There is nothing more important than workplace safety. A safe workplace leads to increased productivity, efficiency, and profitability. But safety does not come by itself. This happens when employers and employees collaborate to implement safety policies and procedures.  

Safety professionals can view the value of a safety audit from various angles. Some consider it merely a legal requirement, while others perceive it as a valuable indicator of operational safety. 

Safety audits are, at their core, an organised process for recording, evaluating, and reporting data about an organisation’s overall health and safety. They help ensure you remain compliant while keeping your employees safe. 

What is a Safety Audit?  

A health and safety audit is a proactive approach that ensures that health and safety management systems are in place and are being used effectively in an organisation. It records answers and evidence to the agreed format of questions at your locations and are comparable across all sites.  

A health and safety audit should address the following: 

• Are there any obvious issues in the workplace? 
• Are current procedures and systems correct and producing the desired outcomes? 
• Is the organisation protecting the well-being of its employees and following all applicable regulations? 

It is a proactive approach to measuring the organisation’s health and safety performance. It helps in the development of Health and Safety practices company-wide and also helps to identify any patterns or organisational weaknesses that could be improved company-wide. It serves as a foundation for taking effective planning decisions. 

What to Include in an Internal Audit? 

Safety audits help in identifying red flags before a major crisis occurs.  

Internal audit checklists can differ depending on the company’s specific needs. This sample highlights several sections of an ISO 9001:2015-compliant internal audit checklist.  

To identify workplace hazards and safety risks, you need an audit checklist that covers precise details of your facilities and equipment. Your safety audit checklist should be comprehensive that can identify risks associated with the work environment, work processes, fire emergency procedures, lighting, electrical, and overall maintenance. 

Here are some examples of audit checklist questions: 

Work Process 

Your checklist should assist users in identifying the risks associated with safety standard processes and procedures and ensuring the safety of the environment where workers spend most of their time. Consider asking questions such as: 

• Is there adequate ventilation in the workplace? 
• Are there safety and eyewash stations and easy access to personal protective equipment? 
• Are all commercial vehicles (such as forklifts and other heavy machinery) routinely maintained? 
• Are all hazards identified with signs and tags? 

Fire Emergency 

Your checklist should include instructions on preventing fires and a clear fire safety evacuation plan. These could be questions like: 

• Are all employees aware of the fire emergency escape procedure? 
• Are all fire extinguishers can easily accessible and fully charged? 
• Are fire drills conducted as part of safety procedures? 
• Are there enough fire extinguishers? 

Loading & Unloading 

If your company requires regular loading and unloading of products or supplies, your safety audit checklist should cover how to keep everyone safe during the process. Some loading and unloading questions include: 

• Are the steps, ramps, and raised platforms in good working condition? 
• Are all of the loading arms operational? 
• Is every connection tight and secure? 
• Are the wiring and junction boxes in proper working condition? 

Lighting & Electrical 

A safe workplace requires sufficient lighting. Your checklist should help you assess the impact of lighting on productivity and safety. Lighting and electrical concerns include the following: 

• Is there emergency lighting, and how often is it tested? 
• Is there enough light in all workplaces for workers to see clearly and work comfortably? 
• Is there glare on work surfaces, screens, or monitors from the current lighting? 

Tools & Machinery 

If your company rely on heavy machinery, commercial vehicles, and industry-specific tools to run your business, keeping them in good working order is critical to creating a safe working environment. Some critical questions are as follows: 

• Do employees have access to all equipment and machinery’s owner’s manuals? 
• Are workers trained to operate and maintain specific machines and equipment? 
• Is all power tools meet industry safety standards? 

Heights, Elevating Devices, Stairs & Ladders 

Stairs, elevating devices, ladders, and elevated workspaces should be inspected regularly. Here are some height-related questions to include on your safety audit checklist: 

• Are the stairs and handrails in good repair? 
• Are employees knowledgeable about how to set up ladders properly? 
• Are elevating devices checked and maintained regularly? 
• Are weight restrictions posted on elevated platforms? 
• Are all operators professionally trained to operate elevating equipment? 

Personal Protective Equipment 

Workplace injuries can be avoided by training employees to use personal protective equipment (PPE) and where to find it in an emergency. Here are some examples of PPE-related questions: 

• Is there PPE on-site, and is it used regularly? 
• Is there signage to alert workers when they enter areas requiring PPE? 
• Is the PPE in each area tailored to the specific hazards in each workspace? 

Hazardous Product & Chemical Storage 

Suppose your employees come into contact with hazardous materials or chemicals on the job. In that case, you are responsible for ensuring that standards and procedures are in place to keep all employees safe and provide the necessary training. Think about including the following questions: 

• Is PPE readily available for jobs that require chemical contact? 
• Are hazardous materials safely stored and kept away from heat sources? 
• Inspect containers for broken seals, holes, and leaks. 
• Is every product labelled? 
• Are clean-up supplies easily accessible and sufficient in the event of an emergency? 

