Plan the routine around your site
Divide the branch into reception, public reading spaces, meeting rooms, accessible routes and shared facilities. Assign premises tasks according to staff roles rather than treating every service or collection activity as an opening check. Review the previous closing handover before public access, including unfinished maintenance and any temporary area arrangement. A good finding identifies the floor and location clearly enough for another branch team to locate it. Keep borrower details and lending records in their designated systems. If a task cannot be completed, explain why and identify the facilities lead who will review it before the next public opening.
Agree the assigned role, due window, expected record and escalation route with the people who do and review the work. Include an honest outcome for work that could not be completed, with a reason and a next action.
What to include in the checklist
These are planning examples. Adapt the questions and timing to your approved procedures and the person’s responsibilities.
| Routine | Work to define | Useful record |
|---|---|---|
| Branch handover | Review unresolved public-area actions. | Floor, location and owner. |
| Reception opening | Complete assigned service-area preparation. | Area and actual outcome. |
| Public routes | Follow the approved accessible-route round. | Aisle or room and response. |
| Meeting rooms | Record assigned room-readiness tasks. | Room and exception. |
| Facilities finding | Report visible premises defects within staff scope. | Location and escalation. |
| Closing continuity | Carry unresolved work to the next branch team. | Owner and review time. |
A branch finding needs more than a shelf description
Use floor, room or aisle references that remain understandable when displays move. Keep borrower and lending information out of shared premises reports.
Give the next shift enough context
A loose accessible fitting is noticed in reading area LB-02. Staff record the floor and exact location, then follow the branch’s premises response procedure. The branch lead identifies the temporary arrangement and facilities action owner. The next shift sees the current finding without any borrower information.
Identify the area or asset, the observation, the actual result, the immediate action and who was informed. Attach useful evidence where safe and permitted. A photograph supports a finding without establishing its cause.
- Keep the original observation and time.
- Assign a specific next action and agree when it will be reviewed.
- Record the later outcome and authorised verification beside the finding.
Read the guide to writing a useful fault report for a closer look at the evidence record.
Review the work still needing attention
Review repeated public-route findings and rooms that frequently open with unfinished preparation. Check whether facilities reports use consistent branch and floor references. Separate a missing round from a completed round with an exception so a completion summary does not conceal a room that still needs attention.
Review completion and outstanding actions together. A missing routine and a completed routine with a failure need different follow-up. The weekly manager review guide explains how to move from the summary to the source record.
For the wider workflow, explore opening & closing examples and planning and cleaning & readiness examples and planning.
Try the routine in CheckControl
Start with an existing routine, add its questions and instructions, and agree the assignment and due window. Staff can record answers and findings on their phones; managers can review the record and follow-up. Use the relevant PDF or Excel export for your authorised review. The public demo uses fictional people, findings and evidence.
Common questions
How can a multi-branch library keep findings clear?
Use a branch reference plus floor, room or aisle, and record the next responsible facilities role so another team can locate and follow up the issue.
What is the scope of this guide?
Use the branch’s approved premises, accessibility, fire and facilities procedures. Borrower records and specialist collection handling retain their designated systems.
Sources and scope
CheckControl wrote these record-design and handover examples. Use your organisation’s approved specialist procedures and the relevant authoritative guidance: HSE: workplace facilities. Source checked 5 October 2026.
Use the branch’s approved premises, accessibility, fire and facilities procedures. Borrower records and specialist collection handling retain their designated systems.