3 Reasons you need to pay attention when conducting a safety audit
Have you ever had a morning where you’ve sat down at your desk and completely forgotten how you even got there?
Of course, you woke up, brushed your teeth, got dressed and managed to get to work safely – but for some reason, it just feels like you magically appeared at your desk as if you were in some kind of fever dream.
This is what happens when you rush through something mindlessly.
You didn’t realise that your dog had no water in their bowl or that you accidentally drove through a stop sign, narrowly missing an accident.
Taking the time to be mindful about even the most mundane tasks can be the difference between a potentially life-changing mistake and identifying a potential area for improvement.
This exact same concept applies to conducting regular safety audits as part of your ongoing safety management system.
Running through a safety audit every quarter or six months may seem boring and monotonous but they are crucial for an effective safety management system – so you mustn’t be tempted to rush them.
We’ll run you through three dangers of rushing safety audits, and the benefits of conducting thorough audits of your businesses’ safety system.
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#1. Rushing a safety audit can put lives at risk
Imagine it’s safety audit time again.
It’s been on your agenda for weeks and it’s time to knuckle up and get the audit done. You’ve done the prep and walk out onto the floor to start the audit. You get halfway through the audit and get distracted by a coworker asking about lunch.
You haphazardly tick some boxes and go to your lunch break.
Unfortunately, the boxes you ticked identified there being more dust masks than there were.
Now imagine a crisis on the floor and every dust mask was needed. This is a huge safety risk that could put lives at stake, all for the sake of getting to lunch on time.
You need to stay focused and on task when completing safety audits – there’s no room for error. Take the time to complete the audit, or outsource the task to an experienced auditor.
#2. You miss the little things by rushing through audits
Safety audits have a myriad of benefits, not the least being their ability to save your organisation money.
It could be something so minor, such as noticing that the gloves your stockists have been providing are of a lower quality than normal, so the team are wearing through them more rapidly than normal.
Identifying this tiny change can save the business big dollars – especially if your team are spending time changing gloves when they shouldn’t have to.
Little inefficiencies like these are costly and can easily be avoided by thoroughly reviewing PPE in a safety audit.
Minor details can become large, costly details if inefficiencies slip by unnoticed. Take the time to review the type of equipment used by workers and ask them about the quality of their gear. If there’s a chance to improve the efficiency of the workplace by bringing this to management’s attention, it’s your duty to do so.
#3. Low-quality auditing equals low quality improvements
Safety auditing has a myriad of benefits for businesses – they help you grow, cut costs and help your organisation become more competitive in the marketplace.
Regular, high-quality auditing can help your business achieve safety and growth goals if conducted and analysed properly.
If your safety audits are low quality and rushed, management teams will struggle to get valuable insights and make business-improving choices.
Don’t hamstring business growth for the sake of a quick audit. Invest in outsourced auditing to get your business the results you want, without sacrificing the internal manpower.
BusinessBasics can help your business with safety audits across Australia, including Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle.
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