Occupational Health and Safety Audits

Identifying and correcting health and safety hazards has many benefits including:

• Reduced costs (lost productivity, insurance, legal, re-training)
• Reduced risk
• Reduced liability
• Improved standing among customers, investors and the community
• Increased productivity (improved employee health and morale

OHS audits should be a routine periodic activity and are best done by a team. The team can consist of:

• In-house personnel (self-audits)
• A combination of in-house and organization personnel from another site
• Outside expertise coupled with in-house personnel (third party audits)

Ideally, the team make-up should include OHS experts, management, and key line operators. Team knowledge of operations and work practices is of utmost importance in identifying and correcting hazards.

OHS audits may aim for various goals.

An audit may be strictly compliance oriented in which case ensuring that facilities and procedures meet standards required by regulation is the primary goal. An audit may include best practice findings and recommendations in addition to compliance issues, because compliance alone implies a minimal level of risk management. An audit may include an assessment of in-depth management systems that addresses the very structure of the health and safety program including reporting structures, accountability, measurement, communications and training, employee involvement, and management commitment (management systems audit).

Audit findings should be assigned a priority and acted upon expeditiously. Audit findings should be closely tracked until closure. It is important to correct known hazards promptly to prevent injury and lessen liability.