A factory inspection is not really a test of what you do on the day. It is a test of what you have been doing for the preceding year, evidenced by documents. Plants that prepare well are simply plants where the records were maintained as work happened rather than assembled in the week before.
The licence and the approvals behind it
The current factory licence should be valid, displayed, and consistent with the operation actually being run — the same manpower band, the same power load, the same activity.
Layout and plan approvals matter here too. If lines were added, built-up area extended or the process changed, the approved plan should reflect it. Changes executed on site before approval was obtained are among the harder observations to resolve.
Registers and records
Registers of wages, attendance, leave, overtime and accidents are the backbone of the inspection. They should be current, legible, consistent across shifts and reconcilable with payroll.
Inconsistency between records is more damaging than a gap in one of them. If the attendance register, the wage register and the payroll export disagree, every one of them becomes questionable.
Health, safety and welfare provisions
The facilities and arrangements required for your category of factory should be in place and evidenced — not only present physically but documented, maintained and with responsibility assigned.
Certificates with validity periods, including stability certification, should be current and retrievable rather than filed somewhere nobody can locate.
Contractor manpower
Contract workmen on site are consistently the area where preparation falls short. Their presence should be reflected in the factory records, their contractor should be licensed, and statutory dues for them should be evidenced rather than assumed.
Collecting contractor documents monthly is not the same as verifying them. Verification means checking wage registers and challans against actual headcount.
After the inspection
Observations raised should be closed with documented corrective action, not merely acknowledged. An observation left open reappears at the next inspection with a longer history attached.
Keep the closure trail with the inspection record so that the next visit begins from a clear position.
Key points
- The licence should match the operation actually running
- Approvals should precede changes on the ground, not follow them
- Consistency between registers matters more than any single register
- Contractor documents must be verified, not just collected
- Close observations with evidence and keep the trail
General information, not legal advice. Applicable requirements may vary based on the organization, location and current regulations. Please consult SK HR Management Services for professional guidance on your specific situation.
Talk to us about this
If you want this reviewed against your own establishment, our team will tell you where you stand and what needs attention.
Related services
Factory Act
Factory registration and licence renewal, layout and plan approval, stability certificate, inspections and statutory returns.
MPCB (Pollution Control Board)
Consent to Establish, Consent to Operate and renewal of consents with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board.
Contract Labour (CLRA)
CLRA compliance support for principal employers and contractors — registration, licensing, registers and monthly document verification.
Compliance Gap Audits
Client compliance audits and third-party vendor compliance audits that surface gaps before a department or customer does.