Regular health and safety audits are recommended as best practices in all enterprises. A safety audit systematically collects information on a company’s efficiency, productivity, reliability, and safety. An auditor will evaluate the procedures, work environment, equipment, and other factors to assess these attributes.  

Failure to follow health and safety standards and regulations can be expensive. Not only are court penalties involved, but so are illness absence fees, accident claims, and business reputation harm. A breach is also proof of a failure to fulfil a company owner’s moral responsibility to assist in ensuring a safe workplace for their employees and consumers. That is why health and safety audits are important for organisations. 

So, let’s go through the importance of a safety audit and how to perform a successful health and safety audit for your organisation. 

What is Safety Auditing? 

Safety auditing is an aspect of safety management that involves a systematic critical review of operations. An audit may cover one or more system components, such as safety policies, process improvement, operational procedures, emergency procedures, etc. The objective is to highlight the strengths and weaknesses, identify hazard areas, and develop corrective action. Depending on the detail and target of an audit, it could result in a report, followed by an action plan created by the audited organisation and confirmed by the legal and regulatory authorities. 

Audits are categorised into three (3) types: 

• Compliance auditing: This type of audit is known as a condition inspection. This audit focuses on unsafe settings and considers three elements: adherence, record keeping, and training. 
• Program Auditing: This audit evaluates the strategy and execution of safety programmes. 
• Management System Auditing: This type of audit assesses the efficacy and commitment of management to safety compliance, programmes, risk control measures, and employee engagement. 

Safety audits are conducted to ensure the following: 

• The organisation has a solid structure and sufficient workforce levels. 
• Approved instructions and procedures are followed; the requisite level of employee expertise and training to operate and maintain equipment and facilities is met. 
• The equipment’s operation is competent for the service’s safe practices. 
• Effective systems are in place for promoting safety, monitoring safety performance, and dealing with safety issues. 
• There are enough plans in place to deal with anticipated emergencies. 

Setting up a safety audit system 

As you begin the audit process, collaborate internally with any relevant parties to produce an appropriate plan and timeline that covers the project scope and defines important criteria, such as an organisation’s policies, procedures, and programmes. In addition, identify any working materials, such as checklists, that you will need to perform the audit.

The checklist should seek to address specific safety audit questions, such as: 

• Is our safety handbook updated and accessible to all employees? 
• Is our management team aware of their obligations in terms of health and safety? 
• What is our procedure for reporting hazards? 
• How often do we do safety checks? 
• Is our fire risk assessment valid? 

These are simply a few basic questions. One important aspect of doing a health and safety audit is personalising it to your company’s size, objectives, and concerns. There is no “one-size-fits-all” health and safety audit template. You must thoroughly examine your company so that the appropriate questions are included in the audit. Once you have a complete list of objectives, you can consider how to perform the audit. 

Health & safety audit procedure 

A safety audit is a thorough procedure that may be broken into the following steps. 

• Plan for audit: Here, you will decide who will conduct the audit, the scope/objective of the audit, relevant standards, and previous audit results. 
• Conduct the audit: This step includes conducting the audit in line with the plan. Any variation from approved safety protocols is documented, as are actual work settings. 
• Create an audit report: The report should highlight the results. There should be both good and negative results. The audit report summary should contain suggested actions and areas for improvement. 
• Prioritise corrective actions: The recommended actions should be prioritised and assigned a time frame for completion. Some people may need quick attention, while others may not. 
• Publish the audit findings: The suggestions and modifications should be expressed clearly. This will assist everyone in understanding the essential adjustments and how they may affect them and their job. 

You may wish to include different procedures depending on your sector and industry. Your auditor may advise you on which procedures to include. To get started, Inform People has prepared an audit tool to help any organisation prepare and complete a safety audit. 

What will the audit cover?  

The safety auditor or auditing team begins by collecting information without developing opinions or making critical remarks. The auditors are knowledgeable about the company’s programmes and the appropriate rules. A safety audit should cover three key questions: 

• Is the programme following all regulatory standards and industry best practices? 
• Is formal documentation of compliance available? 
• Does staff training create the proper behaviour? 

How long does an audit take?  

An audit may take a few hours to many weeks, depending on the extent of the audit. After the fact-finding step is completed, the audit is reviewed. The three essential questions are contrasted with the facts throughout the evaluation. Weaknesses are identified and investigated, and the auditing team makes corrective recommendations. 

What is the outcome of an audit?  

In order to adapt to changes in your workplace, safety audits should be carried out on a regular basis. A good safety audit should provide the following results: 

• Updating your current safety policies to adjust for the change and any new employees, equipment, or work sites. 
• Introducing new safety regulations that are tailored to your present needs and address any identified problems. 

Why Should You Have a Safety Audit Conducted? 

Some of the primary advantages of having a safety audit performed on your business include: 

• Promoting regular system reviews to ensure they are not compromised by poor practices. 
• Facilitating planned programme, policy, and process improvements. 
• Discover and identify opportunities for improvement in the human resources department. 
• Demonstrating a significant commitment to ensuring employees’ overall health and safety. 
• Confirming that management and employees are properly using safety programmes. 
• Checking for compliance with relevant safety rules. 
• Identifying and discovering possible dangers (existing and new). 
• Assessing the effectiveness of current management controls 
• Providing a safe environment for workers while reducing the possibility of an accident or harm. 
• Evaluating the sufficiency of the company’s safety training and performance objectively. 

How can Inform People help?

We can collaborate to construct a complete safety auditing process together on a simple, easy-to-use platform. Inform People’s compliance and performance management software can help you build customised audit forms and safety inspection checklists, trigger compliance alarms, schedule audits, assign remedial actions, and perform on-site audits. 

Contact us today to streamline the entire auditing process and ensure the safety and compliance of your organisation.