The audit is most widely used fundamental tool for evaluating the effectiveness of existing organization management systems. The principle of the audit to provide an independent assessment of the compliance with all policies, procedure and local regulatory requirement and industry best practices norms. The primary objectives of the internal and external audit are ensuring the accountability, identify the gaps & area for an opportunity to bring the continuous improvement within the organization.
This section basically describes the purpose, process, types and all benefits to organization, how they directly and indirectly contribute to building positive safety culture and operational excellence.
Purpose of the Audits and primary objectives of HSE audits are:
- Assess the all applicable legal compliance requirement, commitment polices and legal/contractual obligation.
- Audit is the process to identify the gaps and weakness in the management system.
- It’s the process to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation of procedure, and safety control measures
- Its helps to promote continuous improvement through appropriate preventive and corrective action.
- Its assist top management for decision making with strong organizational insight.
- Regular or planned audit ensure the compliance with all applicable local and international legislative requirement. Additionally strengthen the organizational safety culture by implementing proactive approach for accident/incident prevention.
These are the types of audit:
1. Internal Audit
The internal audit basically conducted by organization approved internal auditor, their primary focus on the internal HSE management system, existing procedures and performance evaluation.
Key elements of internal audits:
- Its often conducted quarterly, semiannually or annually.
- Main focused on internal compliance with all internal policies and procedure.
- Identifying any existing non conformities prior to regulatory inspection or external auditor.
- Audit encourage accountability and ownership amongst the department and employees.
Example of internal audits:
- Auditing management review guidelines
- Auditing safe work permit procedure and its compliance
- Auditing Hazards Identification & Risk Assessment procedure implementation and compliance.
- Auditing emergency response procedure and their records
- Auditing internal and external training procedure and training matrix compliance completion ratio.
- Auditing equipment inspection and maintenance record as per approved procedure and manufacture guidelines.
2. External Audit
The external audit are conducted by the independent parties or organization, such as certification bodies, local legal authorities, client, or any third party consultant. These audit are provide the detailed assessment of the organization non conformities for the continuous improvement.
Key elements of external audit:
- Basically external audits are performed according to audit criteria which can be based on the specific regulatory requirement, certification requirement or requested by the client.
- The external audit provide the organization credibility to the stakeholder, client, investor, and employees.
- The external auditor can easily detect Non conformities with their fresh interaction with management system.
- Primary focus on identifying gaps and recommended area for an improvement.
Example of external audits:
- Unannounced or unplanned inspection from the local government authorities or agencies
- Client performing contractor compliance audit.
- New or recertification audit by independent bodies
- Third party audit for performance review and evaluate the effectiveness.
HSE Audit procedure
There are structure procedure to perform the audit to ensure accuracy of outcome, consistency and effectiveness.
Key Steps in audit but not limited to this:
- Planning and Preparation
- Define the specific audit criteria including scope and objectives
- Identify the specific department, any process and activities to be included
- Assign well qualified and competent auditor to develop the audit plan.
- Document Review
- Review the existing policies, procedure, risk assessment, JSA, and previous audit record for reference
- Auditor will verify that all document are align with define practice and applicable legal requirement.
- Site visit for sampling (inspection and observation)
- Evaluate working condition are adequate, safety practices and environmental situation
- Date collection and verification
- Asked for the evidence of compliance and performance evaluation metrics
- Do the cross verification with actual reported data
- Do the trend analysis and evaluation of the records
- Identify the any non conformities, opportunity for an improvement
- Identify the potential associated hazards and risk
- Evaluate the effectiveness of existing implemented procedures
- Reporting and recommendation
- Auditor will prepared the detailed audit report considering all audit findings including non conformities, opportunity for an improvement and recommendation.
- The auditor will be listed out the actionable item for immediate corrective action
- Follow up for the corrective action till closing
- Required monitoring for effectiveness to prevent similar issues recurrence
Benefits of internal and external HSE Audit
- Internal audit helps to identify the hazards and compliance issue early
- Regular internal audit improve overall performance and lead to continuous improvement
- Ensure alignment with all applicable standards
- Internal audit is cost effective and can be conducted frequently as required
- Internal audit allow management to have immediate corrective action and preventive action.
- Internal audits keeps organization ready for any external audit and inspection.
- Audit provide independent and unbiased assessment.
- Ensuring compliance with local legal and regulatory requirement
- External audit supports continual improvement through expert recommendations and suggestion.
Conclusion
The internal and external audit are essential tools to ensuring workplace safety compliance, employees health and wellbeing, environmental compliance. The internal audit is a proactive approach for evaluation and continuous improvement. However external auditor offer independent validation against the local regulation and standards. A successful audit help organization identify the gaps, opportunity for an improvement, controlled the risk, promote accountability and enforce robust safety culture. Integrating audit with preventive and corrective action, management review, review objectives and benchmark, HSE metrics, organization can achieve sustainable safety culture.
