Arrive & Set Up Safe Work Area: the full procedure

Establish a controlled, level, traffic-protected work area at the customer’s site before any tools come out.

• Applies to: On-site technician
• Frequency: Every job, on arrival
• Scope: Covers arrival, customer check-in, and staging a controlled work area. The actual lifting/jack-stand support and any roadside traffic-control specifics DEFER to OEM lifting points, ASE-certified judgment, the business safety plan, and OSHA work-zone guidance.

What you need

• Wheel chocks
• High-visibility vest
• Traffic cones/warning triangles
• Fire extinguisher
• Drip pans/spill kit
• Floor jack and rated jack stands (used per OEM + safety plan)

The procedure, step by step

1. Check in with the customer — Confirm the vehicle, the reported symptom, and where the keys are; verify the agreed scope before starting.
2. Assess the surface — Confirm the vehicle is on firm, level ground; if the only spot is a slope, soft ground, or active roadside, relocate or decline per the safety plan.
3. Establish the work zone — Position the truck, set out cones/triangles, and don high-visibility apparel if any traffic exposure exists, per OSHA work-zone and the business safety plan.
4. Secure the vehicle — Confirm it’s in park/gear with the parking brake set and chock the wheels before any lifting is considered.
5. Stage tools and containment — Lay out tools, position drip pans/spill kit, and confirm the fire extinguisher is within reach.
6. Defer lifting decisions — Identify OEM lifting points and use rated jack stands per OEM service information and ASE-certified judgment; never rely on a jack alone for support.
7. Photograph the starting state — Capture the work area, vehicle position, and any pre-existing damage for the job record.
8. Confirm readiness — Verify the zone is controlled and containment is in place before beginning diagnosis or repair.

Quality check before you finish

• Vehicle is on firm, level ground or the job was relocated/declined.
• Parking brake set, vehicle in park/gear, wheels chocked.
• Cones/triangles set and high-visibility apparel worn where traffic exposure exists.
• Jack stands used per OEM lifting points — never working under a vehicle on a jack alone.
• Spill containment and fire extinguisher staged and accessible.
• Starting-state photos captured.
• Work-area control confirmed before tools are used.

This is a free, source-anchored standard operating procedure (SOP) you can print and hand to staff. It documents the work sequence for a Mobile Mechanic business — not safety or regulatory rulings, which defer to the cited authorities, the applicable code, and your own health-and-safety plan. Open the tool above to print it, toggle ink-saver, or (with a free ToolFluency Business account) edit it to match your own workflow.

Sources

• OSHA — Work Zone Traffic Safety / Struck-By (osha.gov)
• OEM service information (mitchell1.com)
• ASE (ase.com)