A workplace inspection program constitutes a proactive and cost-effective risk management tactic that should be embraced by a business or an organizational entity.
When properly designed and executed, the program will expose deleterious situations in good time for remediation to be carried out before they get worse and cost the company more money to fix.
The question is: What makes an inspection program effective?
The answer to that question is what this article is about.
Problem-solving experts often recommend the use of the simple five-question model in analyzing and proffering solutions to issues and problems. The model consists of the following questions namely: Why? What? Who? When? and How?
Applying the five-question model, the following questions have been generated to explain the requirements for a good inspection program.
- Why are inspections conducted?
- What should be inspected?
- Who should conduct inspections?
- When should inspections be conducted?
- How should inspections be conducted?
Why are inspections conducted?
The written inspection program should start by describing: “Why inspections are conducted in the company”.
Typically, as explained above, we conduct inspections to mitigate risks by identifying system deficiencies and gaps and correcting them before they scale up to bigger problems that could negatively impact people, the environment, assets, or the company’s reputation.
In most jurisdictions, legal and regulatory provisions exist that mandate organizations to perform certain inspections at certain times. Compliance with these requirements reduces a company’s overall liability and helps it achieve its due diligence position.
What should be inspected?
Next, the program should describe: “What should be inspected”.
In general, a company consists of a person(s), using equipment and/or material (s) in a work environment to produce goods or services or both. Each of these components of the company is a potential show-stopper as the company pushes on to achieve its set objectives. It therefore follows that for an inspection program to meet its purpose, it should include the company’s work activities, work areas, personnel, equipment, and materials.
Again, it should be noted that government laws and regulations require that certain inspections be conducted at certain frequencies. These must be factored into the company’s inspection program.
The details of “what is to be inspected” form the key content of a workplace inspection checklist that should be developed by a safety professional in collaboration with the persons knowledgeable about the workplace and the nature of the activity they carry out. The inspection checklists should at minimum cover aspects of work areas, equipment, work activities, specific hazards, and materials.
Who is to conduct inspections?
Studies have proven that organisations perform optimally when everyone in the company is engaged, participates, involved, and consulted on issues that affect them and their workplace.
Workplace inspections fall within a key item that must involve everyone at all levels of an organization – senior managers, managers, supervisors, and workers included.
The written inspection program should contain a statement (s) that assigns inspections to job roles and individuals as appropriate and relevant to their job and as legislated.
In jurisdictions where workers’ health and safety committees exist as per legislation, it is usually mandated by the relevant occupational health and safety regulations that members of this committee be assigned inspection roles.
Employees at all levels must be trained on the company inspection program and be competent at conducting their assigned inspections before they go about the inspection. This is to ensure that the result from the exercise is authentic and value-adding.
When should inspections be conducted?
The next item the program should describe and explain is: “When inspections should be conducted”
Here we are talking about the timing and frequency of inspections – daily, weekly, annually, or during shift change. There may also be criteria that set off inspections such as equipment pre/post-use inspection, hours of operation, or intensity of use.
Inspections stipulated by regulations and the frequency for conducting such inspections must be taken note of in the inspection program and checklists.
It is best practice to create, discuss, communicate, and display in the workplace, an inspection frequency schedule that shows what should be inspected, by whom, and when the inspection will be done.
How should inspections be conducted?
The last section of an inspection program should describe how the inspection process will be achieved.
Each year the health and safety professional or representative or owner of the business should develop an inspection schedule, review this with employees at all levels of the company, and when finalized post it on the notice board.
Checklists and forms should be used for the various types of inspections.
Completed inspection checklists and deficiencies should be submitted to a focal point for follow-up to ensure correction of the identified lapses by the organization.
The focal point will update a tracking sheet to indicate employees who have completed their inspections as required in the inspection schedule.
The inspection implementation tracking sheet and deficiency follow-up-to-correction forms should both be reviewed with the employees during weekly, monthly, or quarterly meetings as appropriate.
Conclusion
For an inspection program to meet its objective as is the case with other company programs, it must:
- Be written down,
- Have every worker trained on the program and be involved in conducting inspections,
- Have a focal point responsible for tracking its implementation and
- Be reviewed periodically by management for relevance, suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.
Where Health and Safety Assistant can help?
Developing and implementing an effective workplace inspection program requires knowledge, expertise and time. It involves building the program to suit your specific business and location and training the workers on how to implement the program. Health and Safety Assistant can help you make this happen affordably and in a timely manner, allowing you to focus on your core business pursuits. We provide virtual and in-person support services.
Visit our website and get in touch with us to discuss further on how we can support you.
Website: www.healthandsafetyassistant.com
E-mail: info@healthandsafetyassistant.com
Phone: 587-586-2734
Location: Calgary Alberta