Many business owners do not understand why they need annual safety audits, and while not necessarily a requirement by OSHA for every business in every industry, most every business is regulated by a standard which has an annual third party safety audit component. Further, as per Docket No. W-100, voluntary third party safety audits can help prevent citations and fines if violations are found but are being corrected after discovery during a recent audit. Finally, the only way to ensure your business is not in violation of any OSHA standards is to have a professional firm with experience in OSHA regulations review your Safety and Health Management System, as well as your work cite.

When done properly, third party safety audits review every aspect of your business operations. Auditors will review the Safety and Health Management System to ensure your current processes are up to code and to see what additional processes need to be inserted. Based upon your industry, auditors will then compare your daily business practices with OSHA’s requirements, to ensure your employees are following all safety protocol. Auditors will also review training procedures for new hires and annual training for staff members. Finally, the team will do a wall to wall inspection of your facility, as a way to ensure there are no additional hazards which need correcting.

After this process is complete, a good auditor will give you the results of your audit, including where there are deficiencies, and work with you to develop a plan going forward of how you will correct your problems. If these are not the services you are receiving from your current auditing firm, or if you would like to learn more about the benefits of annual third party safety audits, then please contact us. And if you would like to add anything about the benefits of annual safety audits, please leave a comment.