Conducting Safety Inspection Audits in the Workplace

Conducting Safety

Inspection Audits in the

Workplace

Why do Safety Inspection/Audit

• Visible leadership

• Hazard Recognition

• Injury Prevention

• Employee Involvement

– Buy-in

– Ownership

– Empowerment

• OSHA Compliance

When looking for Hazards

• Entire Operation vs. Specific Review

• Team vs. Individual

• Review of OSHA programs to ensure

compliance

• Look for Hazards

– General Safety Hazards

– Ergonomic Hazards

– Industrial Hygiene Hazards

The Best Way to Control Hazards:

• Eliminate the hazard

• Remove the worker from the immediate area

of danger

• Guard the Hazard

• Train and instruct the Employee(s)

• Use of personal protective equipment

How observant are you?

• What color is a yield sign?

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All injuries can be prevented

Benefits of Good Safety Management

• Reduction in the cost of medical and workers’ compensation

• Greater productivity

• Improved product or research quality

• Overall operation improvement

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Basic Principles of Good Safety Management

Management Commitment

Documented Safety Philosophy

Safety Goals and Objectives

Committee Organization for Safety

Line Responsibility for Safety

Supportive Safety Staff

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Basic Principles of Good Safety Management (cont’d)

Rules and Procedures

Audits

Safety Communications

Safety Training

Accident Investigations

Motivation

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Expectations for Safety Performance

• Employees must:

– Make safety equal to all other aspects of the job [safety is #1]

– Follow all safety rules and procedures

• Management must:

– Accept responsibility for prevention of injuries

– Accept responsibility for safety training

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Supervisor’s Responsibilities

• Know, communicate, and enforce existing standards

• Recognize the need for revised standards

• Develop new procedures and rules when necessary

• Train employees to follow all rules and procedures

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Audit Program

• An opportunity to spend a few minutes observing activities in the workplace and then discuss what you’ve seen with your employees

• This is done with an eye towards safe, and unsafe, behavior

• Mitigate hazards

• Record observations

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Inspection versus• Things

• Passive

• Experts (them)

• Negative

• Document / Follow up

Audit• People

• Interactive (I care)

• Everyone (us)

• Positive & Negative

• Document / Follow up

A Nomenclature!

August 8, 2007 Version 3.3 14

Purpose of Safety Audit

– Identify safe and unsafe, acts or conditions

– Identify areas for improvement

– Follow up when mitigating actions are indicated

– Accumulate data for tracking trends related to safety

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Types of safety audits

• Scheduled

• Unannounced

• Compliance with standards

• Adherence to procedures

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Benefits of safety audits

• Promote safe behavior

• Test for compliance with standards

• Establish standards

• Identify weaknesses

• Accumulate data

• Prevent injuries

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Proposed frequency of audits

• Division Office – Quarterly

• Department Heads, Level 1 Project Managers – Quarterly

• Group Leaders, Level 2 Project Managers – Monthly

• Staff – Monthly

• Supervisors, Level 3 Project Managers – Weekly

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Where are audits conducted?

• Wherever your employees are working

• Group work areas

• Individual work spaces

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Auditing

• Focus on one or two activities

• One location or portion of a building

• One or two processes

• Plan for a duration of an hour or less

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Elements of your Safety Audit Process

• Read the Audit Checklist prior to the walkthrough

• Visit the work area and talk with employees (without paperwork in hand)

• Mitigate any unsafe situation

• After the walkthrough: Complete the checklist and the Audit Form

• Follow up, if necessary

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What to look for during an audit

• Reactions of people

• Positions of people

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Tools and equipment

• Procedures

• Housekeeping

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What to look for during an audit (cont.)

• Reactions of people– Does anyone adjust PPE, change position, or rearrange

job when the safety auditor appears?– Does anyone abruptly stop work, attach grounds, or

perform LOTO?LOTO stands for lockout/tagout. When done properly before equipment service or maintenance, lockout/tagout procedures control hazardous energy and protect workers from harm.

• Positions of people– Is anyone in danger of injuring himself by pulling or

lifting heavy objects?– Is anyone in a position where he or she could fall, be

trapped, collide with anything, or be hit?

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• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

– Are employees using the required protective equipment?

– Are they using the PPE properly?

– If not, why not? Is the PPE inconvenient to obtain or

hampering the job in some way?

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• Tools and equipment

– Are they being used properly?

– Are they in safe condition?

– Are homemade tools (not properly

designed) being used?

• Procedures

– Are they adequate? Do they prevent all

unnecessary risks?

– Are they followed?

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• Housekeeping

– Is the workplace neat?

– Are things put away properly?

