Preparing a Quality Workplace Health and Safety Inspection Report

As soon as practical after the completion of the inspection, the inspection team members should review the notes made and pictures taken during the inspection and review the recommendations made. This should then culminate in an inspection report.

All information about the safety and health that was encountered during the inspection should be recorded in the report and provided to the management of the company. The management should provide the inspection team leader with a written response to the report. Management may decide to conduct a joint inspection with the team that may or may not include a health and safety representative if they are not satisfied with the report.

The management team has the prerogative to determine the priority in dealing with the identified deviations identified during an inspection. In order for this to be an objective decision the risk of each deviation is determined utilizing the risk assessment process and then entering the risks in the master risk register from where it will be dealt with in order of priority. Health and safety representatives can over inspect the workplace later with the aim of establishing the progress made with the implementation of the corrective measures.

The relevant findings as contained in the inspection report should be communicated to the affected workers so that they are updated about matters affecting their health and safety.

Inspection Report Content
The structure and format of the inspection report should be consistent with good report writing standards. This may vary form site to site. The inspection specific information that should be included is as follows:

Basic Information
The inspection report should contain basic information regarding the inspection site, the date and time of the inspection, the name and contact details of the responsible person and the names of the inspection team.

Findings
The findings of the inspection should include descriptions of any identified potential at risk conditions or practices, including supporting information obtained during the preparation phase or from continuous monitoring activities and investigations conducted subsequent to the inspection. Copies of all relevant inspection documentation that can add value should be appended to the report.

Recommendations
It is normally not expected of an inspection team to make recommendations. When the team ventures to make a recommendation it should be certain that a suitable and sufficient recommendation that will address the identified at risk conditions or practices is made. Any recommended corrective action should start with a description of the immediate action taken when the at risk condition or practice was discovered. Any recommendations for more in depth investigations or monitoring of the risk should be included in the recommendation section of the report.

Report Forms
When making use of a checklist it is often designed to be utilized as the report. This is to make the reporting process easier and faster. The downside is that it may limit the inspector to report items not on the checklist. The upside is that each inspection report follows a consistent order and makes it easy to understand and analyze.

Swift Action
The report should be completed and submitted to the responsible management representative as fast as possible without detracting from the accuracy of the report. Significant issues should be reported immediately to ensure that the affected persons are not unduly exposed to these risks.

Structure
The content of the report should be divided up into a number of sub-headings. These include outstanding items from previous reports, new items, recommendations and conclusions. In order to achieve this enter all unfinished items from the previous report into the new report. Then record the identified at risk conditions and practices and the proposed recommendation to correct or control these. It is important to clearly identify the department or area inspected, the date and the inspection team's names and titles on report for future reference. It is always a good idea to number each item consecutively, followed by a hazard classification according to the risk assessment system in use by the company.

Conclusion
The inspection team members could reach a conclusion that more information is required to enable them to come up with a reliable analysis of the risks in a particular area. For example, it may be necessary to introduce a monitoring system for a particular part of the inspection area in order to confirm that there are load noises present from time to time as reported by workers or supervisors during the inspection. Some of the information collected during the preparation phase of the inspection may also be useful during the analysis. Sensible structuring and analysis of the details may corroborate a conclusion about controls required.

Do not make general statements about what was found. Provide exact information on what has been ascertained and accurately identify its location. It is better to state that -The main electrical lockout on hot dip galvanized machine number 12b located in the shed 13 meters due north of the main power plant was not locked out utilising a scissors lock, instead a hand written notice on a piece of cardboard was displayed while the maintenance crew was replacing a heater element.- instead of -machine not locked out correctly.- In these circumstances a picture will be of great value.

Categorize Risks
Depending on the system in use in the company a priority level should be assigned to the risks observed to indicate the urgency of the corrective action required.

For example:
A = Major - requires immediate action
B = Serious - requires short-term action
C = Important - requires medium term action
D = Minor - requires long-term action

Utilizing this type of approach makes it easier for management to isolate the significant problems in a concise and factual manner. It will allow them to understand and evaluate the reported problems in a prioritised manner and quickly react in the correct way. In the report the inspector should indicate any immediate action taken by the line supervisors as this may influence the management action required.

After each listed non conformance it is usual to make a recommendation on potential corrective actions. Each inspection team member should review the final report for accuracy, clarity and thoroughness prior to the report is sent out. Depending of the magnitude of the report it is recommended to includes a table of content for ease of reference.

© Carl Marx