inspections
measuring the actual performance against standard / measuring the number of non compliances addressed by an inspection / hazards & unsafe conditions
active monitoring
- inspections
- auditing
- sampling
- safety surveys
- safety tours
- checklists
- safety climate & culture surveys
- provides information on how the system is working
- identifies risks of accidents, injury, ill health & loss
- ensures appropriate systems are in place
- allows initiatives to be taken before things go wrong
- leading indicators
- basis for continual improvement & demonstrates commitment which in turn improves morale
auditing
- an indepth systematic, critical look at the business - comprehensive view of strengths and weakness against the companies objectives
safety surveys
can be tailored to suit the business, a thorough examination of a particular aspect / an in depth specific look at issues
safety tours
a pre determined route by a range of people - takes around 15mins includes observations and inspections
checklists
ensures a consisitant and comprehensive approach to hazard identification. it looks at - people, plant & substances, premises, procedures / unscheduled inspections
reactive monitoring
- accident investigation
- near miss reports
- enforcement action
- complaints
- damage
- measuring historic performance
- looks at the events concerned
- identifies consequences & cause of failure
- identifies what systems need to be put in place
- provides data for trends
- lagging indicators
provides a basis for continual improvement and demonstrates management commitment which in turn improves morale
developing an audit program
- scope & terms of reference of the audit
- logistics & resources required
- obtaining support & commitment from senior management
- nature, scale & frequency of audit
- standards against which the management arrangements are audited
- identification of key areas of the audit process
- feedback routes
- preparation & presentation of the final report
- developing audit protocols
- scoring
- use of software
- what type of of auditing
- training the auditors - who will audit ( a group or a single auditor / external & internal)
- briefing staff
problems with audits
- time consuming & costly
- not feasible to complete a full audit more than once a year
- likely to be a lot of things to correct - some make take a long time to complete
- there could be a long time between the recommendation and solution this may affect the value of the audit
