What is a safety audit?
A safety audit is an inspection of a workplace to discover risks to personal safety. It acts as an indication to the organization, employees, clients, and the government that the company is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for employees and anyone else who comes to the workplace. A third-party safety audit provides the company with an objective assessment of its health and safety regulations and procedures.
Why perform a safety audit?
The goal of a safety audit is to identify and, if possible, to improve a workplace environment to make it safer for those who work and conduct business in that environment. There are several reasons to perform a safety audit:
New companies often have safety audits performed to ensure that their health and safety procedures are meeting industry standards.
The company or an outside agency may request a safety audit after an incident has occurred that compromised the safety of employees or clients.
Prospective clients may require a company to have a safety audit performed before hiring them for a project.
Companies that routinely do well on third-party safety audits can apply for reductions in their insurance premiums due to lower levels of health and safety risks in the workplace.
What does a safety audit consist of?
Safety audits examine the company’s ability to:
|
Prevent workplace injuries
Report accidents that occur in the workplace
Prevent, protect against, and manage fire and explosion hazards
Manage emergency situations
|
Handle dangerous materials
Safely operate machines and equipment
Ensure proper ventilation, lighting and noise levels
Control health hazards
|
In conducting a safety audit, Solid Medical examines the following:
|
Occupational health and safety policies and safety organization chart
Training materials on safety, fire and first aid
Documented accident investigation reports
Statistics and analysis of accidents and dangerous occurrences
Records of tests and examinations performed on the company’s machinery, equipment and infrastructure
Operating procedures
Record of work permits
Record of monitoring of flammables and explosives
Maintenance and testing records of fire detection and fire fighting equipment
|
Records of industrial hygiene surveys (ventilation, noise, lighting, airborne/toxic substances, etc.)
Medical records of employees
Onsite emergency plans and records of drills
Waste disposal records
Housekeeping inspection records
Minutes of safety committee meetings
Approval of layouts and other approvals from statutory authorities
Maintenance procedure records
Calibration and testing records
Shutdown maintenance procedures
Safety budget
Previous audit reports
|
Please contact us with any questions you have about safety audits: 1-800-217-7467.
