7 Strategies to Decide What to Include in a Workplace First Aid Kit

A pre-packed box from a big-box store rarely fits the workplace it ends up in. It may be missing what your people are most likely to need, include items nobody on staff is trained to use, and quietly expire in a closet. A kit is a decision about risks and trained people, not a shopping list.

These seven strategies help safety coordinators and small business owners decide what belongs in a workplace first aid kit based on real hazards, published standards, and the capability of the people who will open it. Work through them in order or pick the gaps that apply to you.

1. Start With the ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 Minimum as Your Baseline

ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 is the national voluntary standard for the minimum contents of a workplace first aid kit. OSHA's rule at 29 CFR 1910.151 requires adequate first aid supplies but does not publish an exact contents list, and OSHA has pointed to the ANSI standard as a recognized reference. That makes Z308.1 the most defensible floor you can build on. As of 2026, confirm which edition is current, because contents and performance requirements have been revised over the years.

The standard sorts kits into classes. Class A is designed for common workplace injuries such as minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. Class B carries larger quantities and a wider range of supplies for more complex or higher-risk environments and bigger headcounts. Check the current edition for the exact quantities in each class before you buy.

Suppose a 20-person office buys a Class A kit labeled as meeting the standard. The coordinator then checks that each required category is present, such as adhesive bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic, burn treatment, gloves, and eye care, and that nothing is past its date.

Buy a kit labeled as meeting the current Z308.1 edition, or compare your existing kit line by line against the standard's list.

Choose Class A or Class B based on headcount and the severity of your hazards.

Write the date, contents, and expiration dates on a checklist and store a copy with the kit.

The common mistake is twofold. Many people assume any box labeled "first aid" meets the standard, and many others treat the baseline as the whole answer. The standard is a minimum, and it says nothing about your particular hazards. The next strategies build on it.

What to measure: the percentage of baseline categories that are present and in date at each audit. Anything under 100 percent is a restocking task.

2. Run a Hazard Assessment Before You Add Anything

Different workplaces produce different injuries. A kit built around your actual exposures will get used and will work, while a generic one fills up with items that never leave the box. The assessment is what turns a standard list into your list.

Consider a restaurant whose incident log shows repeated burns and cuts. The coordinator adds burn dressings and gel, extra gauze, and finger-sized bandages in a kit near the kitchen, rather than only stocking the front-of-house office.

How to run the assessment

Walk each work area and note the tasks, tools, and materials people handle.

Review injury logs, near-miss reports, and any workers' compensation claims for patterns.

Read the Safety Data Sheets for chemicals on site. Some call for specific first aid measures, such as eyewash for corrosives, and OSHA requires suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing where corrosive materials are used.

List the five or six most likely injuries.

Map each injury to the supplies that treat it and add them to the kit list.

The pitfall and the proof

The usual mistake is copying a generic list or another company's kit without checking your own history. A warehouse and a dental office have little in common. More items also does not mean better readiness: clutter slows the person searching for a pressure dressing.

What to measure: the share of recent incident types your kit can address, and supply use over a quarter. Items that never move may be candidates for removal, and items that run out early deserve larger quantities.

3. Add Bleeding Control Supplies Beyond Bandages

Adhesive bandages and small gauze pads handle minor wounds. They do nothing for severe bleeding from a limb injury, where a person can lose dangerous amounts of blood in minutes while an ambulance is still on its way. Tourniquets, pressure dressings, and hemostatic gauze exist for that gap, and public bleeding control programs such as Stop the Bleed have made them familiar outside of trauma settings.

Imagine a machine shop that places tourniquets, hemostatic gauze, and trauma dressings in a clearly marked station near the equipment floor. Supervisors on every shift are trained to use them, and the station is visible from the main work area.

Select tourniquets and dressings from reputable manufacturers, and avoid unbranded items of uncertain quality.

Place supplies where severe injuries could realistically happen, not only in the break room.

Schedule first aid training that includes hands-on practice with the exact products you stocked.

Add the items to your inspection checklist, since tourniquet components and packaged dressings carry their own condition and date checks.

The most common mistake is buying a tourniquet and training no one to apply it, or storing it in a drawer where nobody can find it in the first minute. Equipment you cannot use under stress is only a false sense of security.

If you want your team practicing on real equipment, a first aid course with hands-on skills is the practical way to build that confidence.

What to measure: the number of staff who can demonstrate correct application, and response time in drills from the call for help to bleeding control in place.

4. Match Contents to Your Staff's Training Level

A kit is only as useful as the person opening it. Items that nobody on shift knows how to use add weight, cost, and sometimes liability without adding safety. Aligning contents to the training of your actual responders keeps the kit honest.

