# Review completion reports and unresolved findings

Lesson 1 of [Oversee kitchen exhaust maintenance and records](https://greasecleaning.fyi/academy/oversee-exhaust-maintenance.md), 10 minutes.

A completion report is useful when you can connect its statements to the system, the authorised scope and any outstanding work. It is not a guarantee that every hidden condition is satisfactory. This lesson develops a review process for property managers and facility buyers who need to keep clear records without pretending to be technical inspectors.

## Match the report to the job

Start with the property, kitchen, system identifier and work date. Compare them with the agreed scope and any approved changes. Ask whether the report describes inspection, cleaning, repair or testing for each relevant component. Those words should retain their meanings. A section seen during a visit should not be counted as cleaned unless the provider reports that cleaning occurred.

As a buyer's evidence checklist, request an account of the areas addressed, any areas not reached, observations, supporting photographs where agreed and recommended follow-up. The checklist is a recommended contract tool. The Home Office guidance supports keeping significant findings and actions in fire safety records, but it does not prescribe this particular cleaning report or require this photograph format everywhere.

## Read limitations before the conclusion

Look for phrases such as not accessed, excluded or further investigation needed. Ask where the limitation applies and whether it prevents the agreed scope from being completed. Do not erase it because the summary sounds positive. A visible hood photograph cannot establish the condition of a concealed section that the report says was not reached.

If photographs were promised, match labels to the system and locations. Ask for clarification of missing or ambiguous images. A photograph is supporting evidence within its identified view. It does not independently prove the condition of areas outside the image. Record the explanation rather than treating an attractive page layout as a technical assurance.

## Turn findings into actions

Create an action entry for each unresolved issue, with a location, the provider's finding, the person responsible for the next step and the evidence needed to close it. Agree the follow-up timing with the competent provider and, where relevant, the local authority. This course does not supply a universal deadline or tell you that a particular condition is safe to leave unresolved.

Separate access work, equipment repairs and fire protection system work from the cleaning record where they are different tasks. Seattle's systems testing guidance, for example, requires repair reporting and restoration communication for affected fire protection systems within its local process. That illustrates why an invoice for exhaust cleaning should not be assumed to close a separate fire protection issue.

## Review a realistic discrepancy

Suppose the authorised scope includes a duct section, but the completion record says it was inaccessible. Keep the job marked as having outstanding work for that section. Ask the provider to explain the access problem and proposed next step, then identify who can arrange the necessary assessment or work. Do not direct unqualified staff to cut an opening or remove unfamiliar equipment.

Retain the original report and the clarification together. When further work occurs, link the new evidence to the open action. Closure should mean that the stated follow-up has supporting evidence, not that somebody deleted a difficult note. This gives the next manager a usable history and keeps the limits of the evidence visible to everyone relying on the records.

## Sources

- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-small-and-medium-places-of-assembly/fire-safety-risk-assessment-small-and-medium-places-of-assembly-accessible
- https://www.seattle.gov/fire/business-services/systems-testing

Also on the [web page](https://greasecleaning.fyi/academy/oversee-exhaust-maintenance/review-completion-evidence).