INTRODUCING THE HEALTH AND SAFETY COMPLIANCE AUDIT

The purpose of this audit process is two-fold: it may be used as a gap analysis for the user to determine the health and safety systems that are in place in the organisation in order to determine what processes or systems need to be updated or implemented for the organisation to be compliant to health and safety compliance. Alternately, it may be used as a compliance audit to determine the organisation's compliance with current health and safety legislation.

This audit process is aimed at small organisations whose employee count is greater than fifty (50) employees but less than one hundred and one (101) employees.

WHO NEEDS TO DO THIS?

This audit process is intended for all companies who wish to determine their compliance status to health and safety legislation or who wish to determine what gaps they may have in their health and safety systems and processes.

WHY IS THIS AUDIT IMPORTANT?

This audit is important because it determines if an organisation is compliant with current health and safety legislation. An organisation that is determined to be compliant is provided with a compliance certificate that confirms this status. This allows the organisation to submit proof of their health and safety status in such processes as tendering for contracts or providing evidence to the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) on their commitment to health and safety.

BASIC AUDIT CONTENTS

The audit consists of the following details:

An introduction meeting between the auditor and relevant organisation representatives.

A "soft" examination that reviews the health and safety documentation of the organisation, including health and safety appointments, inspections, training, hygiene surveys, policies and procedures, incident reports, contractor control documentation and other documentation that may be relevant to the interests of health and safety.

A "hard" examination that involves a physical walk-around of the organisation's premises to review the workplace in relation to its operational processes and its documented aspects of health and safety.

The size and scope of the audit are dependent on the size and extent of the organisation and is customised to the specific operational aspects of the organisation.

The audit itself is broken down into sections that cover all aspects of health and safety, which may include the following:

Risk Assessment processes within the organisation.

Contractor management processes of the organisation.

Organisational and administrative health and safety measures within the organisation.

Incident management within the organisation.

Training measures in health and safety that are taken by the organisation.

Building aspects in relation to health and safety. Emergency preparedness processes within the organisation.

Environmental surveys within the organisation, including air, chemical, asbestos, noise, lighting, biological, etc.

Chemical processes and controls within the organisation. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the organisation.

The conduction of health and safety inspections by the organisation.

The management of working at heights within the organisation.

The management of construction work by an organisation.

BENEFITS OF THIS AUDIT

By having this audit (or gap analysis) conducted an organisation will gain the following benefits:

An understanding of the organisation's compliance with current health and safety legislation.

An understanding of the organisation's current gaps in their systems and processes to health and safety legislation.

Comprehensive feedback on what aspects of the organisation are non-compliant in relation to health and safety legislation. 

An action report that provides specific details of findings, which can then be used to determine a plan of action on what needs to be fixed and where these fixes need to be done.