Battery Inventory & Site Risk Assessment
Build a clearer picture of the batteries on site, how they are stored and charged, their condition, where they are located and what controls already exist.
Start by describing the operation accurately.
Battery safety decisions are often weakened by incomplete information. A site may know that it has “lithium batteries” without knowing the total quantity, energy, charging load, condition or how many batteries are actually present at one time.
The objective of this guide is not to produce a formal fire-risk assessment. It is to create a structured battery profile that can support further safety review and equipment selection.
These are related, but they are not the same thing. Keeping them separate makes it easier to identify the actual capability required.
Establish what batteries are actually on site.
Start with the physical inventory. Where possible, record battery type, chemistry, voltage, amp-hour capacity, watt-hours, quantity, dimensions and mass.
If exact data is unavailable, identify what is known and what still needs to be confirmed rather than assuming all batteries are equivalent.
Helps identify the physical format and operating use.
Tool pack, e-bike, radio, industrial moduleDifferent battery chemistries should not automatically be treated as interchangeable.
Lithium-ion, LFP, lithium-metal, unknownUsed with capacity to understand approximate battery energy.
18 V, 36 V, 48 VHelps establish energy where Wh is not already stated.
5 Ah, 14 AhGives a more useful indication of battery energy than quantity alone.
90 Wh, 500 Wh, 1,000 WhEstablish both total ownership and maximum inventory at the location.
40 owned / 25 normally on siteEverything the organisation owns.
Maximum expected at the location.
Batteries being held between uses.
Batteries actually charging at one time.
Identify batteries that should leave the normal inventory.
A useful inventory should also describe battery condition. Batteries that are damaged, swollen, overheated, recalled, leaking, physically deformed or otherwise abnormal should not disappear inside the same quantity figure as known serviceable batteries.
No known damage or abnormal behaviour and suitable for the site's ordinary operating process.
Impact, unusual heat, swelling, charger fault, abnormal behaviour or uncertain condition.
Known damage or another condition requiring a separate handling, isolation or escalation process.
- Who decides whether a battery is safe to return to service?
- Where is a suspect battery placed while that decision is made?
- Can damaged batteries be physically separated from normal stock?
- Who is notified when abnormal battery behaviour is discovered?
- What happens to recalled or end-of-life batteries awaiting removal?
Describe how charging actually happens — not how it is supposed to happen.
Charging behaviour can materially change the site requirement. Identify where charging occurs, how many batteries can charge at one time, how long charging continues and whether the area remains supervised.
Record the realistic maximum rather than the typical daily number.
Manufacturer chargers, mixed charger fleet, third-party equipment or unknown.
Short daytime charging, full-shift charging, overnight or continuous.
Continuously occupied, periodically checked or largely unattended.
Number of circuits, available load, extension leads, power strips or fixed infrastructure.
Whether batteries remain connected after reaching full charge and how charger faults are identified.
A large battery fleet may have a relatively small simultaneous charging demand, while a smaller fleet can create a significant load if most batteries charge at the same time.
Consider what surrounds the batteries.
Battery safety does not exist independently of the building. The same battery activity can present different consequences depending on occupancy, location, access and neighbouring materials.
Staff, students, residents, customers, visitors, contractors or members of the public.
Workshop, corridor, storeroom, loading bay, dedicated room, warehouse or outdoor location.
Consider escape routes, doors, stairs, access routes and emergency responder access.
Packaging, timber, chemicals, fuels, stock, equipment and other combustible materials.
Heat, direct sunlight, moisture, dust, cold or mechanical damage exposure may need consideration.
Manual carrying, carts, pallet handling, lifting devices or vehicle access.
Record what protection already exists before adding more equipment.
Battery products are only one layer of site safety. Existing detection, alarms, building fire protection, supervision, procedures and training should be considered as part of the wider arrangement.
What is detected, where and how quickly could staff be alerted?
Who receives the alarm during occupied and unoccupied periods?
Sprinklers, suppression, compartmentation and other existing protection.
Written instructions for charging, inspection, damaged batteries and escalation.
Who can inspect batteries, isolate equipment and initiate the emergency process?
Determine whether controls remain effective after staff leave the site.
Product capability, building protection, procedures and people should be considered as interacting layers rather than substitutes for one another.
You should now be able to describe the requirement in operational terms.
- Battery type
- Chemistry
- Wh per battery
- Total quantity
- Physical size / mass
- Storage
- Charging
- Handling
- Transport
- Damaged battery pathway
- Occupancy
- Location
- Access
- Combustibles
- Environmental conditions
- Detection
- Alarm
- Fire systems
- Procedures
- Training / monitoring
Use it to start a Guided Assessment.
Provide the battery inventory, charging activity, condition and site information and Battery Safe Systems can help narrow the relevant solution approach.