For most companies, the path to identifying and mitigating workplace hazards usually begins with a workplace inspection. How else can you find out all of the potential hazards that must be addressed? Of course, every workplace inspection must be conducted in an efficient manner to ensure that everything has been sufficiently identified. If you cut corners or do something the wrong way, you’ll be doing your company and your employees a disservice.
Having said that, here are some of the best practices to keep in mind for your next workplace inspection.
Before going through with a workplace inspection, it’s important to seek out feedback from employees. After all, they spend every day in the workplace and will be most familiar with issues that should be looked at and addressed. Ask them if there’s anything that requires special attention during the inspection or items that are worth looking at closely. The more focused you can be, the more successful the inspection will be. Plus, you want as much information as possible before conducting a workplace inspection.
Speaking of gathering information, reviewing the company’s safety records is something that should always happen before a formal inspection. You will want to look at the records of past inspections, recent accidents, employee injuries, and any other safety matters that might be pertinent. Even if the inspectors have a good memory of what’s happened in the past, it doesn’t hurt to review the formal records. These records can point inspectors to specific areas that need to be inspected carefully to see if they have been addressed properly or remain a safety concern.
It’s difficult to conduct an effective workplace inspection if inspectors are walking aimlessly in all directions. It’s always best to have a firm plan ahead of time for how you will cover everything. You don’t want to needlessly backtrack or risk forgetting one part of the workplace altogether. Come up with a sensible plan for the order in which the workplace will be inspected. If it helps, create a checklist that coincides with your plan so that you don’t forget to inspect a particular area.
This should almost go without saying, although it’s important enough to repeat. The more specific you can be with the notes and takeaways from the inspection, the better off you’ll be during the next inspection. As mentioned, the records from past inspections can allow for a more targeted approach on the next inspection. This is why you should record all of your findings from a workplace inspection.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the inspection itself is all that matters. You performed the workplace inspection so you could learn as much as you can about the safety concerns and hazards in the workplace. The next step is using that information so you can make recommendations that can improve workplace safety. While you don’t want to get ahead of yourself, inspectors should be making note of potential solutions with every problem or hazard they encounter. On top of that, inspectors should meet with company leaders after the inspection and start coming up with a game plan to correct the most serious findings.
One of the best ways to stay up to date on internal inspections and be prepared for your next workplace inspection is to use safety monitoring software. We have developed software that tracks hazards, assists with training, and can make self-audits and inspections easier to conduct and more cost-effective. Our system is a proven method of keeping everything related to safety under one umbrella so that it’s a lot easier to manage.
If you want to do better in your approach to workplace safety, let’s have a conversation about how we can help make that happen.