QR codes on fire doors, extinguishers and emergency lights for inspection rounds
QR codes on fire doors, extinguishers and emergency lights for inspection rounds
- Open source
- No sign-up
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- Free API + MCP
- In the MCP registry
A scan is not proof an inspection took place
Scanning a code proves a phone was near that fire door and opened a link. It does not prove the door was checked, the extinguisher's pressure gauge was read, or the light was tested. If a fire risk assessment, an insurer, or an internal audit ever needs evidence an inspection happened, that evidence has to come from whatever gets filled in after the scan, a form, a checklist entry, a signed sheet, never from the scan event itself. Say this plainly to your team before rolling this out: blurring that distinction is how the whole record becomes unreliable exactly when it needs to hold up.
What the code should actually open
Each item gets one code that opens a short checklist page for that specific item, not a generic form: the exact things to check on that door, that extinguisher, that light, plus its own recent inspection history so whoever's walking the round can see what was found last time. The code's job is identification and wayfinding. The record of what was actually found still has to be captured and stored somewhere that logs who, what and when, whether that's a form, a spreadsheet, a facilities system or an app that timestamps the entry.
- Fire door: its own checklist (self-closes fully, seal intact, no damage, signage present) plus its last few recorded checks
- Fire extinguisher: type, location code, service-due date and where to log this round's visual check
- Emergency light: last function test result and the date the next full-duration test is due
- Any item: a photo of what “normal” looks like, so someone without the checklist memorised can still tell what's wrong
One code per item, numbered to match the walking route
Use the bulk generator's sequence mode to number by item type and route order, FD-001 for fire doors, EXT-001 for extinguishers, EL-001 for emergency lights, following the order the round is actually walked rather than the building's room numbers. A numbering scheme tied to the walk makes a skipped item visible immediately: if the sequence jumps, something got missed.
| Item | Common check pattern | Who usually does it |
|---|---|---|
| Fire door | A frequent visual check that it closes fully and the seal isn't damaged | Site or facilities staff |
| Fire extinguisher | A regular visual check (pressure, pin, damage), a fuller service by a competent person less often | Site staff for the visual check, a contractor for the service |
| Emergency light | A short function test fairly often, a longer full-duration test far less often | Site staff for the short test, a contractor for the full test |
Treat these as typical patterns, not a legal minimum for your building; your own fire risk assessment and maintenance regime set the actual frequency, and a code doesn't change what that regime requires.
Setting up a scannable inspection round
- 1
Walk the actual route
List every item in the order it's genuinely checked, not the order it appears on a floor plan.
- 2
Write one checklist per item type
Door, extinguisher, light, each written once and reused per item rather than rewritten each time.
- 3
Generate one dynamic code per item
Numbered to match the walking order, using the bulk generator's sequence mode.
- 4
Point each code at that item's own checklist page
Not a generic form that doesn't say which door or which extinguisher.
- 5
Fix codes where they're visible without opening anything
Not inside an extinguisher cabinet, not on the back of a door when it's propped open.
- 6
Keep the compliance record in your existing system
Separate from this set-up, and the thing that actually proves a check happened.
What this replaces, and what it doesn't
This replaces hunting for the right paper checklist, or trying to remember which of forty extinguishers down two corridors is which. It does not replace a fire risk assessment, a logbook, or a competent person's service record. If an insurer, a fire authority or an internal audit ever asks for proof an inspection happened, they need the completed checklist entries, timestamped, not a claim that a code was scanned somewhere near the item.
Scan data as a coverage signal, nothing more
One thing scan data is genuinely useful for: seeing whether the whole round got walked (every item's code scanned) rather than a sample. That's a coverage check, not a compliance check, and the two should never be confused. Scan data is aggregated as it's written, no scanner is ever identified, and geography is never named below five scans in a window.