Inspections

A Health and Safety Compliance Audit is a systematic and objective activity of examination a workplace. The audit is meant to determine whether activities and the workplace itself are in accordance with the stipulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Employers have the duty to ensure that their workplaces are in a healthy and safe condition.

A Health and Safety Compliance Audit

must be conducted by a health and safety professional from a registered practicing company.

How is a Health and Safety Compliance Audit conducted?

A health and Safety Compliance Audit is done by conducting a risk assessment on all aspects of the workplace. These aspects are the working environment, working conditions, machinery, Personal Protective Equipment, fire and first aid services, products and data sheets, to mention but a few. All these aspects should be found to be in a satisfactory manner. The audit is specialised to identify risks that may pose a health and safety threat to employees and eliminate, suggest control measures or minimise it. A Health and Safety Compliance Audit should be done by someone with skills to identify even unforeseen risks and view things objectively.
There are various types of audits that companies can conduct, both internally and by outsourcing it to external experts.

Some types of audits conducted for workplaces

• Health and safety audits
• Health and safety management audit
• Project Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) auditing
• Process safety audit
• Product safety audit
• The Safety & Health Audit Recognition Programme (SHARP)

There are many advantages of having a regular Health and Safety Compliance Audit done regularly, other than being compliant by law.
The importance of a Health and Safety Compliance Audit:

• It informs the company how well it is performing in Health & Safety issues
• It identifies areas of improvement and corrective measures that could be effective
• It prevents accidents from happening as future hazards are identified in time and acted upon.
• It helps managers and others to determine whether they meeting the standards which the company has set itself
• It boasts the confidence of employees as they will know they work in a secure environment, hence boasting productivity and profits
• It ensures health and safety departments of companies are always proactive on health and safety

What happens after such an audit?

After a Health and Safety Compliance Audit has been conducted, it will determine if a workplace needs improvement or have passed the test. If the workplace is not satisfactory compliant, auditors will suggest and give advice on control measures to be implemented. These measures will be reviewed until premises meet required standards. It is only then that a Health and Safety Compliance Certificate will be issued.

A Health and Safety Compliance Audit is essential as it is a test that premises must be subjected to determine their compliance to legal standards. In addition, the health and safety compliance certificate companies will be issued with will help escape fines and penalties from the Department of Labour.

MAKROSAFE conducts hundreds of compliance audits every year, and in various industries. Contact us today to discuss how we can assist you.