHA 1910.151(b) | Restock before sign-off; a note without replacement leaves the kit incomplete regardless of the record. |
| Defibrillator pads or battery expired, but not routed to a corrective action. | Site policy | Route any fail on the defibrillator field to the same CAPA path as a kit content failure. |
Case in point
Case in point: the kit that passed every month
A warehouse kit was inspected monthly and recorded a pass on every occasion for over a year. Each check confirmed the tamper seal was unbroken and moved on. Four months before an incident, a supervisor had opened the kit to treat a minor cut, used the last burns dressing in it, and resealed the box without logging the withdrawal.
When a worker later suffered a more serious burn, the kit had no burns dressing, and the substitute used delayed proper treatment. The investigation found the monthly check had never once opened the kit to count contents; the seal had become the entire inspection, and a withdrawal outside the formal process was invisible to it.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
4 sections
- Reference
- SAF-032
- Archetype
- Inspection
- Record ID
- INSP-2026-000
- Scoring
- Percent complete
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- OSHA 1910.151, WorkSafeBC 33
- Links
- Feeds CAPA
- Tags
- Inspection, Emergency
- Sections
- 4
- Fields
- 38
- Follow up fields
- 4
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 3
Header
6 fieldsInspection ID*
Auto sequence. Format INSP-2026-00000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Inspection Type*
Scheduled, unscheduled, follow up or post incident.
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Kits
Repeats12 fieldsKit*
Asset ID*
Format AST-0000.
Links to FDN-002 Asset ID
Location*
Kit Size Or Type*
Seal Intact*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Contents Complete*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Nothing Expired*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Signage Visible*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Access Unobstructed*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Kit Clean And Dry*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Items Restocked
Restock now rather than logging it for later.
Result*
- Pass3 pts
- Pass with conditions2 pts
- Fail0 pts
Provision check
5 fieldsFirst Aiders On Shift*
Required Number*
Provision Adequate*
- Yes2 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Defibrillator Present*
Defibrillator Pads In Date
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Result
15 fieldsItems Assessed*
Excludes anything marked N/A.
Items Failed*
Score Percent*
Calculated on submission. High is good. N/A items leave the denominator.
Result Band*
- Pass3 pts
- Caution1 pt
- Fail0 pts
Completeness Percent*
How much of the template was actually answered. A high score on a half completed form is not a high score.
Findings Raised
Highest Severity Found
- Observation3 pts
- Minor2 pts
- Major0 pts
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Next Inspection Due
Notes
Inspected By*
Signature*
SAF-032 · record IDs look like INSP-2026-000 · Feeds CAPA
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The kit is simple to check. What slips is the withdrawal nobody logged, the expiry nobody caught behind a seal, and the shift that ran short a trained attendant.
Holds the kit register against site locations, flags kits due their monthly check, and keeps the fail-to-CAPA link intact.
Tracks first aider certification currency against the headcount the Provision check is scoring, so an expired certificate is visible before the shift is short.
Watches restocking notes left without a corresponding item replacement and raises them before the inspection is closed rather than after.
This template lives in KnowSafe — safety and compliance. Incidents, hazards, permits, inspections and the critical controls behind them.
Meet KnowSafe→Glossary
First Aid Kit Inspection definitions and key terms
- ANSI/ISEA Z308.1
- The US consensus standard defining minimum first aid kit contents by workplace hazard classification, referenced by OSHA as a presumptively compliant benchmark.
- First aid attendant
- A worker trained and designated to provide first aid, counted against a required minimum that scales with headcount and hazard rating.
- Seal check
- Confirmation that a kit's tamper indicator is unbroken since the last inspection, which shows the kit was not opened, not that it is complete.
- Hazard classification
- The rating assigned to a workplace based on injury risk, which determines the kit type and contents list that should be stocked there.
- Provision adequacy
- Whether the number of trained first aiders actually present matches the minimum required for the shift, distinct from whether the kit itself is stocked.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about first aid kit inspection
How often should a first aid kit be inspected?+
Monthly as a routine cadence, and immediately after any item is used, since a kit that has just been drawn on should not wait for its scheduled round to be restocked and re-checked.
Does checking the seal count as a full inspection?+
No. A seal only confirms the kit has not been opened since the last check; it says nothing about whether that check actually verified every item. Contents and expiry need a physical count on a cadence of their own.
Who counts as a qualified first aider for provision purposes?+
Someone holding a current first aid certification recognised by the applicable jurisdiction, counted against the minimum number required for the site's headcount and hazard rating on that shift, not the roster generally.
Is an AED required alongside every first aid kit?+
Not universally; requirement depends on workplace type and local regulation. Where one is stationed, its pad and battery expiry should be checked on the same cadence as the kit itself, since a fault there is exactly as urgent.
What is the actual contents standard behind OSHA 1910.151?+
OSHA's own text does not list contents; it references ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 as a benchmark that satisfies the adequacy requirement where followed, and most US employers stock against that standard's classification tables.
What should happen when provision is found inadequate?+
The shortfall should be escalated as a staffing gap rather than closed as an observation on the inspection record, because the inspection itself has no mechanism to add a trained attendant to the shift.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Workplace Inspection
Audit Finding Record
Records a single audit finding with its evidence, clause reference and classification
Finding
Records a single deficiency picked up during an audit, inspection or check
General Workplace Inspection
A broad walk through of an area covering the common hazards
Housekeeping Inspection
Checks that walkways, work areas and storage are clear, clean and in order
PPE Compliance Inspection
Checks that the right protective equipment is available, in good condition and being worn
Electrical Safety Inspection
Checks panels, cords, outlets and portable equipment for damage and safe access
More in Safety Inspections
General Workplace Inspection
A broad walk through of an area covering the common hazards
Housekeeping Inspection
Checks that walkways, work areas and storage are clear, clean and in order
PPE Compliance Inspection
Checks that the right protective equipment is available, in good condition and being worn
Electrical Safety Inspection
Checks panels, cords, outlets and portable equipment for damage and safe access
Ladder Inspection
Checks each ladder for damage, missing feet, loose rungs and correct labelling
Fall Arrest Equipment Inspection
Checks harnesses, lanyards and connectors for wear, damage and expiry
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- OSHA 1910.151 — Medical services and first aid
- ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 — Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits and Supplies
- WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation — first aid
- Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 (GB); BS 8599 contents standard
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.