CQ Guide: 5-step safety inspection process to create a safe work environment

Many risks may arise while operating any business. Out of all the risks, safety risks are the ones that need the most attention, as companies need to ensure a safe workplace for their employees. You can reduce potential risks and hazards by implementing an effective risk management system. But, before implementing the process, safety risks should be identified first. This is where safety inspections in the workplace come in to be proactive in the workplace and to keep people safe as well as,

  • Finding out potential health and safety hazards and investigating the effectiveness of your workplace safety practices
  • Properly checking safety equipment and recommending corrective actions to rectify or eliminate any hazards
  • Reviewing for compliance with health and safety regulations and guidelines

Safety Inspection Vs. Safety Audit

You must evaluate your workplace and define how efficient the current safety and health procedures are by following two methods: safety inspections and safety audits. You might need clarification on how a safety inspection differs from a safety audit, as they both ensure that operations are carried out as safely as possible, adhering to the rules and regulations. But they both are different.

Safety inspections are a systematic and thorough physical investigation of workplace conditions, along with documenting any hazards or unsafe practices. This refers to a formalized and properly documented process of identifying hazards in the workplace for several reasons, including

  • To help identify existing and potential hazards and mitigate them
  • To create a workplace environment of safety and security by examining equipment and determining whether safeguards are sufficient
  • Ensure your employees’ well-being by showing your commitment to their safety

A safety audit refers to an activity where the effectiveness of a workplace’s health and safety program can be evaluated. Safety audits help to identify any shortcomings in the current safety program and to determine whether the company follows applicable safety regulations. Conducting a safety audit can help to identify areas for improvement as well as

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the inspection process and analyze current safety systems to safeguard workers from getting injured
  • Address a recent safety concern and follow up on actions taken to prevent its recurrence
  • Make sure that the company meets the legislative requirements complying safety standards
  • Promote the company’s safety culture and encourage engagement in safety-related activities

5 Steps of a Robust Safety Inspection Process at Your Workplace

For conducting an effective safety inspection, you must follow these steps to streamline your process including

  • Clearly define your success criteria (of the part in question)
  • Make An Effective Inspection Strategy
    You should make a health and safety plan before conducting safety inspections involving these elements such as
  • Make A Schedule: The initial step is to make a schedule to decide how regularly you must conduct safety inspections (ideally, once every six months or so) and decide the timeline.
  • Create An Inspector List: It is important to establish a team involved in the safety inspection process to delegate duties according to their individual skills (trained safety professionals, equipment experts, and supervisors).
  • Make An Inspection Checklist: It is helpful to have an inspection checklist that can help the inspectors keep on track and ensure that they do not miss anything.
  • Perform the Safety Inspection
    After creating a successful strategy, it’s time to conduct the inspection. The inspection team should check all work processes and equipment properly to identify potential workplace hazards including
  • Improper machine guards and poor work practices (inadequate safety training, overloading equipment, using defective tools)
  • Defective safety equipment
  • Lack of a well-stocked first aid kit
  • Biological issues such as parasites
  • Environmental hazards like fumes or radiation
  • Physical issues such as heat, electrical hazards, wear and tear of equipment, etc
  • Examine the Data
    Once the inspection data is collected after performing a safety inspection, it needs to be thoroughly examined and analyzed to identify gaps and take preventive measures to prevent the hazards from occurring again and improve workplace practices.
  • Implement CAPA
    Once the inspection data is examined, you must implement a comprehensive CAPA to mitigate potential hazards found. This CAPA should cover the following aspects – the delegation of work for all the actions, the total time taken for the actions to be completed, and reporting the progress to the team responsible for corrective actions.
  • Follow Up on Your Finding
    You must conduct regular follow-ups to ensure that your findings from the safety inspection are properly addressed. The findings should be recorded and shared with the relevant stakeholders and the management for correcting and strengthening processes.

Embed Safety Culture with ComplianceQuest Safety Inspections

The end-to-end process of safety inspections, including planning, conducting, and following up on safety inspections, can be complicated with numerous inspection data, forms, and checklists. Managing all this manually could be increasingly more challenging, while using an automated and modern EHS solution such as ComplianceQuest can help to make the process smooth and safe.

To build a safety-focused company culture, the ComplianceQuest EHS solution can help to identify skill gaps and schedule training to improve safety where employees can feel empowered to notify managers about safety concerns. Additionally, your employees should know that they are protected by following OSHA-stipulated guidelines.

ComplianceQuest presented a webinar on “Eyes For Safety: Safety Inspections.” This webinar discusses transforming safety observations, inspections, and corrective actions into data or analytics to enhance your decision-making.

cta 5 step safety inspection process

In Need of Smarter Ways Forward? Get in Touch.

Get a Demo Today
spinner
Request Demo

Comments