How to write a safety inspection report?

One of the most taxing legal obligations is to conduct regular safety inspections of the workplace. Although we all understand the importance of safety inspections in maintaining compliance, protecting employees, and enhancing business capabilities, this labour-intensive task does not detract from how daunting it is. Moreover, drafting a safety inspection report can be a hassle. This article will list some tips that can simplify this process.

Importance of safety inspection reports

The efficiency and effectiveness of safety programs are resting on how comprehensive safety inspection reports are. Only with the help of these safety inspection reports can safety inspectors dispense valuable insights about the coordination of actions to the management. Safety reports can also encourage a team approach to minimise workplace hazards, motivating employees to strive cooperatively for a better, safer, healthier workplace.

Benefits of safety inspection reports

The benefits of safety inspection reports are all wrapped up in the name. They are an efficient channel to share information uncovered in a safety inspection/audit. Therefore, such reports can be used to eliminate anything that can potentially cause danger to the health and well-being of an employee. Here are some of the more evident benefits of a safety inspection report:

• They help to discover and identify potential hazards in the workplace.
• They help to check the safety, efficiency, suitability, and functionality of all safeguards in the workplace.
• They facilitate further understanding of roles and responsibilities related to daily activities and safety protocols.
• They address the concerns of workers and supervisors.
• They verify that the safety processes align with company policies and adhere to necessary regulations.
• They determine if your safety and health programs and procedures operate as planned.
• They confirm that employees and management are following these safety programs.
• They test and inspect the status of safety equipment.
• They determine if your documentation about your health and safety program activities is in accordance with compliance requirements and can be used for future reference.
• They verify compliance with international standards such as ISO 45001.
• They evaluate the adequacy and relevance of the supervisor safety training.

evaluate the adequacy and relevance of the employee safety training.

How to write a helpful safety inspection report?

As there is a wide variety of workplaces with hazards specific to each type of work, no particular template can be used to write an efficient safety inspection report. However, the best safety inspectors utilise the necessary tools to genuinely understand the behaviour patterns of people working in the workplace to uncover the hazards they may be exposed to. An example of a great tool is Edara Software, which allows you to customise your comprehensive record-keeping and discover patterns that may be oblivious to the untrained eye. It does not matter if you are inspecting a busy warehouse, metal stamping plant, or laboratory; certain elements can be utilised to increase the usefulness of safety reports. These include:

• In-depth and comprehensive data collection/record keeping: Thankfully, the majority of the safety programs mandate that organisations maintain comprehensive records of any protocols they have implemented in the organisation and safety lapses and site inspections. As you begin writing your safety inspection report, consult all available incident reports to familiarise yourself with all the recorded problems. You should strive for excellence. Value can only be created if you are detailed in your report. Begin by asking employees informed questions to gather all the necessary information, observe the processes and check equipment maintenance status. We provide a comprehensive checklist that you can use to prepare your inspection and to record all the information that you need on our platform, Edara Systems.

• Data analysis: Now that you have familiarised yourself with all the documented procedures and work practices, it is necessary to compile all the data to take corrective actions. Analysis should focus on many areas, such as functionality, relevance, compliance and feasibility. Ask yourself if the work area you have inspected complies with the industry-specific best practices and regulatory requirements. Go through soft copies of all required licenses and safety certifications to determine if they are valid and correctly displayed. Go through the training material to understand if it provides sufficient information to help guide employees in emergencies. The purpose of the safety inspection report is to concisely and distil the data to create actionable steps.
• Write recommendations: Do not solely focus on the risks; take the already compliant areas for granted. Your recommendations should be inclusive and address both weaknesses and the strengths of the safety protocols. Cite good practices to ensure that teams and managers have a framework to rely on.

Also read: ” what is an EHS audit? ”

Conclusion

To write a helpful safety inspection report, you should review all the records, analyse the data, and focus on the strengths and weaknesses to write feasible recommendations.