A workplace safety audit is crucial for any business, no matter the industry or size of the company. Finding any possible hazards in the workplace is vital when it comes to protecting your employees and your business. A safety inspection can facilitate that process and enable employers to make critical decisions with regard to safety in the workplace.
Hence the team at Auspice Safety would like you to know all about workplace safety audits.
Workplace Safety Audit – Defined
A workplace safety audit is a process designed to analyze a company’s processes, work environment, equipment condition, etc, to determine reliability, safety and efficiency. An auditor reviews all these technical components as well as all safety procedures of the workplace to give appropriate advice on how the company should adjust and improve. When comprehensively and effectively conducted, a safety inspection will create a work environment that mitigates the potential and impact of any workplace hazard.
Purpose of a Workplace Safety Audit
There are three major purposes of a safety audit.
- The inspection detects any and all potential hazards that can bring harm to employees or hamper business activities.
- The audit determines if the company’s safety measures are compliant with all national and provincial standards.
- The audit finds the weaknesses, if any, in a company’s protective procedures and suggests improvements that can correct them.
Who Should Carry Out A Workplace Safety Audit?
Any workplace investigation has to be conducted fairly and impartially, even though the factors that determine that can vary. Choosing an investigator usually sets the precedent and determines how fair the inspection is going to be.
An internal safety audit can be conducted by the employer or an internal investigator. Their ability to maintain impartiality or parity may be suspect but it allows for the protection of privileged information. This is also valuable in preparing for external audits.
An external auditor will provide a more thorough inspection of the work environment and safety measures. Their commitment to fairness and impartiality is practically assured and their expertise allows them to detect potential risks that the average person would overlook.
Importance of a Workplace Safety Audit
Even though it may seem like an inconvenience that can cause dips in productivity, safety audits can also provide many benefits to an organization.
Learning about the subtle and overlooked hazards and how to mitigate, if not eliminate, them is difficult without a safety audit. This is particularly true when it comes to ergonomic hazards whose effects build up over long stretches of time until it’s too late.
Safety inspections lead to safer work environments which can reduce delays in work operations. When the hazards in the workplace are nil or minimal, their impact on employees and their production is significantly reduced. This allows for less time spent handling the hazard and more time spent handling workplace tasks, thus increasing productivity.
A workplace safety audit also does wonders for employee morale. When employees know they are working in an environment that adheres to safety standards, they are more comfortable and relaxed. This allows them to focus on work without worrying about hazards and their potential impact. As such their productivity rises.
Keeping companies on the right side of the law is another great merit of safety audits. There are many strict penalties for companies that do not comply with safety standards that have been established provincially and nationally. They include fines that can cripple companies severely. With an inspection of the workplace, employers can fix their safety shortcomings and rest easy knowing that their organization is on the right track.
Auspice Safety – Your Guide to Workplace Safety
With a properly conducted workplace safety audit, you can create a safe environment for your employees while boosting productivity and keeping abreast of all legal requirements. The minor inconveniences they cause are nothing compared to the merits that come alongside them.
Please contact us if you have any concerns about the safety of your workplace. Auspice Safety has been providing safety solutions to businesses in various industries all over Canada for over 30 years. Our team consists of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals and we go above and beyond to meet your health and safety needs.