OSHA 1926.800 daily for foundation drilling rigs — auger, rotary, mud-rotary configurations. Mast verticality and Kelly bar straightness are the items that catch the most consequential issues; emergency shutdown response time matters most when something goes wrong.
Sections
6
Fields
24
Equipment
Drilling Rig
FREE PRINTABLE SAMPLE · NO EMAIL · THE FULL, CUSTOMIZABLE INSPECTION RUNS IN-APP
WHAT IT IS
The drilling rig (auger / rotary) inspection checklist is the daily drilling rig inspection built to OSHA 1926.800. It runs 6 sections and roughly 24 pass / fail / N A checkpoints — covering Mast & Kelly, Hoist & Lines, Hydraulic / Pneumatic, Casing & Tooling, Safety Systems, and Documentation. Download the free printable sampleto put on a clipboard today — it's a basic quick-reference. The real power is running it in the DigiDocs app, where this becomes a fully customizable, 24-point digital inspection: every failure auto-creates a deficiency routed to your mechanic, photos attach on the spot, the operator e-signs, and each completed inspection becomes a signed, timestamped audit-trail record your auditor will accept without a fight.
CHECKLIST · STRUCTURE
This template is organized into 6 sections totaling roughly 24 Pass / Fail / N/A items. Clone it and tune fields to match your exact equipment configuration.
AUTHORITATIVE · STANDARD
OSHA 1926.800
Mast & Kelly
SECTION · 01 · OF · 6
Hoist & Lines
SECTION · 02 · OF · 6
Hydraulic / Pneumatic
SECTION · 03 · OF · 6
Casing & Tooling
SECTION · 04 · OF · 6
Safety Systems
SECTION · 05 · OF · 6
Documentation
SECTION · 06 · OF · 6
CREW · WHO RUNS THIS
Deep-foundation contractors, environmental drilling crews, geothermal installers, water-well drillers, soil-investigation teams. Soilmec, Bauer, IMT, Casagrande, Watson rotary and auger rigs. OSHA 1926 Subpart S (Underground Construction) applies for tunneling; the daily covers the surface-rig equipment plus the foundation-specific items.
FIELD · INTEL
Pulled from competent-person write-ups in the field — not from a regulation digest. These are the items that fail the daily check more than any others.
Mast not plumb — vertical-drift accumulates and the hole walks off-target
Kelly-bar key wear past spec — kelly can slip under torque, dropped-tooling scenario
Anti-two-block whisker disabled or removed — operator hits the upper limit and breaks something
Mud-system fluid contamination from cross-connection — circulation degrades, hole stability lost
Emergency shutdown response slower than spec — measured during the daily, often skipped
OSHA · ENFORCEMENT
OSHA Serious: up to $16,131 per violation (2026 maxima). Willful or Repeat: up to $161,323. Drilling-rig incidents include dropped-tooling injuries, hose-whip events, electrocution (when the rig contacts overhead power), and ground-stability failures around the hole. The daily addresses each through equipment and site-condition checks.
Read OSHA 1926.800 on osha.govSERIOUS · MAX
$16,131
PER · VIOLATION · 2026
WILLFUL · OR · REPEAT
$161,323
THE PAPER SAMPLE VS · THE REAL THING
A printable checklist still relies on someone remembering to do it, store it, and find it when an auditor or insurer asks. The same drilling rig (auger / rotary)inspection in DigiDocs runs on the phone already in your operator's pocket — and turns a checkbox into a defensible compliance record the moment it's signed. Every field is yours to customize.
Every line item, not just sections
The full template carries all ~24 checkpoints with the OSHA / FMCSA / ASME citation on each — the sample only shows the section headers.
Photo proof on every failure
Operators attach a photo the instant something fails, so the defect is documented at the point of inspection — not reconstructed later.
Failures become mechanic work orders
Every Fail auto-creates a deficiency routed to your mechanic dashboard, with repair notes and auto-verify on the next inspection.
Red-tag / operability built in
Operator marks Operable / Non-Operable per OSHA 1926.1417; critical fails can lock the asset out of service automatically.
Signed, timestamped, permanent
Operator e-signature on submit; every completed inspection becomes an audit-trail PDF and a shareable, revocable customer link.
Make it yours
Rename fields, add sections, set conditional logic, schedule recurrences, and white-label it — no two fleets inspect exactly alike.
NO CREDIT CARD · ALL 44 CHECKLISTS INCLUDED
RELATED · CHECKLISTS
Boom or scissor lift pre-shift — controls, tilt sensors, guardrails, emergency descent, tires.
Variable-reach telehandler — boom, frame lock, stabilizers, hydraulics, attachment pins.
Powered industrial truck pre-shift — mast, forks, hydraulics, horn, lights, propane/battery.
Tracked or wheeled excavator — boom, stick, bucket, undercarriage/tires, hydraulic lines.
Portable generator or light tower — fuel level, oil, GFCI, grounding, tower mast.
Slings, shackles, hooks, eye bolts — wear, fraying, deformation, capacity tags.
FREQUENTLY · ASKED
Auger: continuous helical flighting carries soil up the hole. Used for shallow foundation work (caissons, drilled shafts under 60-80 ft). Rotary: cutter head plus mud or air circulation to clear cuttings. Used for deeper holes, harder formations, and water wells. Most foundation contractors run both configurations on the same rig.
The hole is drilled in the direction the mast points. Even a small mast-off-plumb angle accumulates over depth into significant lateral drift. Most drilled-shaft specs require the hole to be within 1% of plumb; mast verticality is the controllable variable.
OSHA's biggest drilling-rig fatality category. Per 1926.1408, the rig (with the mast up) must maintain clearance from overhead lines based on voltage — 20 ft minimum for lines up to 350 kV, more for higher voltages. The daily verifies the operator knows the clearance for the lines at the site.
A trained operator. OSHA doesn't require a specific certification beyond competent-person training. ADSC (Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors) offers training programs; manufacturer training is the alternative. Most contractors require apprenticeship + manufacturer training before solo operation.
Inadequate clearance from overhead power. Followed closely by emergency-shutdown failure (the e-stop doesn't actually stop the rig within spec). Both are direct daily-inspection items; both cause fatalities when missed.
READY · TO USE
Download the free PDF, or start a 14-day Professional trial — no credit card. All 44 inspection checklists included; clone, customize, and deploy to your crew the same hour.