The Importance of a Workplace Safety Audit Checklist

An effective workplace safety audit checklist should include reviewing a company’s written program and comparing it to local, state and federal regulations regarding hazard identification, record keeping and employee training. Furthermore, an examination should take place regarding whether appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hard hats, respirators masks or safety glasses are present within the workplace.

Check for Hazardous Materials
Examining hazardous materials as part of a workplace safety audit checklist is essential in ensuring employee wellbeing in the workplace. This involves verifying all chemicals contain safety data sheets, are appropriately labeled, and meet storage protocol specifications; furthermore it involves checking that emergency procedures are clearly posted and readily available for employees to access.

Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, eye protection and hard hats are essential in working in extreme temperatures or environments like hot or cold environments. Furthermore, workers need access to resources like drinking water, hydration stations and both hot and cold showers in case extreme conditions arise during their job responsibilities.

Paper forms or simple pen and clipboards for inspections can be time-consuming and cumbersome, while digital form apps like DataMyte make inspections simpler by eliminating the need to carry around a physical sheet with space for each item. Inspectors can complete inspections directly from their mobile devices while having completed forms stored instantly in a secure location.

Check for Unsafe Equipment
Safety inspection checklists can help identify equipment and machinery that is not secure or operating correctly, which could impact employee wellbeing and health in the workplace. Furthermore, employees who see other coworkers cut corners regarding proper housekeeping or safety protocols could adopt them themselves and this is why inspecting equipment regularly to ensure it’s being utilized in an optimal manner is key to maintaining employee wellbeing and a productive workforce.

Conducting safety inspections using traditional pen and paper checklist books or digital clipboard apps are an efficient way to document all findings, making walkthroughs much more accurate, while mitigating workplace violations. A mobile form management platform like DataMyte makes this process even simpler since forms can be filled out on tablets or smartphones instead of carrying around physical clipboards!

Check for Unsafe Work Practices
Be wary when inspecting any work area to look out for deviations from safe working practices. Make sure that workers are using PPE when needed and that hazardous products have been marked accordingly under Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS).

Be on the lookout for any elevated surfaces in the area and ensure that safety rails or nets are installed. If workers require climbing, make sure they use appropriate fall protection gear. Also make sure all confined space entries and exits are clearly marked.

Make an observation of each element of the work area for an allotted amount of time and record them on an inspection form or checklist. Apply your risk evaluation scheme – which takes into account both likelihood and severity – when classifying each hazard; identify whether the danger is new or an ongoing one; determine its likelihood and severity before noting whether its source may need attention; use the inspection report generated to identify any issues that need resolving;

Check for Unsafe Environment
Physical inspection of the premises is one of the best ways to verify compliance with safety protocols and eliminate potential hazards to employees. This should include checking fire alarms and emergency exits are working properly, equipment is being maintained correctly, there is enough light throughout the facility and aisles are free from obstructions; and carts, dollies and hoppers are capable of transporting heavy objects safely.

Health and safety inspection checklists should be tailored specifically to each company, but templates can help create the structure most useful to your company. When used effectively, checklists allow for easier examination of potential safety risks while simultaneously making auditing much more manageable; additionally they make errors more visible as there is now a record of what was done when.