1
Set the scene
Start with context
Fill the frame
2–3 ft for close-ups; keep ladders, cords and workers fully in view.
Restaurant safety inspection
Restaurant safety inspection checklist, run from a photo
A restaurant safety inspection checklist focuses on the hazards that injure food-service workers most: wet or greasy floors, blocked or locked exits, cluttered back-of-house walkways, and unsafe conditions around hot equipment and storage. OSHA Scan lets a manager photograph the kitchen, the dish area, a walk-in, or an exit corridor and get an instant read — the AI flags visible slip, egress, and housekeeping hazards, references the OSHA standard each may relate to, scores the area, and suggests a fix. It gives shift managers a fast pre-service check that anyone can run. It covers workplace safety hazards visible in a photo and is an AI-assisted first look, not food-hygiene grading and not a replacement for a qualified inspection.
Free · No account needed to scan · Results in seconds
A pre-service check anyone on the team can run
Restaurant injuries cluster around a few predictable hazards — slips on wet or greasy floors, strains and burns in tight kitchens, and blocked exits that turn dangerous in an emergency. These conditions build up during a busy shift, exactly when no one has time for a paper checklist. Photographing the space instead lets a manager run a real safety check in the minutes before or during service.
The scanner reads a kitchen line, a dish pit, a storage room, or an exit corridor and flags what it can see: standing water and spills, mats out of place, clutter in walkways, and obstructed or blocked exits. It focuses on worker-safety hazards visible in the frame — not food-hygiene scoring, which is a separate health-department process.
Restaurant safety enforcement: the hazards that drive injuries in foodservice operations
The foodservice industry has some of the highest injury rates in the service sector, driven by three hazard categories: slips and falls (wet floors, grease accumulation, mat placement), cuts and lacerations (knives, slicers, mandolines, broken glassware), and burns and scalds (hot surfaces, steam, hot liquids, deep fryer oil). OSHA's general industry walking-working surfaces standard (1910.22) applies to restaurant floor conditions, and inspectors evaluating kitchen incidents consistently look at mat placement, drainage adequacy, spill response procedures, and footwear requirements. Burns are addressed primarily through engineering controls (splash guards, auto-lift fryers, insulated surfaces) and PPE, with OSHA citing the general duty clause when burns are recurring and no abatement program is documented.
Commercial kitchen equipment maintenance — particularly locking out energy sources before servicing slicers, mixers, and dishwashers — is addressed by 1910.147, but many small restaurant operators are unaware that LOTO applies to their kitchen equipment. The consequences are severe: food processor blade injuries are among the most common serious injuries in foodservice. OSHA has also increasingly cited restaurant operators for workplace violence preparedness, particularly for late-night operations where robbery risk is elevated and employee emergency procedures are often undocumented. State-plan states including California have adopted specific workplace violence prevention requirements that apply to restaurants and retail operations.
Restaurant hazards it flags from a photo
The worker-safety core of a food-service checklist, read from an image.
Slip & floor hazards
Standing water, spills, grease, and missing or displaced anti-slip mats on kitchen and dish-area floors.
Blocked & locked exits
Exits obstructed by deliveries or storage, and egress paths that are cluttered or hard to reach quickly.
Walkway & housekeeping
Clutter in tight back-of-house walkways, trailing cords, and items stored where staff move and carry.
Equipment surroundings
Unsafe clearance and clutter around hot equipment and cooking lines that raise burn and fire risk.
Demo: the report a scanned photo comes back with
Scan a photo like the one above and this is the report you get — score, findings, OSHA references, and fixes. It is an illustrative example, clearly marked — not live scan data.
Example report
Illustrative — not live scan dataCompliance score
61
Lower means more potential hazards found
5 potential hazards found
2 High3 locked
1Standing water on the kitchen floor without a mat
HighPossibly related to walking-working surfaces (29 CFR 1910.22)
Observed condition: Slips on wet or greasy floors are the most common cause of injury in food-service work.
Corrective action: Dry the floor, place anti-slip mats, and clean spills immediately as part of the routine.
High confidence
2Congested walking path behind an active open-flame line
HighPossibly related to fire protection and egress (29 CFR 1910.36)
Observed condition: Workers crossing behind open flame and hot pans in a tight aisle risk burns and collisions, and congestion slows evacuation.
Corrective action: Keep the line behind cooks clear, establish a passing call-out protocol, and stage prep away from the flame.
Medium confidenceNot fully clear from the photo — verify on site.
AI-generated analysisThese findings are potential hazards flagged by AI from a single photo. They are a starting point for your own review — not an official OSHA determination. Verify conditions on site with a qualified person before acting.
Try it free
Now scan your own photo — free
Upload a photo like the one above and get a compliance score and hazard count in seconds. No account needed to scan — create a free account to unlock the full report.
