Health And Safety Audits And Inspections; What You Need To Do
Health and safety audits and inspections go hand in hand with each other and are an imperative part of keeping your workplace free from WHS risks. Regardless of the size of your business, it is so important that you take a proactive approach to providing a safe workplace and not just assume everything is fine until a problem is brought to your attention or an incident occurs. That’s a sure fire way to be slapped with an increase in your WorkCover premium and worse still is the reason why people are now actually doing jail time over workplace incidents their staff have been involved in.
So what are WHS inspections and audits really anyway?
An inspection is the process of examining your workplace (you can inspect the whole workplace or target a specific area of operation) to identify any hazards that may be putting your employees at risk. This process can be either an informal walk around the site or a formal, planned inspection.
An audit is a documented method of reviewing your systems of safe work as they are carried out in the workplace, to ascertain whether they comply with WHS legislative requirements, or whether they need to be amended.
How often should you be conducting inspections and audits?
The following table gives you a guide as to the frequency that different areas of your workplace should be inspected and audited and by whom. Remember every workplace is different so getting some advice on what would be considered by law as ‘reasonable’ is recommended.
| Assessment Type | Frequency | By |
| External Audit | 3 yearly | Independent assessor |
| Internal Audit | Annually | Internal specialist |
| Walk-through Inspection | Quarterly | Senior management |
| Walk-through Inspection | Monthly | Departmental managers |
| Checklist Inspection | Weekly | Supervisors and Health and Safety Reps |
| Pre-shift Inspection | Daily | Employees |
| Safety Critical Check | Pre-start | Operators |
| Hazard Reporting | Ongoing | Employees |
HR Tactics – HR Consultants Brisbane – Outsourced HR
Are WHS inspections and audits necessary?
This information was provided with the intention of helping you find more clarity, confidence and peace of mind as you navigate your own journey as an employer. I would love to hear your thoughts on this, and if you think someone else would enjoy it please feel free to share it on.
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