Is a Third-Party OSHA Compliance Audit Worth It?

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When it comes to safety, it is always better to be proactive rather than reactive. Waiting to address safety issues until after a failed OSHA inspection or after an incident occurs means that the damage is usually already done. Examples of such damage might include but are not limited to injuries, death, loss of production, and high fines. This is not to mention the potential for loss of reputation and marketability for the affected company. 

Per the General Duty Clause from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act of 1970, all employers must provide a work environment “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” The benefit is two-fold as employees are protected and regulatory compliance is maintained. Therefore, it is important to identify and control all the health and safety hazards in the workplace. The best way to accomplish this often-overwhelming task is to begin with a comprehensive third-party OSHA compliance audit of the business place to determine where any gaps might exist. As a result, findings can be corrected, and industry best management practices established.

What’s the benefit of having a third-party OSHA compliance audit?

The OSHA compliance audit should be completed by a reputable third party so that “new eyes” can more easily recognize any violations and/or hazards that might be present. 

The OSHA audit consists of on-site observations, employee interviews, a review of completed training and associated material, and a review of documents that includes programs, policies, procedures, and recordable injury logs. Regulatory findings and any conditions that are deemed potentially harmful should be identified accordingly. 

Once the audit is complete, all findings are listed in a gap analysis report with their respective OSHA regulatory standard and ranked according to severity with recommended corrections. Opportunities for industry best management practices should also be included.

It is through such an audit as this that a baseline evaluation is completed providing a valuable benchmark for future assessments. 

What steps should an OSHA compliance audit include?

Regardless of industry, an OSHA compliance audit that follows the following steps can improve your organization’s overall health and safety. 

An effective OSHA compliance audit process should include:

  • On-site observation of all operations and processes, warehouses, storage areas, outbuildings, and offices in which employees are working

    • Areas of focus might include but not be limited to security, walking-working surfaces, machine guarding, emergency action, fire prevention, energy control, personal protection, and confined spaces.

  • Review of safety documents including policies, programs, procedures, and OSHA recordable injury logs

    • Depending on applicability, the required written programs might include emergency action, fire prevention, hazard communication, permit space, respiratory protection, and bloodborne pathogen exposure control.

    • Other programs of interest could include energy control, hearing conservation, fall protection, personal protective equipment, crane and hoist, and powered industrial trucks.

  • Review of all completed safety training and associated material 

  • Employee interviews

  • Gap analysis report of findings with associated regulatory requirements, ranking of findings by level of severity, and recommended corrective actions

  • Recommendation of industry-specific best management practices

  • Provision of the necessary corrective action to address findings as applicable to federal, state, and local regulations

What expertise should the auditor have?

A highly skilled OSHA compliance auditor will provide you with the most comprehensive evaluation of your organization.

We recommend working with health and safety professionals who are well-qualified, with many years of experience in their respective fields of expertise that includes the following areas:

  • Assessing processes, procedures, and techniques

  • Characteristics and analysis of Management Systems

  • Regulatory requirements and health and safety policies including OSHA and consensus standard requirements

  • Health and safety protection systems and technologies

  • Health and safety best management practices

  • Potential health and safety impacts and hazards/risks associated with various types of industries

By working with experienced auditors, you should expect that they will practice due professional care by:

  • Conscientiously completing the audits in compliance with applicable procedures, directives, and instruction

  • Consistently applying diligence and skills expected of a competent, prudent, and knowledgeable auditor

  • Applying established audit standards consistently and seeking applicable interpretations when such standards are conflicting or vague

  • Providing sufficient and reasonable evidence to allow the formation of opinions

OSHA compliance audits are critical in determining where safety improvements are necessary. The sooner action is taken the better off your company will be.  The cost of prevention is always less than the price of regret.

KERAMIDA is a full-service health and safety consulting firm with a team of highly skilled and experienced auditors ready to assist you with an on-site OSHA compliance audit. Fill out our quick response form or call (800) 508-8034 to speak with one of our training professionals today.

Blog Author

Andrew Tirmenstein
Senior Project Manager, Security, Health and Safety Services
ISO 45001 & ISO 14001 Auditor
KERAMIDA Inc.

Contact Andrew at atirmenstein@keramida.com.