What is a Safety Audit?

What is a Safety Audit?

The safety audit is a process of gathering information relating to safety practices and it also includes documenting records of the safety measures implemented by the organization. It is a detailed and extensive audit process and aims to identify the areas of weakness to create a better and healthy working environment. An effective safety audit ensures that an organization has a safety program to reduce work-related incidents and eliminate safety risks. It requires a safety auditor to conduct an on-site audit and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of safety standards and issues related to workplace safety. It assesses the compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OH&SMS) and other safety regulation.

Purpose of conducting a work site safety audit – It involves conducting surveys and assessments to identify the issues related to health, safety and fire hazard. Also, it aims to check an organization’s compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Management System. 

The results of a safety audit fall into three categories. These are:

1. Existence of incidents of non-compliance in the presence of safety standards.
2. Finding the presence of gaps in the processes that can risk employee’s safety.
3. Providing new ways and methods to improve work safety standards. 

Safety Audit Checklist

A safety audit checklist aims to identify the areas of potential risks and hazards related to workplace safety. The safety audit checklist is as follows:

• Reviewing confined spaces, height areas and restricted areas.
• Examine electricity, compact air spaces and slippery areas
• Identifying the presence of harmful gases, asbestos, dust and airborne particles.
• Evaluate risks related to vehicular movement, manual handling, working around water and overhead hazards.
• Specifying identified risks level in the category of likelihood, severity and risk rating.
• Suggesting control measures for identified common hazards and risks.  

A Workplace Safety Audit Guide: Phases of Safety Audits

The safety audit ensures the success and effectiveness of work-related safety measures. There are six safety audit phases, and these are:

1.   Preparation for the Safety Audit – It consists of four steps.

Step 1: Before conducting the safety audit, it requires to inform all the managers and supervisors to prepare all the necessary documents and records.

Step 2: Evaluating past audits and the corrective actions recommended. It also reviews legal and training requirements for specific areas to be audited.

Step 3: Review all local, national and international requirements and define the scope of the audit.

Step 4: Specify the timeline for the conduction of the audit.

2.   Fact Finding and Initial Research – It consists of two elements.

A fact-finding event helps in gathering information and requires an auditor to not form an opinion or make an evaluation during the phase. 

a.   A Team Approach – It gives assignments to each member and specifies their area of auditing to ensure that they gather adequate information. 

b.   Safety Audit Areas – The safety audit areas are as follows:

·        Employee Knowledge – The Occupational Health and Safety Management System standard requires giving effective training to the employees to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge to conduct business operations and processes safely. 

·        Written Program Review – It requires an organization to conduct an extensive review of the written program during the safety audit. It aims to identify the hazards and risks related to workplace safety and implement appropriate controls. 

·        Program Administration – It reviews the implementation and management system of the particular program requirement.

·        Record and Document Review – It evaluates the organization's results and corrective actions taken after the last program audit. Records and documentation demonstrate the organization's compliance with the specific regulatory requirements.

·        Equipment and Material - It evaluates the condition of materials and applicability of the equipment to control hazards in a specific program.  

·        General Area Walk-Through – It provides additional understanding of the effectiveness of the safety programs. 

3.   Review the Findings of the Safety Audit – After completing the safety audit process and reviewing all the documents and policies associated with workplace safety. It requires preparing a concise report combining all the data collected during the audit.

4.   Recommendation based on the Data Collected from the Safety Audit – It suggests corrective actions for each deficient condition noted and requires an organization to implement appropriate risk controls to eliminate hazards.

5.   Taking Corrective Actions – It involves managers and supervisors who are required to implement corrective actions based on the recommendations. It requires an organization to prioritize the level of hazard and execute corrective actions accordingly.

6.   Publishing the Results of the Safety Audit – It requires the organization to publish the findings and recommendations to all the managers and supervisors and acknowledge those departments doing their job efficiently. 

Conclusion

A workplace safety audit guide helps an organization conduct a safety audit. It seeks to reduce workplace accidents and incidents and ensures that an organization has a safety program. It aims to enhance productivity, profitability and efficiency and assures safe workplaces. It reviews the compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Management System and other standards and regulations related to workplace safety. A safety audit is a detailed and extensive audit process that aims to identify the areas of weakness and implement effective controls to create safe workplaces.