- Kitchen hazards flagged from a photo — wet floors, blocked exits, tight cook-line paths
- The OSHA standard each finding may relate to, why it matters, and a quick fix
- A 0-100 area score and a dated report anyone on the team can run pre-service
Live OSHA hazard analysis
Free instant AI scanPhoto scan — no account neededVideo walkthrough scan — free account
1Upload photo
2AI analysis
3See report
Use the real site or facility name. If you save the scan after signup, it becomes the report name.
Three angles, one deeper scan
Only the wide shot is required — every extra angle gives the AI more places to look.
Required: Set the scene — one wide shot lets the AI sweep the whole area at once
Stand at the entry point and capture corner to corner: floors, ladders, scaffolds, and everyone at work
or choose from your library
Drop a job-site photo or walkthrough video
Click to upload, drag & drop, or snap a photo on site. Photos scan free in about 15 seconds — no signup, no card. Video walkthroughs (up to 3 min) run on a free account.
Results in ~15sReferences relevant OSHA standardsPrivate - deleted in 48h unless you save it
Accuracy boosters
Small habits, sharper scans
2
Capture clearly
Make the frame usable
Light it right
Keep the sun or lights behind you — glare and shadows hide hazards.
Tap to focus
Tap the hazard on screen and hold still one second — blur can't be flagged.
3
Choose the useful view
Give the AI room to understand
Go landscape
Turn your phone sideways — a wider frame catches more of the scene.
No job-site photo handy?
or scan with video
Only upload photos you have permission to use, and avoid images showing personal, customer, or confidential information. Demo photos and results are held privately for up to 48 hours so you can save them to a free account; unclaimed photos are deleted automatically. Results are an AI-assisted preliminary review, not an official OSHA determination.
New: Video walkthrough scans
Record up to 3 minutes of your site — the AI extracts frames and flags every hazard with exact timestamps. Free account required.
Get the best results
Wide shot first
Stand at the entrance and photograph the entire work area so AI sees the full context
Hazard areas
Photograph elevated surfaces, equipment, electrical panels, and anywhere workers are active
Close-ups last
Move in close on anything damaged, missing, or that looks risky — the AI catches more detail
The 12-point restaurant safety inspection checklist
Walk the kitchen, line, and back of house with these points. The first four are free — create a free account to unlock the full checklist and scan your own kitchen photos.
Free checklist — 12 points
Enter your email to unlock the full checklist
We'll also send you a printable PDF copy — no account required.
One email with the checklist, one follow-up. Unsubscribe anytime.
What the AI can and can't detect
OSHA Scan reads a single photo. That makes it fast and easy for anyone on site — but it also means it has real limits. Here's an honest look at both.
What it can catch from a photo
- Missing or incorrect PPE that is visible in the frame
- Unprotected edges, open holes, and visible fall hazards
- Housekeeping, trip, and blocked walkway or exit hazards
- Visible electrical, struck-by, and equipment-guarding hazards
What a photo can't tell it
- Hazards hidden from view or anything outside the photo
- Exact heights, distances, weights, or measurements
- Training records, procedures, or how equipment is actually used
- Full legal compliance or an official OSHA pass/fail determination
OSHA Scan gives an AI-assisted preliminary review from a photo. It does not replace an on-site inspection by a qualified safety professional, and a compliance score is not an official OSHA determination.
Always confirmed by a person on site
A scan is a fast first look, not the final word. Before treating this kind of area as safe, a competent person should still confirm:
- Whether exits are unlocked and openable, not just visually clear
- Fire-suppression, ventilation, and electrical systems behind the scenes
- Food-hygiene and health-code items, which are a separate inspection
- Hazards outside the photo or hidden under equipment and counters
People also ask
Does this replace a health inspection?
No. OSHA Scan looks at worker-safety hazards visible in a photo — slips, exits, walkways, and equipment surroundings. Food hygiene and health-code grading are a separate process run by your local health department. The scan complements that; it does not replace it.
What restaurant hazards does it catch best?
The visible, high-frequency ones: wet or greasy floors and missing mats, blocked or cluttered exits, and clutter in tight walkways. These are the conditions behind most restaurant worker injuries, so the scanner prioritizes them.
Can staff run it, or only managers?
Anyone can run it — that is the point. If a team member can take a photo, they can flag a hazard. No safety training is required, and the report is written in plain language with a suggested fix for each item.
Reviewed by OSHA Scan Editorial
Last updated August 29, 2026
This content is produced by the OSHA Scan Editorial team and reviewed with AI assistance. It is general safety information, not legal or compliance advice. OSHA Scan is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor.
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A full sample report
See a complete labelled example of everything a scan returns.
OSHA Scan
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