Door identity
Stable door IDs, location hierarchy, and tag identifiers (if used).
Resources
How to run a fire door audit trail (door-by-door)
A practical checklist for building an audit-ready trail that answers: what was inspected, what was found, what was fixed, and who signed it off.
Audit trail
Evidence pack
Sign-off
Audit trail
What regulators ask
Evidence per door History, photos, tasks, sign-off and exports tied to one door record.Audit trail checklist
Use this to spot gaps before the next audit.
Inspection evidence
Pass/fail outcomes, fail reasons, photos and notes attached to the door record.
Remedial proof
Tasks per door, before/after evidence, dates and status changes.
Exports
Branded PDFs and portal exports that trace back to the same record.
Approval + signatures
Manager approval gates (where needed) and signatures shown on PDFs when assigned.
A repeatable audit trail process
Think of an audit trail as connected records, not one “final report”. If any link breaks, the story stops being trustworthy.
Start with stable door IDs
Create one door record per physical door and keep the identifier stable across visits and projects.
Record inspection outcomes
Capture checklist results, consistent fail reasons, and notes that describe what was observed.
Attach evidence to the door
Keep photos and supporting notes on the door record, not in shared folders that get renamed later.
Convert findings into work
Raise remedials/installs against the same door record so tasks inherit the full context.
Close the loop with proof
When work is completed, attach before/after evidence and record who signed off.
Export from the source record
Generate PDFs and portal exports from the same underlying data so they trace back to history and evidence.
What “audit-ready” typically means
- You can open any door record and see the full history: inspections, photos, changes, tasks, and outputs.
- You can explain why a door passed/failed without relying on personal memory.
- You can show what changed after remedials (with evidence), not just that it was “completed”.
- You can show who signed/approved, and when, for the version shared with the client.
Minimum evidence pack per door
This is the smallest set that tends to satisfy client QA and third‑party audits. Your contracts may require more.
- Identity + location: door ID, building, and a stable location hierarchy.
- Outcome + reasons: pass/fail (or grading), consistent fail reasons, and a short note.
- Photos: enough to prove the finding and identify the door.
- Remedial linkage: tasks tied to the door record (not a standalone spreadsheet line).
- Before/after proof: evidence that the remedial was completed and what changed.
- Outputs: PDFs/exports generated from the same record that holds the evidence.
Quick QA checks before you share a PDF
- Does each “fail” have at least one photo and one clear note?
- Are door IDs unique within the building, and consistent with any on‑door labels?
- Do remedial items point back to the exact door that raised them?
- Is the shared PDF clearly linked to the same record and date/visit context?
Sign-off and signatures (without breaking traceability)
Signatures are most useful when they’re pulled from the assigned users on the inspection record, so the signed PDF remains tied to the door evidence and history.
- Keep roles clear: who inspected vs who approved (for example Inspector vs Manager).
- Store signatures once: save a signature image on the user profile so it stays consistent across reports.
- Attach sign-off to the record: the record should show who signed/approved and when, not just the PDF.
- Handle “no signature on file”: keep the workflow explicit so missing signatures don’t get hidden.
Common sign-off pitfalls
- Signatures captured as standalone images with no link to a specific inspection record.
- “Final” PDFs created manually in Word, so the audit trail lives somewhere else.
- Approvals done over email with no record of who approved and when.
Common audit trail failure modes
Most problems come from broken links between steps.
- Door IDs change: the same physical door gets multiple records across visits.
- Evidence lives in folders: photos are stored separately from the door record.
- Remedials lose context: tasks don’t point back to the exact door and inspection evidence.
- PDFs are “detached”: exports don’t trace back to the underlying record and history.
Make your next audit boring.
Keep everything attached to each door: inspections, remedials, sign-off and exports.