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 written reports on health and safety performance from the appropriate persons and/or committees in my Unit including [insert which reports are received in a typical year]. Documentary evidence Reports from safety committee Lab or office safety inspections

Induction training I require that every new staff member and student in my Unit is given the appropriate level of health and safety induction. These inductions are coordinated by [insert name(s) of persons responsible for organising the local inductions]. Documentary evidence Signed safety training records showing what was covered in the induction

Safety Training I will annually prepare a safety training needs assessment and arrange for follow up with staff to ensure their attendance at the required training. Documentary evidence Training needs assessment Signed safety training records

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 newly identified significant hazards and also of the control measures needed to adequately reduce the risk(s) identified. This will be in the form of a new or revised risk assessment. Documentary evidence Written risk assessments PemacCare

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 The last fire drill in my Unit was conducted on - The next drill is due by - Local plans for fire and other emergencies are in place. These plans will be reviewed/drawn-up by [insert date]. Documentary evidence Record of the fire drill stating who participated, how long it took, any problems. Copy of the emergency plan (from basic to very detailed depending on the risks, Unit size, etc.)

Communicating safety to staff Safety committee Documents on shared drive Tell staff about stress and bullying policy Documentary evidence Minutes of meetings s to staff

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?