For example, imagine a team completes a First Aid and CPR course. The coordinator now adds splints and glucose tablets, because responders have practiced those skills, and updates the instruction card inside the lid to match.

List the trained responders on each shift, including their certification dates.

Map each skill they hold to the items that support it.

Add items that trained staff can use and remove those nobody can.

Confirm legal limits on medications before stocking any. Rules on oral medications such as aspirin vary, and liability concerns differ by state and employer, so check Washington, Oregon, or California requirements and consult your insurer or counsel.

The classic pitfall is stocking medications or devices that no one is trained or authorized to use. A related misconception is that a kit alone equals compliance. OSHA's first aid rule also expects trained responders where no infirmary, clinic, or hospital is in near proximity, so the people matter as much as the supplies.

What to measure: the count of currently trained responders on each shift, and the share of kit items each of them can confidently use. A shift with no trained responder is a gap no inventory can cover.

5. Pair the Kit With an AED and CPR Barrier Devices

A standard first aid kit cannot treat sudden cardiac arrest. For that, the proven tools are early CPR and early defibrillation, and the American Heart Association emphasizes both in its resuscitation guidelines. Placing an AED beside your first aid kit and adding CPR barrier devices closes the most serious gap in a basic setup.

Suppose a gym mounts an AED near the entrance, right beside a kit holding pocket masks and gloves. Staff run quarterly drills so the first response is familiar and no one is hunting for the device.

Choose an AED suited to your environment and check which models your facility can maintain easily.

Mount it in a visible, unlocked, signed location, and avoid heat or cold extremes.

Assign one named person to check the status indicator, pads, and battery on a set schedule.

Add CPR pocket masks or face shields and gloves to the kit.

Train staff in CPR and AED use, and refresh regularly.

State and local rules on AED placement, medical oversight, and registration vary across Washington, Oregon, and California, so verify the requirements for your site. The mistake that matters most is installing an AED and then never checking pad or battery expiration, or never training anyone to use it. A device with dead batteries is worse than none because people trust it.

Taylored Instruction offers AED sales alongside CPR and AED training, which keeps the equipment and the skills coordinated.

What to measure: the AED readiness check pass rate, and the percent of staff holding current CPR and AED certification.

6. Plan Placement, Quantity, and Portability by Site Layout

A well-stocked kit does no good if it takes five minutes to reach. Placement decides how fast care begins, and the right number of kits depends on how your people actually move through the site.

Imagine a landscaping company that keeps a main kit at the shop and a compact kit in every truck. Crews work miles from the shop, so the vehicle kit is the one that will be used first, and it is sized for the injuries crews actually face.

Map your work areas, floors, and travel distances between them.

Place clearly marked kits near hazards and along routes to exits, at a consistent height.

Add portable kits for vehicles, field crews, and lone workers.

Choose durable, sealed cases that protect contents from moisture and impact.

Two mistakes recur. One is keeping a single kit in a locked office, so it is unreachable on nights and weekends. The other is leaving vehicle kits in extreme heat, which can degrade adhesives, ointments, and batteries. Check vehicle kits more often in summer and winter.

What to measure: run a walk test. Time how long it takes to reach the nearest kit from the farthest work area, and fix any route that takes noticeably longer than a minute or two.

7. Build an Inspection and Restocking System

Most kit failures are maintenance failures. Adhesives dry out, sterile packaging passes its date, and supplies get used without being replaced. Without an owner and a schedule, a kit that was complete in January is incomplete by summer.

Consider a facilities manager who does a monthly check with a checklist taped inside the lid. Whenever someone uses an item, they flag it, and the manager reorders it before the next check.

Name one owner for each kit and a backup.

Set a recurring check, monthly for most sites and more often for high-use or vehicle kits.

Record expiration dates and the inspection date and initials on the lid log.

Restock after every use, not at the next scheduled check.

Review the contents annually against your hazard assessment and the current standard.

The common mistake is assuming someone else is checking. When ownership is shared by everyone, it belongs to no one, and items expire or run out unnoticed.

What to measure: the number of expired or missing items found per inspection, trending toward zero, plus restock turnaround time from the moment an item is used to the moment it is replaced.

Where to Begin and How the Pieces Fit Together

Start with the baseline and the hazard assessment. Together they take a few hours, cost little, and tell you what the kit must contain. Then add training, since it determines which items are worth stocking, followed by bleeding control and AED coverage where your risks justify them. Lock in the inspection routine last, because it protects everything you have already built.

Standards and local rules change, so recheck the current ANSI/ISEA edition and your state's requirements each year as of 2026 and beyond.

Don't wait until an emergency happens. Get the life-saving certification you need today. Register for a CPR, First Aid, or Lifeguarding class and gain the confidence and skills to respond when it matters most.