20OCT2017

Element 5

1. Give the meaning of health and safety audit (2)

It is the structured process of collecting independent information on the effectiveness
and reliability of the total health and safety management system and drawing up plans
for corrective action.

2. Outline the content of a training course for managers who will carry out internal health
& safety audits for their organization (8)
 Explanation about factors to be considered at the pre- audit stage.
 Carrying out observation of the workplace which might include inspection of
workplace, equipment, behaviour and documentation.
 The use of certain testing tools for carrying out inspection of equipment’s.
 Interviewing techniques for gathering information through workers and staff.
 Analyses documentation which is checked during the audit.
 Information about legal standards that would be applicable for the organization.
 Information to be discussed during the feedback session after an audit process
 Meaning of minor and major non-conformance report after the audit

3. Outline the key features of:

a. A health and safety audit. (4)
Auditing is the "systematic, objective, critical evaluation of how well an
organisation's management system performed by examining evidence". Health
and safety audits share many common features with financial, quality and
environmental management. An audit focuses on management systems:
 It examines documents such as the safety policy, arrangements, procedures, risk
assessments, safe systems of work, method statements, etc.
 It looks closely at records such as those created to verify training, maintenance,
inspections, statutory examinations, etc.
 It verifies the standards that exist within the workplace by interview and direct
observation.

b. A health and safety inspection; (4)

 An inspection is a simpler process of checking the workplace for uncontrolled
hazards and addressing any that are found.
 The term "safety inspection" means a regular, scheduled activity with comparison
to accepted performance standards
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 The routine inspection of a workplace to determine fry general standards of health

and safety are acceptable or if corrective action is necessary (e.g. a quarterly
housekeeping inspection in an office).
 The statutory inspection of an item by a competent person to fulfill a legal
requirement (e.g. The annual thorough examination of an item of lifting
equipment).
 The periodic inspection of plant and machinery as part of planned maintenance
programmers (e.g. a mechanic inspects the brakes on a lorry on a regular basis to
ensure they are not excessively worn).
 The pre-use checks carried out by workers before they use certain items of plant
and machinery (e.g. the startup checks carried out by a forklift truck driver).An
inspection is a simpler process of checking the workplace for uncontrolled
hazards and addressing any that are found.

4. Outline the purpose of ‘health and safety audit’ (2)

Auditing is a way of supporting monitoring by providing managers with information. It
will show how effectively plans and the components of health and safety management
systems are being implemented. In addition, it will provide a check on the adequacy and
effectiveness of the management arrangements and risk control systems

5. Identify documentation that is likely to be inspected in a health & safety audit.(8)

 Health and safety policy.
 Risk assessments and safe systems of work.
 Training records.
 Minutes of safety committee meetings
 Maintenance records and details of failures
 Records of health and safety monitoring activities, e.g. tours, inspections, surveys,
etc.
 Accident investigation reports and data including near miss information
 Emergency arrangements
 Inspection reports from insurance companies, etc.
 Output from regulator visits, e.g. visit reports, enforcement actions, etc.
 Records of worker complaints.
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6. Outline issues that need to be considered at the planning stage of a health and safety
audit.(6)
Before the audit starts the following should be defined:
 The scope of the audit - will it cover health and safety. Or health, safety and
environmental management as well?
 The area of the audit - one department, one whole site, all sites?
 The extent of the audit - fully comprehensive (which may take weeks) or more
selective?
 Who will be required - auditors will need to be accompanied during their visit and
will need access to managers and workers for information-gathering. Therefore
those required for interviews should be notified in advance.
 Information-gathering it is common practice for auditors to ask for copies of
relevant documentation before starting the audit so that they can prepare.
The organisation will have to ensure chat the auditor is competent, i.e. That they
have the relevant qualifications, experience and knowledge to do the job well. This can
apply to both internal and external auditors If internal staff are used as auditors
sufficient time and resources will have to be allocated so that they can be trained
and developed in that role
All of these elements of the audit process require the allocation of sufficient
management time and resources.

7. Identify methods of gathering information during a health and safety audit. (2)
Auditors use three methods to gather factual information:
 Reference to paperwork - the documents and records which indicate what should be
happening and what has happened relevant to a particular issue.
 Interviews - word-of-mouth evidence given by managers and workers
 Direct observation - of the workplace, equipment, activities and behaviour
Auditors will sometimes seek to collect evidence so that their findings cannot be
refuted; this can be done by copying paperwork, taking photographs and having a
witness to corroborate word-of-mouth evidence

8. Outline why the health and safety audit findings should be presented to the senior
management of an organization (2 marks)
Or
Outline why it’s important that the outcome of the review is reported to the most
senior person in an organization, such as Managing Director or CEO
The findings is usually presented to senior management for action and/or praise as
required this is a demonstration of leadership and in some cases a requirement in the
20OCT2017

standards which are being audited. The management team have the authority and
resources to take action where required, and may also need to adjust the organisational
goals and objectives.

