Pre-task plans and Take 5 checks

A two-minute check on a phone before a task: the hazards, the controls and the PPE. Everyone doing it signs on, and a supervisor checks it.

2 min readLast updated 24 October 2026

Applies to: Planning · Administrator, Safety officer (HSEQ), Project or site manager, Gate user, Project team

On this page

Builders and businesses call it a Pre-task plan; everyone else a Take 5 check. Anyone on your team can start one for a site they can see.

How to do one

Step 1: Open Planning → Pre-task plans (or Take 5 checks) and choose Start a pre-task plan (or Start a Take 5 check). Choose the site.
Step 2: Say The task and Where exactly.
Step 3: Tick the hazards From the hazard register (with Site Safety Records on) and type any others under Anything else (one per line).
Step 4: Say How they're controlled, tick the PPE, and choose The SWMS it's done under or Permit to work if there is one. With Chemicals on, tick the Chemicals used and read their safety data sheets.
Step 5: Type your full name under Sign on as the lead and choose Next.
Step 6: Pass the phone round: each person types their name under Next person: sign on here and chooses Sign on.

With AI assist on, Suggest hazards and controls (AI assist) suggests them from the task for you to check. See AI assist.

An company admin (builders and businesses: also the site's manager or a safety officer) opens it from Needs you or the list (Waiting for a check), adds a Note (optional) and chooses Mark as checked.
Found something that needs fixing? Raise a hazard or Raise a corrective action from the plan (with Site Safety Records on).

Each one is numbered PTP-YYYY-NNN and belongs to its site's day. It shows in the day's diary or log.
The list shows a day's plans for each site (filter by day, site and status), or everything since a date.
Subcontractors' workers can start one on their worker pass, for their own company only. See Pre-task plans on your worker pass.

Sign-on is for the day of the task only. Start a new one for a new day.
Without signal it's kept on your phone and sent when you're back. Up to 72 hours later it keeps the time you did it; after that it's recorded when it arrives and flagged as recorded later.