Safety Audit & Review

A safety audit is a process that systematically measures the organisation's management of its health and safety programme against a series of specific and attainable standards, to determine if there is compliance.

The purpose of the audit is to examine the system and its implementation to determine if and where the system could be failing. The auditor's role should be focused on identifying problems to drive improvement. The audit will reveal gaps and identify opportunities for improvement, so the result will entail both findings and recommendations. 

The final audit report will provide guidance for improvements that are suggested, along with any actions for follow up.

A system may fail because of:

• Poorly written procedures or processes (be these electronic or hard copy)
• Inadequate scope of procedures or processes
• Inadequate training
• Abuse of procedures or agreed processes
• Poor recording, ie incorrect documentation of activities or misuse of electronic devices when recording activities eg where PDAs are used or onscreen records of process stages are maintained
• Management failings, eg lack of safety commitment, ineffective supervision or not supplying resources
• Lack of appropriate equipment and facilities, eg suitable storage containment for hazardous materials.