OHS Safety Auditing Tips

Occupational Health and Safety Audits are part of today’s business landscape. No matter what type of industry you are in, assessing your workplace OHS risks should be a matter of course. Safety Audits don’t have to be time consuming nor do they need to be expensive.

You can conduct a basic Safety Audit within your own workplace. Walk into your workplace with fresh eyes, look at the vehicle traffic, including parking. Check pedestrian traffic areas, and think about how they could be safer. Look at surfaces, are there designated traffic lines and safety signage displayed to advise people what plant and equipment is being used on site. Do vistors know to report to reception or a similar safe meeting point?

Break down the roles within your workplace and think about the Occupational Health and Safety implications in how each job is performed.

• Should personal protective equipment be warn?
• Could products or equipment be stored or handled mechanically instead of manually?
• Are staff inducted or trained how to work safely and do they have the opportunity to ask questions and sign off after their OHS training?
• Are safe work procedures provided for processes, plant and equipment?
• Are work areas tidy?
• Do employees and visitors know what to do in an emergency?

These are just a few ideas for conducting your own OHS Audit. Obviously there are many details that can’t be covered in these brief tips, but this is a good place to start. Creating a Safety Culture in your workplace may not happen overnight, but it can happen. If you would like more assistance, consider a Safety Culture OHS Safety Audit.