9. Explain how the findings of an audit may be used to improve health and safety
performance.
Organizations need to be able to reinforce, maintain and develop the ability to reduce
risks. The ‘feedback loop produced by audit process enables organisation to ensure
continuing effectiveness of the health and safety management system. Over time, it is
inevitable that control systems will decay and may even become obsolete as things
change. Auditing is a way of supporting monitoring by providing managers with
information. It will show how effectively plans and the components of health and safety
management systems are being implemented. In addition, it will provide a check on the
adequacy and effectiveness of the management arrangements. Auditing is critical to a
health and safety management system, but it is not a substitute for other essential parts
of the system. Companies need systems in place to manage cash flow and pay the bills –
this cannot be managed through an annual audit. In the same way, health and safety
needs to be managed on a day-to-day basis and for this organizations need to have
systems in place. A periodic audit will not achieve this, the aims of auditing should be to
establish that the major components of a safety management system is in place and
operating effectively.

10. Identify the advantage and disadvantage of internal and external audit. (8 marks)
Internal
Advantages:
 Less expensive.
 Auditors already familiar with the workplace and what is practicable for the
industry.
 Can see changes since last audit.
 Improves ownership of issues found.
 Builds competence internally
 Familiarity with the workforce and individuals.
Disadvantages:
 Auditors may not notice certain issues.
 Auditors may not have good knowledge of industry or legal standards.
 Auditors may not possess auditing skills so may need training.
 Auditors are not independent so may be subject to internal influence.
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External
Advantages
 Independent of any internal influence.
 Fresh pair of eyes.
 Already has audit experience.
 May have wider experience of different types of workplace.
 Recommendations often carry more weight.
 May be more up-to-date with law and best practice.
Disadvantages
 External auditors are expensive.
 Time-consuming.
 May not understand the business so make impractical suggestions.
 May intimidate workers so get incomplete evidence.

11. Outline the content of a training course for managers who will carry out internal health
& safety audits for their organization
 Explanation about factors to be considered at the pre- audit stage.
 Carrying out observation of the workplace which might include inspection of
workplace, equipment, behaviour and documentation.
 The use of certain testing tools for carrying out inspection of equipment’s.
 Interviewing techniques for gathering information through workers and staff.
 Analyses documentation which is checked during the audit.
 Information about legal standards that would be applicable for the organization.
 Information to be discussed during the feedback session after an audit process
 Meaning of minor and major non-conformance report after the audit
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12. Outline the issues that need to be considered in the review of the health and safety
performance of the organization (8)
Or
Identify issues that could be considered at a safety committee meeting
 Legal compliance - the organisation must be aware of any legal compliance issues
and therefore the review should include a report as to any outstanding issues. An
organization may also have specific internal requirements, e.g. higher standards
imposed from a parent organisation, which should also be considered in this section.
 Accident and incident data – clearly the number and type of injury accidents,
property damage accidents, lost-time etc. should be reviewed as a reactive measure
of health and safety performance, together with the review of actions that are
closed out.
 Findings of safety surveys, tours and sampling and workplace or statutory
inspections - may provide evidence of conformance or non-conformance to
standards.
 Absence and sickness data - information concerning work-related ill-health, from
absence monitoring records should be reviewed in order to determine if there are
patterns of absence.
 Quality assurance reports may also provide a source of information.
 Audit reports - findings of internal and external audits should be reviewed, which
may present detailed and comprehensive information on the safety management
system and ns effectiveness.
 Monitoring data/records/reports - the findings of monitoring activities should be
considered.
 External communications and complaints - there are a number of potential external
sources of communication, from regulators to local residents.
 Consultation- a summary of issues raised could be considered. It may be appropriate
to highlight major issues rather than the minor details, which should have been
addressed at the consultation stage.
 Objectives met - the review should consider the organisation's progress against
stated health and safety objectives.
 Actions from previous reviews - actions will arise at each review, and progress must
be monitored to ensure they are closed out.
 Legal and best practice developments- there may be new legal developments which
will impact the organisation in the future, and advanced warning of this will enable
the organisation to develop a plan to achieve compliance in time to meet legal
deadlines.
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13. Outline reasons why an organisation should monitor and review its health and Safety
performance. (8)
Or
Identify the reason for reviewing the health and safety performance of an organization
Or
Outline why an organization should carry out regular reviews of health and safety
performance
 To check if the organization is moving towards and achieving the set targets
 To ensure all the legal obligations are fulfilled
 To ensure the set standards are achieved
 To assess the effectiveness of the health and safety policy
 To identify the reasons for failure to achieve the targets
 The organizations can make changes after the review process to continually improve
 Reviewing is an essential part of health and safety management system.
 ISO certification requires certified organizations to review their health and safety
performance regularly.