Health & Safety Risk Management System

S03 - Health & Safety Auditing

The purpose of safety audits

Safety audits are distinct from the periodic safety inspections. Their primary function is to ensure that safety systems are functioning as they should and that policies, procedures and arrangements are performing as planned. Safety audits examine the control and management systems in place, much as is done for finance, quality and environment. Audits should aim to assess:

• The organisation
• Planning arrangements, and
• High hazard/risk activities.

The final audit report should contain recommendations and an action that identifies:

• The remedial action required
• Who is responsible for ensuring that they are carried out, and
• Contains a timetable for implementation.

Types of safety audit

Several different types are available depending on whether the audit is targeted at the strategic (compliance) audit, tactical (behavioural) audit or is bespoke to the operation. Each approach requires information gathering from individuals, documents and personal inspections.

The advantages are numerous and far outweigh the costs involved:

• They will allow you to control your health and safety risks more effectively
• They will help promote a safety culture
• They can be proactive, measuring your performance against pre-set standards
• They can be preventative as they do not rely on reactive measures such as accident/incident statistics
• They allow numerical quantification of health and safety performance improvements
• Measuring reality against theory allows effective assessment of the success of your health and safety management system
• Demonstrates your commitment to health and safety (both internally and externally), and
• Will help you meet your statutory health and safety obligations, internal organisational standards and established rules/industry standards.