[ Inspections ]
A real record of the last time someone actually checked
Plant & Equipment tracks that a crane's registration and inspection are still current, but it doesn't record that someone actually walked up and checked it. A SWMS documents the general method for a task, and a Permit authorises one specific occurrence of high-risk work, but neither is built for a routine, recurring check with no single task or permit attached to it, like a scaffold inspection or a weekly site walk. Novato's Inspections module is that record: a checklist, walked item by item, closed out once every item has an answer.
How it works
Start an inspection
Pick a type, scaffold & access, plant & equipment, general site safety walk, or housekeeping, and optionally target a specific asset already in your Equipment register.
Draft the checklist, or write your own
Novato drafts a checklist specific to the inspection type and location, or write it item by item yourself, either way, it's reviewed and editable before you start walking.
Walk it item by item
Pass, Fail, or N/A on each one. A failed item takes a note, and "Create defect from this" raises a real, linked defect on the spot, or afterward, even once the inspection is closed.
Close it out once every item has an answer
Close-out is blocked until nothing's left unchecked, then signed off with a typed confirmation and an optional drawn signature, the same sign-off shape as Permits.
How this fits Australian WHS compliance
A closed inspection is a permanent, point-in-time record of what was actually checked, by whom, and what was found, never edited after the fact. A failed item's linked defect can still be created or followed up afterward (the fix belongs to the defect's own rectification workflow, not a retroactive edit to what the inspection recorded), so the record of the check and the record of the fix stay two honest, separate things.
Common questions
How is this different from Permits to Work?
A Permit authorises one specific occurrence of high-risk work, issued before it starts, closed once the area's safe. An Inspection isn't tied to a single task starting or stopping, it's a routine or recurring check (a scaffold, a crane, a weekly walk) with no work being authorised. Structurally similar (draft, walk, close, sign off) but answering a different question.
How is this different from the Plant & Equipment register?
The Equipment register tracks an asset's identity and whether its registration/inspection dates are still current, it doesn't record that anyone actually checked it. An Inspection is that check: item-by-item findings on a specific date, optionally against a specific asset pulled from that same register.
What happens to a failed item?
It takes a note, and you can raise a real defect from it with one click, prefilled from the item and the inspection's location. That's a deliberate per-item choice, not automatic on every fail, so the defects list doesn't fill up with duplicates from a single walk.
Can I still raise a defect after the inspection is already closed?
Yes, closing an inspection locks its actual findings (you can't change a Fail back to a Pass), but linking a defect to a failed item is never locked, so nothing you found gets forgotten just because you closed out before actioning every fail.
Does closing an inspection update once the defect is fixed?
No, the inspection stays exactly what was found on the day it was walked. The fix is tracked on the defect's own status instead (through to Rectified), with a permanent link from the inspection so anyone looking back can follow it through.
Which plan includes Inspections?
Every plan, including the free trial, it's not currently restricted by plan tier.