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Safety Audit Checklist

• Safety Audit Checklist

• Handout

Version 3.3 27

The Safety Audit Form

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Potential Injury Severity

Severe Moderate Minor

Broken bones, dismemberment, fatality

Abrasions, cuts, injuries requiring more than first aid

First aid


When Someone is Working Unsafely

• Observe; then get the person’s attention

• Comment on what the employee was doing safely

• Discuss with the employee

– The possible consequences of the unsafe act

– Safer way to do the job


When Someone is Working Unsafely (cont’d)

• Get the employee's agreement to work safely in the future

• Discuss other safety issues of the job• Ask the employee what you the supervisor could

do to make the employee’s job safer• Thank the employee

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Audit Examples

How would you approach this situation?

What is the employee doing or wearing that is good that you can mention? (foot wear, etc?)

(Pause for response)

That would be entered into the Notable practices, safe acts or conditions area of the Safety Audit Form.

What could go wrong here? What would be the potential severity of the injury if an incident occurred?


Box could fall on the person’s head, strain? Potential severity? Moderate probably.

This would be entered into the Unsafe acts and condition portions of the safety audit formWhat would you suggest to the employee to make the job safer?(Pause) Maybe an approved step ladder?

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Audit Examples

What is going on in this picture?

What is the employee doing correctly? Can you see the harness?


He seems to be working above 6 feet and only has 2 points of contact so that would be correct. It also seems that he is wearing the proper foot wear for the job. Those points would be entered into the Notable practices, safe acts or conditions area of the Safety Audit Form.What unsafe act is being committed? What would be the potential severity of this unsafe act if there was an incident?(Pause for response)That would be entered in the Unsafe acts, practices, or conditions portion of the safety audit form.

What is wrong with this picture?

Response

A fire extinguisher was not mounted.

LOCATION(S):

REFERENCE(S): OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157(c)(1)NFPA 10:1-6.3

POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Fire extinguishers should be mounted on a vertical surface with the top between 4 and 5 feet from the floor. The location should be identified by a sign or other means to make the extinguisher easily identifiable.

Could there be a deficiently with their fire protection or emergency action plan program?


Response

Wheel chocks were not used when loading and unloading truck-trailers.

LOCATION(S):

REFERENCE(S): OAC 4123:1-5-13(G)(1)OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(k)(1)

POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Instruct employees to use wheel chocks under the rear wheels to prevent trailers from moving while they are being loaded or unloaded. Equivalent protection, such as dock locks, may be provided instead of wheel chocks.


Response

The grinder did not have an upper peripheral guard (tongue guard).

LOCATION(S):

REFERENCE(S): OAC 4123:1-5-12(D)(2)(i)OSHA 29 CFR 1910.215(b)(9)

POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Contact the manufacturer for assistance to determine the guard needed. An alternative would be to construct a guard according to the specifications set forth in Table 12-J, Ohio Administrative Code.

There was no work rest on the grinder.

LOCATION(S):

REFERENCE(S): OAC 4123:1-5-12(D)(1)(d)(i)OSHA 29 CFR 1910.215(a)(4)

POSSIBLE SOLUTION: An adjustable metal work rest, made to the specifications of the manufacturer of the grinder, should be attached. It needs to be adjusted so that the space between the work rest and the wheel is no more than one-eighth of an inch. Check the grinders on a regular basis and adjust the rests as needed.


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Conclusion

• All injuries can be prevented

• Management is responsible for preventing injuries

• Working safely is a condition of employment

• Training employees to work safely is essential

• Prevention of personal injuries is good business (and good science!)

• Audits can play a key role in safety

• And, once again …

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Audit Program

• An opportunity to spend a few minutes observing activities in the workplace and then discuss what you’ve seen with your employees

• This is done with an eye towards safe, and unsafe, behavior

• Mitigate hazards

• Record observations

Your Team Services

• Industrial Safety Consulting

• Construction Safety Consulting

• Ergonomic Consulting

• Industrial Hygiene Consulting

• Safety Management

Your Team Services

• Training Services

– Training Courses

– Learning Center

• Information Services

– Library Services

– Video Library

– Publications

Safety Teams

Team Name: The Crew

Worksite:Tefal Zahran Factory

Team members:1. Radwa Zein2. Mohamed Shawky3. Mostafa Mosaad4. Georges Narchi

Team Name: Primes

Worksite:Saybolt

Team members:1. Ahmed Nagib2. Baher El Nagar3. Mohamed Hafez

Team Name: NEBOSH

Worksite:ELNG

Team members:1. Toka Khaled2. Doaa Essam3. Mohamed Abdel Moneam

Evaluation Rubric

• Implementing safety in ALL of the IME Labs. (creating a safety program for each)

• Case 1- what is wrong with this picture?

Case 2- What is wrong with this picture?

Auditing Rubric

• Submitted report follow report rubric.

• Team’s referenced checklist.

• Worksite of audit.

• Evaluation procedure for the audit outcome.

• Data sheets (form) required.

Thank You

Conducting Safety Inspection Audits in the Workplace

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