How to Use Inform People’s Audit Software to Reduce Audit Overload 

Conducting audits involves a series of steps that can be prone to errors or delays.

These steps include: 

• Scheduling audits and ensuring that auditors complete them as required 
• Writing and updating audit questions and checklists 
• Distributing checklists to auditors 
• Entering audit findings into a format suitable for review 
• Following up on any possible risk identified during the audit 

With so many details to manage, it can be challenging for organisations to conduct frequent audits, which are proven to reduce defects and customer complaints. Many organisations are turning to automated audit software to simplify the process and improve the accuracy and effectiveness of audits. This type of software can streamline the audit process and allow more data collection with less effort and better results. 

1. Planning and automating your audit schedule 

Automating the audit schedule using Compliance and Performance Management Software can effectively streamline the audit process and ensure that all necessary audits are conducted in a timely and organised manner. 

Instead of scheduling audits manually, you can reduce the burden with compliance and performance management software. This type of software typically includes features such as: 

• A calendar or schedule to keep track of upcoming audits 
• Alerts and notifications to remind auditors of upcoming audits 
• The ability to assign audits to specific auditors or audit teams 
• The ability to track the progress of audits and mark them as complete 
• The ability to generate reports on the status of audits 

2. Updating Questions 

There are several reasons why it is crucial to update audit checklist questions and consider using audit software: 

• Relevance: Audit checklist questions should be relevant to the current quality challenges faced by the organisation. This means that new questions should be added based on recent defects and customer complaints to prevent these issues from occurring again in the future. 
• Accuracy: Outdated audit checklist questions may not accurately reflect the organisation’s current state, leading to incorrect audit results. Updating the questions ensures that the audit process is accurate and effective. 
• Efficiency: Manually updating audit checklist questions, especially with paper checklists, can be time-consuming and error-prone. Using Compliance and Performance Management Software can streamline the process and make it more efficient. 
• Consistency: Compliance and Performance Management Software can help ensure that all audits are conducted consistently and organised, reducing the risk of audits falling through the cracks or being delayed. 

3. Creating Specific, Relevant Checklists 

Creating specific and relevant audit checklists is essential in the audit process. Detailed checklists are those that are tailored to the unique needs and procedures of the organisation being audited. Relevant checklists are those that address the key quality challenges faced by the organisation. 

Several steps can be taken to create specific and relevant checklists: 

• Identify the audit’s scope: The audit’s scope should be defined to determine which processes and systems will be audited. 
• Identify the audit objectives: The audit’s goals should be established to determine what needs to be accomplished during the audit. 
• Identify the audit criteria:  The criteria against which the organisation’s processes and systems will be evaluated should be established. This could include regulatory requirements, industry standards, or the organisation’s own internal standards. 
• Develop the checklist: Based on the scope, objectives, and criteria identified, the audit checklist should be developed. The checklist should include specific questions or tasks that will be used to evaluate the organisation’s processes and systems. 
• Review and update the checklist: The audit checklist should be checked and updated regularly to ensure that it remains specific and relevant to the organisation.  

4. Compiling Findings Quickly 

Audit software can help to speed up the process of compiling findings. Auditors can enter their findings directly into the system during the audit rather than manually transcribing them onto paper checklists. It can reduce the time between finding issues and fixing them, as the findings can be reviewed and addressed more quickly. 

In addition, audit software can often generate reports automatically based on the findings entered by auditors. These reports can be customised to show results by location, process, or other criteria and can be easily shared with relevant parties for review and action. It can help to streamline the process of reviewing and addressing audit findings. 

5. Follow-up or Improvements Found 

Sometimes, issues identified during audits and inspections cannot be immediately corrected on the spot and require a series of steps to be addressed. These steps may include the following: 

• Notifying management of the issue 
• Conducting a root cause analysis to figure out the source of the problem 
• Assigning action items to different individuals as part of the corrective action 
• Validating and verifying that the corrective actions have been effective 

You can also can improve each of these steps by allowing users to: 

• Immediately send notifications to relevant managers 
• Document the problem with photos rather than having to write it out in words 
• Assign follow-up action items to different people 

To Wrap Up 

Inform People’s Audit module is ideal for safety audits because it allows you to record your findings online. The data is then securely stored in the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about losing any forms. You can also generate detailed reports with the click of a button. 

Use Inform People software to protect your workplace from hazards, compliance issues, and risks. Streamline the following: 

• Create safety audit workflows that your team and you can follow. 
• Include images, videos, and attachments in your safety audits. 
• Assign corrective actions and follow up on their completion. 
• Create safety audit checklists for your field personnel to use. 
• Conduct remote safety audits with our mobile app. 
• With a single click, you can generate detailed reports. 

Inform People can make the entire safety audit process easier and more efficient. Contact us today and schedule a free demo to see how we can help you streamline your safety audit process.