6 ways to automate legionella control checks

#1 - Simple checklist

Who it's for: Single-site businesses running the legionella checks themselves.

What it is: A legionella control check records that the water system is being kept safe: water temperatures, weekly flushing of little-used outlets, and the condition of tanks and outlets. This version is a tick-list, a pass/fail, and a notes field.

In practice: A small hotel runs the weekly check: it flushes the two rarely-used guest showers, records the hot and cold temperatures at the sentinel taps, and notes the pass. Five minutes, and a dated record.

Why it works: Legionella is controlled by keeping water hot or cold and moving, and the law expects you to record that you do. A simple recurring check is that record.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Businesses where the check is delegated to rota staff.

What it is: The simple checklist with a guidance note on the legionella controls: keeping hot water hot and cold water cold, flushing little-used outlets, descaling where needed, and what this routine check does and doesn't replace.

What it adds to the simple checklist:

1. The controls and what to look for are on screen
2. The check is consistent whoever runs it
3. A new starter can run it from day one

Why it works: The guidance sits with the check, so a team member working the list carries the method as they go, not relying on training weeks past.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (the controls and what to look for)
• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field

#3 - With a signature

Who it's for: Businesses where the check needs a name against it for compliance records, or groups running multiple sites.

What it is: The simple checklist plus a signature captured at sign-off. The check and notes stay the same; the signature confirms who ran the check and when they signed it.

In practice: A hotel with multiple sites. The facilities lead at each site works the checklist, notes the result, and signs. The facilities manager in head office can review the records and see who signed off each site's check, so if temperatures are high they know who to ask about it.

What it adds to the simple checklist:

1. A signature naming who ran the check, captured at sign-off
2. A record of when the check was signed, next to the result
3. Accountability that holds up in an audit

Why it works: The name goes on the record at the moment the work finishes, not from memory later. A signed record is something an auditor treats as evidence the control is running.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field
• 1 signature (sign-off)

#4 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses that want visual proof of the check alongside the record.

What it is: The simple checklist plus a photo of the thermometer reading at a flushed outlet (a tap or shower), taken on completion as a record.

What it adds to the simple checklist:

1. A photo of the thermometer reading at a flushed outlet, captured at the time
2. Proof of the temperature that holds up to an inspector, not just a ticked box
3. A visual record kept alongside the checklist

Why it works: A photo taken on completion is far stronger than a tick. It shows the actual temperature reading when the check was done. A single specific spot like one outlet is easy to shoot and easy to check.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field
• 1 photo of the thermometer reading at a flushed outlet

#5 - With Poppi checking the photo

Who it's for: Multi-site groups and facilities teams where the temperature photo gets taken but nobody reviews it to check if it's safe.

What it is: A photo-checked check is the simple checklist plus a photo of the thermometer reading at a flushed outlet that Poppi (AI) reviews the moment it's saved. Poppi answers one question about that photo, set by you: does the temperature reading show the outlet is at a safe temperature (hot water above 50°C, or cold water below 20°C)? If the answer is no, Poppi posts what it found to the team chat, so the problem gets fixed before everyone leaves.

In practice: A chain of 8 small hotels checks legionella weekly. The facilities person photographs the thermometer at a flushed shower. Poppi reads the photo: 55°C, safe. Nothing changes. On a quiet Tuesday the photo shows 42°C, outside the safe range. Poppi answers no and posts to the team chat ("The thermometer shows 42°C, below the safe minimum"). The person checks it again and sorts the problem while they're still on site.

What it adds to the simple checklist:

1. A photo of the thermometer that gets checked the instant it's saved, not just stored
2. A team chat message with Poppi's verdict the moment a temperature reading is unsafe
3. The facilities manager stops being the only person who ever looks at the photos

Why it works: The check happens in the seconds between the photo being taken and the person leaving. That's the only moment the problem is still cheap to fix. A manager reviewing photos the next day can only record that the temperature was wrong; Poppi catching it on the spot gets it sorted by 10am.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field
• 1 photo of the thermometer reading at a flushed outlet
• 1 Poppi decision (judges the photo against your question)
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the photo fails the check)

#6 - With an alert if the check is overdue

Who it's for: Facilities teams with regular check schedules that sometimes get missed. Multi-site groups, hotel chains, and businesses where a missed weekly check is a compliance risk.

What it is: An overdue-check alert is the simple checklist plus a Poppi (AI) action set to the workflow's due date. If the legionella check isn't finished by the day it's due (e.g., Tuesday for a weekly check), Poppi posts a message in the Pilla team chat so the check gets done before the week slips away. It watches the deadline, so it catches the check that quietly got put off, not just the one that was forgotten.

In practice: A chain of 8 small hotels runs legionella checks every Monday. On a busy week, the Monday check at a couple of sites gets delayed. With this version, if the check isn't finished by Monday evening, the team chat gets a message, so the facilities lead catches the missed checks that day rather than realizing on Friday that three sites haven't run it.

What it adds to the simple checklist:

1. A message in the team chat if the check isn't finished by its due date
2. A catch for the check that got delayed, not just the one that was skipped
3. A record of when the check should have been done, next to when it was
4. The team finds out the same week, not from the next audit

Why it works: The alert is tied to the due date, so a missed check raises its own hand. Nobody has to review every site; the deadline does.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (6 items)
• 1 pass/fail result
• 1 notes field
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the check isn't finished by its due date)

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the simple checklist plus one addition, so pick the additions your business actually needs.

Do other people run the check?

If you run it yourself and know the method, the plain list is enough: #1. The moment rota staff run it, the controls and what to look for need to be on screen: #2.

Does the check need a name against it?

If knowing it was done is enough, skip this one. If you want who ran it on the record, #3 adds a signature.

Do you need photo proof?

A ticked checklist says the work was done; a photo shows it. If you want proof of the temperature reading, #4 adds a photo.

Does anyone actually look at the photos?

If a manager genuinely reviews every temperature photo, #4's record is enough. If photos get taken and filed unseen, #5 has Poppi (AI) check each one as it's saved, and tell the team chat when the temperature is unsafe.

Does the check have to be finished by a set time?

If a busy week sometimes means the check slips, #6 posts a message to the team chat when the deadline passes with the check unfinished.

Need more than one addition? Open the version with the addition that matters most in the playground and add the others as steps. That's how the product works anyway: every option here is one step added to the same checklist.

Related workflows

• Fridge temperature check - another routine temperature record
• PPE condition check - another recurring compliance check

Conclusion

Legionella is controlled by keeping water hot or cold and moving, and by recording that you do. These checks are how you show the controls are running, week to week. Every version above is the same simple checklist plus one addition: guidance, a signature, a photo, an AI check on the photo, or a deadline alert. Pick the ones your business needs and combine them in the playground.

→ Build your own legionella checks on Pilla.