Walk one small warehouse from permitted pedestrian routes. Write down empty-aisle lights, an open dock door seen from that route, unused cartons, mixed waste, and whether plant or vehicle spaces are closed. Do not approach vehicles, operate dock doors, inspect loads or open plant or electrical spaces.

Read the operations energy section without treating its warehouse cell as a measurement. Measure leftover carton dimensions on the right-sizing sheet. Log a warehouse meter period separately. Choose a prevention action after a longer waste record.

What one warehouse walk can finish

One walk is one site and one date. Zones are loading_bay, packing_bench, storage_aisle and waste_area. The checks are lights_empty_aisle, dock_door_open_while_heating, unused_oversized_cartons, waste_streams_mixed and plant_or_vehicle_closed. Unused cartons are an observation only. Necessary safety lighting, ventilation, refrigeration and access arrangements stay intact.

HSE warehousing guidance says pedestrians and vehicles should be separated. HSE transport-lighting guidance says workplace and pedestrian routes need suitable lighting that is kept in working order. This walk stays on those boundaries.

Fill in the zone sheet

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank walk and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. You type every cell.

Columns: site_name, walk_date, zone, check_id, observation, priority, action, person, action_date, row_status.

priority is fix_now, schedule, ask_specialist, no_action_needed or not_applicable. row_status is recorded when the observation and priority are filled and, for an actionable priority, the action, person and follow-up date are also filled. A recorded plan is not completed work.

fix_now is only an authorised ordinary control without tools or vehicles: switch off ordinary aisle lighting if that does not remove necessary safety or traffic lighting. An open dock door is observational only. Refer it to the person who controls the dock. Do not instruct anyone to close or operate the door. A normally closed plant space with no observed fault is no_action_needed. ask_specialist is used only when the observation states a specific question or concern.

Waste on a warehouse floor

England workplace recycling guidance lists warehouses among the workplaces that must separate dry recyclables, food waste and residual waste before collection. The dates are 31 March 2025, or 31 March 2027 for micro-firms under 10 full-time-equivalent employees. Those dates are England only. A mixed skip is an observation, not an Environment Agency finding.

Worked example: fictional Millbridge Dispatch

The example is fictional. Millbridge Dispatch is invented. It is not Millbridge Outfitters’ shop floor.

Check What was written Status
Empty-aisle lights Aisle 2 lights on. Safety and traffic lighting already separate. Fix now. Recorded plan. Necessary lighting left on.
Dock door Open while a heater runs, viewed from the pedestrian route. Ask the person who controls the dock; do not operate the door. Specialist referral. Not an instruction to close the door.
Unused cartons 600 mm cartons on the packing bench. Schedule a measurement on the right-sizing sheet. Observation only.
Mixed waste Cardboard and residual in one bay. Schedule. Recorded plan.
Plant and vehicles Charging-bay and electrical-room doors closed. No fault seen from the pedestrian route. No action needed.

Limits

This walk is not a vehicle licence, a racking inspection or an ESOS audit. Kilowatt-hours per unit shipped on the operations guide are not calculated here. A later owner and evidence row on the 90-day tracker may start from a specific observation. The walk is not that row’s baseline and not completed work.

Your next action

Measure leftover carton dimensions on the right-sizing sheet. Choose a prevention action after a longer waste record. Use the shop walks only if the site is a trading floor.

Sources