What is a health and safety audit checklist?

Every workplace needs a health and safety audit so that it can function safely. They don’t always require professionals. You can complete your own. That’s usually the case if you own a small business on small premises, and you feel very confident in your knowledge of health and safety. However, an audit is often more effective when carried out by a health and safety consultant. Either way, using a health and safety checklist is a great way of ensuring you make your workplace as safe as it can be. 

Is a health and safety audit legally required? 

According to the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, there's no legal requirement for a Health & Safety audit to be carried out. That said, employers have a legal duty to protect their staff, and audits are powerful means of ensuring they comply with the regulations, not only protecting staff, but making the litigation process for any unfortunate events simpler and easier.

How is a health and safety audit different from an inspection?

The two may seem like similar processes, but they are quite different in practice. A health and safety inspection usually happens more frequently and focuses on immediate threats to employee health. An inspection may reveal that a fire blanket in a commercial kitchen is out of date and needs to be replaced. 

A health and safety audit, however, will take a broader view to understand the company system that allows these issues to arise. For example, an audit might recommend, off the back of that inspection, that the failed health and safety blanket is a consequence of failing protocol for ordering spares.

As an audit is not as straightforward as an inspection, the tenets of the audit checklist are more general than an inspection checklist. Below is a kind of health and safety audit template, formed around the different regulations that are designed to ensure an employer complies with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. 

Health and safety audit checklist

1) Personal Protective Equipment 

Regulation: Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2018

This regulation advises PPE to be used as a last resort when the risk cannot be suitably controlled by other measures. However, sometimes the activity requires their use. 

Audit focuses:

  • Have staff been provided with the correct PPE? For instance, masks in a smoky room, kneepads for work spent on the floor.

  • Have staff been trained to use the relevant PPE suitably?

  • Is there a suitable place for the PPE to be stored?


2) Hazardous Substances 

Regulation:

  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002

  • Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012

Certain substances in a workplace may present a risk to an employee’s health. A good example of this may be a solvent used to finish a product. In this instance, proper PPE needs to be worn to mitigate the risks of long-term exposure to a hazardous substance like this. 

Audit focuses:

  • How are protocols regarding hazardous substances implemented so they are followed?

  • Has health surveillance and monitoring been implemented where appropriate?

  • Have adequate plans been made for emergencies?

  • Is all work with asbestos being risk-assessed by a competent person and then being treated by a licensed professional?


3) Tools and Machinery

Regulation:

  • Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 

  • Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

  • Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

This regulation places legal duties on people who own and operate the machinery in the business. There are all sorts of machinery a business requires, some of which require licensing to ensure the operation of certain machinery is safe. 

Audit focuses:

  • Is the machinery appropriate for the task it’s being used for?

  • Is the machinery/and or tool being regularly and properly inspected?

  • Do users have the corrrect training and certification?

  • Do the machines have emergency stops?

  • Have certified professionals installed the electrical equipment?

3a) Overexposure to Tools

Regulation:

  • Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005

  • Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

These regulations are about reducing the risk when coming into contact with either loud and/or vibrational tools. For example, after prolonged use of a sander, an employee may develop Hand-arm Vibrations Syndrome (HAVS). Equally, with loud machinery, overexposure may result in tinnitus. 

Main concerns:

  • Has health training been provided on these particular risks?

  • Are there time limits on the usage of certain tools instituted within a working day or week?


4) Reporting protocols

Regulation:

  • Reporting Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

For workplaces using and/or containing heavy machinery and hazardous substances, it’s important to record accidents, so the issue can be properly understood and avoided in future. 

Audit focuses:

  • Are there protocols and resources for documenting an accident clearly?

  • Does the workplace environment allow people to report accidents or near misses without judgment?


5) Working at Height

Regulation:

  • Work at Height Regulations 2005

All work that takes place at a height must be adequately planned for, usually through an assessment of the risk and the correct safety equipment must be supplied.

Audit focuses:

  • Have staff been properly trained to work appropriately and understand the risks?

  • Do staff feel able to ask for training?

  • Have the correct protocols for dealing with accidents been put in place?


6) Fire

Regulation:

  • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

This regulation designates the employer as the ‘responsible person’ and they must ensure fire safety is properly managed. This involves making a fire risk assessment and regularly reviewing it. The ‘responsible person’ should be suitably competent to do this job, and if not, hire an individual who can do that for the business. 

Main concerns:

  • Is there a process for reviewing fire safety protocols?

  • Has a plan been made for emergencies?

  • Has training been provided to employees?

Implementing a Health and Safety Audit Checklist

As mentioned, an audit is not a legal requirement for businesses, however, that does not make it any less important. In fact, an audit can address risks before they become a systemic issue and not only make health and safety inspections easier, but make your business a lot safer. 

Audits are complex, and are often made simpler with input from safety experts or technology that allows you to schedule and structure your audits. At Crysp we’ve developed a system that does both. We tailor a dashboard to fit your business and the industry it operates in. Crysp technology not only tracks and alerts you to the various inspections such as fire or machinery inspections, but also provides the templates, and provides a direct line to our consultants who can otpimise your safety protocols. For a demo, click here.