Monitoring, review
and audit
Learning outcomes
 To
be able to use a variety of proactive and
reactive monitoring procedures
 To be able to carry out a workplace
inspection – produce action plan
 Use different types of safety inspection
 To be able to review performance
 Explain meaning and preparations needed
for an audit
Monitoring
There are two basic types of monitoring:
 Proactive or active monitoring , by taking
the initiative before things go wrong, involves
routine inspections and checks to make sure
that standards and policies are being
implemented and that controls are working.
 Reactive monitoring , after things go
wrong, involves looking at historical events to
learn from mistakes and see what can be put
right to prevent a recurrence.
Why measure performance?
You can’t manage what you can’t measure..
 Measurement
is an accepted part of the ‘ plando-check-act ’ management process.
 to provide information on the progress and
current status of the strategies, processes and
activities employed to control health and safety
risks.
 Effective measurement not only provides
information on what the levels are but also why
they are at this level, so that corrective action
can be taken.
What to measure
Effective risk control
The health and safety management system comprises
three levels of control:
Level 3 – effective workplace precautions provided and
maintained to prevent harm to people who are exposed to
the risks
Level 2 – risk control systems (RCSs): the basis for
ensuring that adequate workplace precautions are
provided and maintained
Level 1 – the key elements of the health and safety
management system: the management arrangements
(including plans and objectives) necessary to organize,
plan, control and monitor the design and implementation
of RCSs.
Health and safety management system
Input: monitoring the scale, nature and distribution of
hazards created by the organization’s activities –
measures of the hazard burden.
Process: active monitoring of the adequacy,
development, implementation and deployment of the
health and safety management system and the
activities to promote a positive health and safety
culture – measures of success.
Outcomes: reactive monitoring of adverse outcomes
resulting in injuries, ill health, loss and accidents with
the potential to cause injuries, ill health or loss –
measures of failure.
How to measure performance
The measurement process can gather
information through:
 Direct observation of conditions and of
people’s behaviour (sometimes referred to as
unsafe acts and unsafe conditions monitoring).
 Talking to people to elicit facts and their
experiences as well as gauging their views and
opinions’.
 Examining written reports, documents and
records.
Inspections
This may be achieved by developing a checklist
or inspection form that covers the key issues to
be monitored in a particular department or area
of the organization within a particular period.
 It might be useful to structure this checklist
using the ‘ four Ps
 Premises
 Plant and substances
 Procedures
 People
Key points in becoming a good observer
 Effective observation includes the following
key points:
 be selective
 know what to look for practice
 keep an open mind
 guard against habit and familiarity
 do not be satisfied with general impressions
 record observations systematically.
Observation techniques
In addition, to become a good observer, a person
must:
stop for 10 – 30 seconds before entering a new
area to ascertain where employees are working;
be alert for unsafe practices that are corrected
as soon as you enter an area;
observe activity – do not avoid the action;
remember ABBI – look above, below, behind,
inside;
Observation techniques
develop a questioning attitude to determine
what injuries might occur if the unexpected
happened and how the job might be
accomplished more safely. Ask ‘ why? ’ and ‘ what
could happen if … ? ’ ;
use all senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch;
maintain a balanced approach. Observe all
phases of the job;
be inquisitive;
observe for ideas – not just to determine
problems;
recognize good performance.
Reports from inspections
Essential elements for a report are:
Identification of the organization, workplace,
inspector and date of inspection
List of observations
Priority or risk level
Actions to be taken
Timescale for completion of the actions
Inspection standards
The checklist or inspection form should facilitate:
 The planning and initiation of remedial action,
by requiring those doing the inspection to rank
deficiencies in priority order
 Identifying those responsible for taking
remedial actions, with sensible timescales to
track progress on implementation
 Periodic monitoring to identify common
themes which might reveal underlying problems
in the system;
Management information on the frequency or
nature of the monitoring arrangements.
Measuring failure – reactive monitoring
Reactive monitoring arrangements include
systems to identify and report:
 Injuries and work-related ill health (details of
the incident rate calculation)
 Other losses such as damage to property
 Incidents, including those with the potential to
cause injury, ill health or loss (near misses)
 Hazards and faults
 Weaknesses or omissions in performance
standards and systems, including complaints from
employees and enforcement action by the
authorities.
Report writing
There are three main aims to the writing of
reports and they are all about communication. A
report should aim to:
 Get a message through to the reader
 Make the message and the arguments clear
and easy to understand
 Make the arguments and conclusions
persuasive.
Report writing
Five factors which help to make reports
effective are:
Structure
Presentation of arguments
Style
Presentation of data
How the report itself is presented
Structure
 The structure of a report is the key to its
professionalism.
Good structuring will:
 Help the reader to understand the information
and follow the arguments contained in the report
 Increase the writer’s credibility;
Ensure that the material contained in the
report is organized to the best advantage.
Structure
The following list shows a frequently used
method of producing a report, but always bear
in mind that different organizations use different
formats:
1. Title page
2. Summary
3. Contents list
4. Introduction
5. Main body of the report
6. Conclusions
7. Recommendations
8. Appendices
9. References.
Review and audit
The aims of auditing should be to establish that
the three major components of a safety
management system are in place and operating
effectively. It should show that:
 Appropriate management arrangements are
in place;
Adequate RCSs exist, are implemented and are
consistent with the hazard profile of the
organization;
 Appropriate workplace precautions are in
place.
Review and audit
The process of auditing involves:
 Gathering information from all levels of an
organization about the health and safety
management system
 Making informed judgements about its
adequacy and performance.
Gathering information
Preparatory work
 Meet with relevant managers and employee
representatives to discuss and agree the
objectives and scope of the audit
 Prepare and agree the audit procedure with
managers
 Gather and consider documentation.
Gathering information
On site
Interviewing
Review and assessment of additional
documents.
Observation of physical conditions and work
activities.
Conclusion
Assemble the evidence
Evaluate the evidence
Write an audit report.
Performance review
 In a review, the following areas will need to
be examined:
 The operation and maintenance of the
existing system
 How the safety management system is
designed, developed and installed to
accommodate changing circumstances.