A safety program audit checks whether your health and safety program exists on paper, whether it is actually being followed, and whether it is working. A good audit compares documents, records, interviews and site observations against a set standard and gives you a clear list of gaps to close. It is a management tool first, and a compliance exercise second.
Why audit at all
Programs drift. Procedures written for one site get copied to another, supervisors change, forms get simplified until they no longer capture what matters. An audit is the scheduled moment where someone looks at the whole system and asks whether it still matches the work.
Audits also feed other goals. In several provinces, a Certificate of Recognition depends on passing an audit against a set protocol. Clients and prime contractors increasingly ask for audit results during prequalification. And after a serious incident, a recent audit showing that gaps were found and fixed is far better evidence of due diligence than a binder nobody has opened.
Internal and external audits
| Type | Who does it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Internal audit | Trained staff from your own organization | Regular check-ups, maintenance years between external audits, building in-house understanding |
| External audit | An independent auditor | Certification audits, an objective view, sites where internal staff are too close to the work |
| Gap assessment | Internal or external | Before a first certification audit, or after a big change such as a merger or new type of work |
Certification audits must be done by auditors recognized by the certifying body and must follow its protocol. A gap assessment or informal review has no such limits, which makes it useful as a dry run.
What an audit looks at
Most audit protocols cover similar elements, even if the names differ:
- Management commitment and a written health and safety policy
- Hazard identification, assessment and control
- Safe work practices and procedures
- Inspections of the workplace and equipment
- Training, qualifications and orientation
- Emergency response planning
- Incident reporting and investigation
- Worker participation, including committees or representatives
- Contractor management
- Records, statistics and program review
How evidence is gathered
Auditors usually use three sources and look for agreement between them.
Documentation
Policies, procedures, hazard assessments, inspection forms, training records, meeting minutes and investigation reports. The question is not just whether the document exists but whether it is current, complete and signed off.
Interviews
Conversations with workers, supervisors and managers across shifts and roles. If the procedure says one thing and every worker describes another, the procedure is not in use.
Observation
Walking the site to see whether guards are in place, whether permits are posted, whether PPE is worn and maintained, and whether housekeeping matches what the inspection forms claim.
Sampling matters. An audit that only interviews hand-picked staff or only visits the tidiest site tells you little. Ask for a sample that reflects all shifts, sites and types of work.
Preparing for an audit
- Get the protocol you will be audited against and read it with your program beside it.
- Gather records for the period under review and check that they are complete and easy to find. See keeping safety training records.
- Tell workers and supervisors that interviews will happen and why. Do not coach answers; the point is to learn what is really happening.
- Fix obvious gaps you already know about, and record what you did.
- Arrange site access and escorts so the auditor can see the real work.
After the audit
The report is the start of the useful part. Turn each finding into an action with an owner and a target date, track it to completion, and check later that the fix held. Group findings by root cause where you can: five missing inspection forms may point to one supervisor without training, not five separate problems.
Share the results with your health and safety committee or representative. They are often the people best placed to say whether a proposed fix will work on the floor.
A typical finding, worked through
Say the documents show a written procedure for pre-use forklift inspections, and the forms are filed every day. In interviews, two operators on the night shift say they fill the form in at the end of the shift because the truck is already running when they arrive. On the floor, the auditor sees a truck in use with a damaged seat belt that is not mentioned on that day's form. Three sources, three slightly different stories.
The finding is not "operators are careless." It is that the inspection is not happening before use on the night shift, and the forms are not catching defects. The corrective actions might be to change the shift handover so the truck is parked and checked, retrain night supervisors on what the form is for, repair the seat belt, and spot-check forms against equipment for the next few months. The follow-up check confirms that the night shift is now inspecting before use, not just that new forms exist.
What the audit report should include
- The scope: sites, departments, period under review and the protocol used
- Who was interviewed (by role, not name) and how the sample was chosen
- Findings for each element, with the evidence behind them
- Clear separation between non-conformances, observations and good practice
- Scores, where the protocol uses them, and how they were calculated
- Recommendations that are specific enough to act on
- Any limits on the audit, such as areas not visited or records not available
Keep the report with the corrective action log. Next year's auditor will want to see both, and so will an investigator after an incident.
How ehZee can help
ehZee reviews safety programs against the work being done, looks for gaps between paper and practice, and helps put corrective actions in place. If you are preparing for a certification audit, we can help with the preparation; the certification audit itself must be done by an auditor recognized by the certifying body. See safety program development and review, and our guide to the Certificate of Recognition.
Common questions
How often should we audit?
Certification programs set their own cycle, often a full audit followed by maintenance audits in the years between. Outside certification, many employers audit annually and after major changes. Higher-risk work justifies more frequent checks.
Is an audit the same as an inspection?
No. An inspection looks at conditions and equipment at a point in time. An audit looks at the management system that is supposed to produce good conditions, including whether inspections are being done and acted on.
What score do we need?
For certification, the certifying body sets the passing criteria, which often include an overall score and minimum scores for each element. Check the current protocol, since requirements are updated.
Who should do our internal audits?
People who have been trained on the protocol and who are not auditing their own area. Pairing a supervisor from one site with a worker from another often gives a fair and practical view.