Pool Supervisor Site Visit Checklist

A good visit covers four things: who is working, whether today's water tests and opening inspection were logged, what you see on the deck, and who owns each follow-up. “All good” gives the next supervisor nothing to work with. A useful report names the pool, the time, the checks made, and anything you couldn't review.

What should you read before arriving?

Start with the pool's recent notes and unfinished work. Look for an unresolved closure, an unanswered staffing request, or a repair waiting for parts. Review the previous visit so you can check whether promised work happened.

Pick the visit checks from your local code and facility plan; the CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) is a good outline.

Read the site's daily pool opening checklist before the visit. For a pool returning after a seasonal closure, also review the season opening checklist. A completed form can still hide an issue.

How do you check attendance and coverage?

Compare the schedule with the attendance record and the staff present. Ask the person in charge about absences, approved changes, and upcoming breaks. Record any difference nobody can explain.

A name on a schedule doesn't show that the person is present or qualified. Check that certificates are current. American Red Cross lifeguarding certificates are valid up to 2 years. Under MAHC 6.2.1.3.5 (check what your state adopted), CPR/AED counts for at most 1 year, so check it on its own row. MAHC 6.3.4.7.1 also says staff sick with diarrhea must not enter the water or work as a lifeguard.

Watch one full rotation if you can. MAHC 6.3.3.1.2 says no guard watches swimmers for more than 60 minutes in a row, and the zone stays covered during each change.

Don't ask a guard watching swimmers to stop and help with your report. Set a time with the shift lead instead.

What should you look for in water records?

Review whether the expected tests have entries, who recorded them, and what happened after a concern. Ask about missing entries rather than assuming the water passed.

For the MAHC's testing schedule, see how often to test commercial pool water. MAHC 6.4.1.3.1 also asks for a daily inspection before opening, logged at the pool. Connect each result to the action taken. If someone says a reading was checked again, look for that later result and its time.

Don't change an old entry to make the report look complete. Record questions and corrections openly under your recordkeeping procedure. A supervisor should be able to tell what was known at the time and what was learned later.

Which visible concerns should you record?

Walk the areas listed in your facility plan. Note the exact location of a concern, what you observed, and who you told. Use plain descriptions, such as “water on the walkway beside the equipment room,” rather than guessing at the cause.

A photo can help show the location, but it cannot replace a trained check. Follow your site's privacy rules when taking photos. Avoid including swimmers or private staff information when they are not needed for the report.

For an urgent hazard, follow staff training, the facility emergency plan, and health department instructions. Call emergency services when needed. Some problems, such as a broken or missing drain grate, a pool bottom you cannot see, or pH below 6.5 or above 8.0, are what the MAHC calls imminent health hazards (6.6.3.1). The owner, operator or person in charge must close the pool for any of them (6.6.3.2), and the health department can also order it fixed or closed right away. Never delay that response to finish a checklist.

What does a filled-in visit checklist look like?

Copy this and adjust it to your facility plan.

Check	What to record
Staff present vs. schedule	Names missing, approved changes
Certificates	Lifeguard and CPR/AED dates; any expired or expiring soon
Rotation	Longest time one guard watched without a change
Opening inspection	Done before opening? Who signed it?
Water tests	Times tested today, any out-of-range result and the action taken
Deck walk	Each concern, exact place, who you told
Staff questions	What is broken or unclear
Follow-up	Task, owner, review date

How do you make staff feedback useful?

Ask open, simple questions: What is still broken? Which task instructions are unclear? Is there anything the next shift needs to know? Record the answer in a way that shows whether it is a reported concern or something you checked yourself.

Handle personal staff matters through the right personnel process. A pool visit note does not need every detail of a private conversation.

What should the visit report leave behind?

For each unfinished item, name the person responsible, the next action, and when to review it. Note any closure steps required by the facility plan or health department. Keep “work reported complete” separate from “completion checked.” File the report where the next supervisor can find it.

Poolean records site visits, guard photos, and safety concerns on each pool's record. Supervisors can review these alongside repairs and scheduled maintenance. Our guide to site visits and tasks in Poolean shows how a visit turns into tasks. Read about supervision and site visits or book a 30-minute call to see the records.

The short version

• Read earlier notes and unresolved work before arriving.
• Compare scheduled staffing with the staff present.
• Review water records and the follow-up behind them.
• Give each concern a named owner and a next check.