Proactive Monitoring

There are numerous ways of proactive monitoring in the workplace, such as:

Workplace Inspection – This involves competent people going around the workplace on a regular basis in order to identify hazards, unsafe acts as well as unsafe conditions, in order that these can be rectified. A checklist can be used for these inspections. Inspections are the most common method of proactive monitoring within organisations. However, whilst the use of a checklist provides a more consistent approach to the inspection (prevents the individual forgetting items to inspect through distraction); the individual tends to stick to the boundaries of the checklist meaning there is the potential for issues not covered by the checklist to be missed.

Safety Tours – These are a brief examination of one or more aspect of the workplace and can demonstrate management commitment, however you would not expect a senior manager to look for or understand in as much detail the checks required by the Workplace Inspection checklist.

Safety Sampling - Safety sampling studies how processes and people operate and can identify unsafe behaviours and therefore future accidents can be avoided.   The inspection can be limited to a specific area or aspect of the workplace e.g. fire doors.   The difficulty with this method is that the user is often drawn to the behavioural issues such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) being worn incorrectly or not at all, rather that issues with the working environment such as an accumulation of waste.

Safety Audits – Thorough, systematic and critical examination of systems and procedures collecting independent information on the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of the total health and safety management system and drawing up plans for corrective action.   Auditing can provide a confirmation or assurance that an organization has addressed any reasonably foreseeable risks with a suitable framework for internal control. A safety audit should confirm that...