Safety Audits

An essential tool for active safety management

April 2015
Dr Emer Bell
Integrated Risk Solutions
 Head of Unit
• Heads of Unit are responsible for the
safety of their staff and students –
remember section 80 of the Safety
Health and Welfare at Work Act.
• The safety audit is the way that
Heads of Unit can demonstrate
active safety management.
• Auditing is a simple look back to see
whether safety management
continues to be effective.

• It should provide satisfaction that the

Head of Unit and other staff with
safety responsibilities have done
what’s reasonably practicable to
comply with legal requirements.
 How often?
• The Unit audit is carried out annually
and is initiated by the Head of Unit.
 Unit Safety Policy Statement
• The Unit Safety Policy Statement
provides the basis for the audit.

• There should be documentary

evidence to support the answers.
• A safety audit is not just a safety
inspection.

• It is not just about trailing cables and

poor housekeeping
 Who carries out the audit?
• The Head of Unit may delegate other
staff members to provide answers to
the audit questions.

• The Safety Coordinator should

coordinate but not necessarily
answer all questions.
 How does the Head of Unit
know what's going on?
• I require periodic Documentary evidence
written reports on • Reports from safety
health and safety committee
performance from the • Lab or office safety
appropriate persons inspections
and/or committees in
my Unit including
[insert which reports
are received in a
typical year].
 Induction training
• I require that every new
staff member and
student in my Unit is
given the appropriate Documentary evidence
level of health and • Signed safety training
safety induction. These records showing what
inductions are was covered in the
coordinated by [insert induction
name(s) of persons
responsible for
organising the local
inductions].
 Safety Training

• I will annually prepare a

safety training needs Documentary evidence
assessment and • Training needs
arrange for follow up assessment
with staff to ensure • Signed safety training
their attendance at the records
required training.
 Risk assessments
• Has each potentially hazardous
activity been risk assessed and are
there written controls in place to
minimise or eliminate the risk
associated with this activity?
 Risk assessments
Staff must notify me of
any planned, new, or Documentary evidence
newly identified
significant hazards and • Written risk assessments
also of the control • PemacCare
measures needed to
adequately reduce the
risk(s) identified. This
will be in the form of a
new or revised risk
assessment.
Documentary evidence of risk assessments
and control measures for;
• Workstations
• Manual Handling
• Chemical Agents
• Biological Agents
• Work equipment
• Fieldwork
• Student Projects
• Events
• Lone Working
 Work equipment
• Have we got a list or register of
potentially hazardous equipment?
• Have we got evidence of visual
inspection of the equipment?
• Have we got evidence of
maintenance and servicing of the
equipment?
• Have the risk assessments and
control measures been reviewed
within the last two years?

• Can we show that everyone who

needs to know about the written
controls arising from these
assessments does?
– Does our safety training cover the risk
assessments?
 PemacCare
• Have room by room risk
assessments been carried out?

• Have the results of the assessments

been updated onto PemacCare?

• Is there a plan in place to deal with

outstanding items on PemacCare?
• Have safety audits/inspections been
carried out in laboratories and
offices (Appendix 4 & 5 of the NUI
Galway Safety Statement)?
– These can inform the contents of the
PemacCare room by room assessments
 Fire and emergencies
Documentary evidence
The last fire drill in my
• Record of the fire drill
Unit was conducted on -
stating who
The next drill is due by -
participated, how long
Local plans for fire and it took, any problems.
other emergencies are in
• Copy of the
place.
emergency plan (from
These plans will be basic to very detailed
reviewed/drawn-up by depending on the
[insert date]. risks, Unit size, etc.)
Communicating safety to staff
• Safety committee Documentary evidence
• Documents on • Minutes of meetings
• Emails to staff
shared drive
• Tell staff about
stress and bullying
policy
 Key areas for improvement
• Make sure there is documentary
evidence to back up any declarations
made about safety.
• Remember that
even a post it note
may be worth more
than your word
when it comes to
trying to show that
action was taken to
minimise or
eliminate risk.
 Key areas for improvement
• Do not leave the audit to the Safety
Coordinator alone.
• For Units with labs or workshops or
practical work of any kind a number
of staff must be involved.
 Key areas for improvement
• Use the audit results to set
objectives for the coming year
– Make sure there is a time limit for
completion
– Make sure responsibility for completion
is allocated to named individuals
– Don’t wait until the following year to see
if the objectives have been met
 Key areas for improvement
• To achieve best practice in auditing
active observations of work
practices should be made.
– Go to the area and see how a particular
activity is carried out. As examples:-
• Has manual handling been risk assessed?
• Is there a Chemical Agents Risk
Assessment for the activity?
• Is the person adhering to its findings?