A workplace safety audit is an important tool for any business or organization to ensure the health and safety of its employees.
When done properly, a workplace safety audit can identify potential hazards, reduce risks, and prevent accidents before they occur. It also provides an opportunity for employers and employees to work together and create a safe environment.
With the right steps, completing a workplace safety audit can be very straightforward. This article will provide a guide on how to properly complete a workplace audit, from identifying potential hazards to developing and implementing corrective actions.
1. Identify Potential Hazards
The first step of a workplace safety audit is to identify potential hazards at the workplace. But to start this process, the audit team should understand what a hazard is. There are a few key criteria for defining a hazard in the workplace. First, it must be a condition that has the potential to cause harm or injury. Second, it must be something the organization has control over.
That said, hazards can be anything from a lack of proper training to a mechanical issue with a piece of equipment. They can occur anywhere, from in the offices to out in the field.
To identify potential hazards, the audit team can use a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to understand the workplace better.
At the end of the audit, the audit team should have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the workplace, opportunities for improving the overall safety of the workplace, and potential threats that could negatively impact the safety of the workplace.
2. Assess the Risks
After the audit team has identified potential workplace hazards, they should assess the risks associated with them to determine if they are above the organization’s acceptable threshold.
At this point, it’s important for the audit team to remember that a hazard is not necessarily a risk. For example, a potentially hazardous piece of equipment may not pose a risk if it’s used properly and maintained. Similarly, a hazard may not always be the result of poor equipment. Hazards can also come from human error or poor work habits.
3. Develop Corrective Actions
After the audit team has assessed the risks, they can then develop corrective actions.
Corrective actions are a way to reduce the risks and hazards at the workplace. Depending on the severity of the risk and the organization’s policies, the audit team may or may not need to take action to address the risk.
For example, if a piece of equipment has a minor defect, the audit team may not need to take any action to address the risk associated with the defect. However, if the audit team finds that employees are not receiving the required training to operate certain equipment, they should develop corrective actions to address this risk.
4. Implement Corrective Actions
After the audit team develops corrective actions, they must determine how to implement them. First, the audit team should prioritize the corrective actions based on the severity of the risk. Next, they should assign each corrective action to a responsible person. Finally, they should set a timeline for when each corrective action should be completed.
After completing these steps, the audit team should review their findings and provide a report outlining their recommendations to the organisation. The report should outline the audit team’s findings, their recommendations based on those findings, and any other relevant information related to the audit.
In Conclusion
A full and proper workplace audit should include all of the steps highlighted above. Note that the audit process can be long and take several weeks to complete, so it’s best to start early and plan for it to take a little longer than initially expected. By following these steps, employers and employees can ensure the safety of their workplace and keep their staff safe and healthy.
