The ideal workplace inspection isn’t one that follows a safety incident. Nor is it a surprise visit from OSHA. The ideal inspection is one you arrange yourself.
Self-inspection audits are the most effective way to improve safety management, prevent accidents, and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Work area inspections will:
- Tell you whether safety and health policies and procedures are being followed.
- Identify hazards so that they can be corrected before they cause injuries or illnesses.
- Determine the need for safety training.
- Ensure that your work areas will fare well in the event of an OSHA inspection.
- Show employees that you’re concerned about their safety and health.
Although OSHA doesn’t mandate safety and health audits, the Occupational Safety and Health Act does say that workplaces must be "periodically evaluated" to make sure that employees’ working conditions are safe and healthful.
When and How
The timing of self-inspection audits depends on the type of work areas involved. Very hazardous areas might require formal, weekly inspections, whereas office areas may need only a monthly inspection.
Formal, scheduled inspections should be supplemented with informal daily walkaround inspections of most or all work areas. It’s also a good idea to conduct some unscheduled inspections, especially targeting areas that have had more than their share of safety problems. And, of course, follow up to be certain that problems identified in prior inspections have been effectively fixed.
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Use checklists for every safety inspection. For daily walkarounds, you may carry the list in your head. But for more detailed inspections, use a written checklist so you can check off each item as you inspect it. Make notes and describe issues that need attention.
Employee Involvement Is a Big Plus
Although management needs to take the lead in work area inspections and is ultimately responsible for making sure action is taken to correct problems, employees should definitely be involved.
Work area safety inspections are a great training tool and a good way to involve employees in safety programs. Getting employees involved also motivates them to work more safely.
Here are just a few ideas for involving employees in self-inspection audits:
- Ask workers to help develop inspection checklists for their work areas.
- Appoint individuals—or, even better, a team—to conduct inspections. Team members might serve on a rotating basis so that everyone gets a chance to be involved.
- Meet with employee inspectors after inspections, and discuss safety problems and corrective actions.
- Talk about the results of work area inspections with all employees in weekly safety meetings.
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Don’t Wait for an Accident!
Safety is all about awareness and knowledge. Knowledge gives you the power to prevent accidents. One of the best ways to keep informed about ever-changing work area conditions is to perform routine safety inspections. Don’t wait for an accident to find out about a hazard that could have been corrected.
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You can’t fix hazards you don’t know about. As we discussed in yesterday’s Advisor, regular work area inspections are a highly effective way to identify and correct hazards.