Plumbing contractor staff training: a sign-off checklist

• Site hazard assessmentidentifies the hazards on arrival and states the controls, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires.
• Personal protective equipment: selects, inspects, and uses what the job requires.
• Knows the reporting route for an incident, a near miss, and an unsafe instruction, and which of these goes on the firm's OSHA injury and illness log.
• Hazard communicationfinds and reads the safety data sheet for every chemical on the truck, and handles it as the SDS says.
• Confined space and trenchingknows the entry permit, atmospheric testing, and attendant requirements where the firm does that work, and does not enter without them.
• Understands the specific controls for the hazards this firm actually encounters, as written into the firm's own safety program.
• Understands what work is not to be attempted without a supervisor present.
• Emergency responseknows what to do about a serious leak, a suspected gas smell, and an injury.
• Has completed the training the assigned tasks requirehazard communication, PPE, confined space, and fall protection where they apply.

Level 1: before any work

• Site hazard assessment and controls
• PPE selected, inspected, used
• Incident, near miss, unsafe instruction route
• Firm-specific hazard controls
• Work barred without supervisor present
• Emergency responseleak, gas, injury

• Loads and secures the vehicle within its rated payload.
• Knows where every item lives and restocks against the written list.
• Performs the daily vehicle and equipment check and reports faults.
• Operates and maintains each powered machine on the truckthe drain snake, the drain cleaning machine, the sewer camera, the hydro-jetter, the press tool and the other power tools — one line per machine.
• Handles and disposes of waste as the receiving facility requires.

• Arrivalconfirms the customer knows what is planned and how long the water will be off.
• Protectionlays floor and surface protection before carrying anything in.
• Photographs the entry condition, including the route through the property.
• Confirms the job matches the quote's assumptions, and stops if it does not.
• Explains findings in plain language without technical shorthand.
• Leaves a written summary covering what was found, done, not done, and what to watch.
• Leaves the area cleaner than it was found.

• Isolates a system correctly and confirms isolation before starting.
• Works from symptom to cause rather than replacing parts in sequence.
• States clearly what a given diagnostic method can and cannot establish.
• Records readings and observations in a form another technician could use.
• Knows when to stop and escalate rather than continuing to investigate.

• Drain cleaningclears a blocked kitchen, bath, or main line with the correct cable or jetting head, without damaging the pipe, and confirms flow.
• Drain snaking and cablingselects the cable and head for the line size and material, and knows when to stop and move up to jetting or a camera.
• Sewer camera inspectionsets up and runs the camera, records the footage, and reads it back to the customer without overstating what it shows.
• Water heaterdrains, removes, and replaces a tank or tankless unit to the manufacturer's instructions and the plumbing code, tests the relief valve and connections, and restores gas or power.
• Fixture worksets and connects a toilet, faucet, sink, disposal, and shower valve to the code and the manufacturer's instructions, and tests each for leaks under pressure.
• Water linesrepairs or replaces a section of copper, PEX, or CPVC, supports it, and pressure-tests the repair before closing the wall.
• Waste and ventcuts in and joins a drain or vent line with the correct fittings, slope, and support.
• Sump and ejector pumpsreplaces and tests the pump and float, and confirms the discharge.
• Backflow prevention assembly testing, where the firm does it and the person holds the state-issued backflow prevention assembly tester certification: tests the assembly, tags it, and files the report with the water authority.
• Gas piping where the firm does it and the person holds the qualification the state requires: leak-tests the line and documents the test.

• Explains the pricing model to a customer accurately.
• Applies the change order sequencestop, write it on the change order form, quote it, obtain written approval, resume.
• Knows what may be discounted, by whom, and what must be recorded.
• Completes an invoice that matches the quote or explains the variance, and files it with the job record: photos, readings, materials used, and any signed change order.
• Handles a complaint on site without conceding fault and without arguing.
• Knows what may be said about credentials, guarantees, and offers.

• Knows precisely what the person they supervise may and may not do.
• Gives feedback on specific work rather than on general performance.
• Signs off tasks honestly, including declining to.
• Escalates a competence concern rather than working around it.
• Treats everyone they direct consistently, applying the same standards and the same criteria, which is what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's small business resource center sets out for small employers.
• Understands the employer obligations that apply to the people they direct, using the Department of Labor's compliance assistance for new and small businesses as the reference for wage, hour, and recordkeeping questions.