The company is obliged to provide safety and healthy working conditions for its employees. The requirements for the organization of production and jobs are described in the Federal Law "On the Basics of Labor Protection" dated 07.17.99 No. 181-ФЗ. In accordance with this document, the employer must provide workers with personal protective equipment and work clothing, organize training and instruction at their own expense, and regularly certify jobs for compliance with established standards.
Violations are fraught with serious fines and penalties for the business owner, including the closure of the enterprise. An audit of labor protection allows us to prevent this from happening, to eliminate inconsistencies in a timely manner and to reduce the risk of industrial injuries. In addition, it is an opportunity to find out how efficiently the budget is used, which the organization directs to this area.
The essence and main tasks
An audit of labor protection is a comprehensive assessment of the organization and functioning of the OS system in an enterprise. It can be carried out both by internal services and with the involvement of third-party experts (for small organizations the second option is more economical). Many cities have special labor protection audit centers that provide the services of independent experts in this field.
The purpose of this audit is to identify and objectively evaluate dangerous factors, violations in the organization of production and the arrangement of jobs, as well as develop recommendations for eliminating violations.
The audit of the labor protection system includes the following areas:
- Assessment of the organization and structure of units dealing with employee safety issues. So, in accordance with the Law "On the Basics of Occupational Safety in the Russian Federation", for enterprises with the number of employees from 100 and above, a separate service must exist for this (for small, these functions can be performed by one specialist with appropriate training or experience).
- Analysis of the effectiveness of measures. At the same time, the risk of industrial injuries and the development of occupational diseases, enterprise statistics and a set of measures aimed at preventing such problems are investigated.
- Work with staff. Auditors verify the correctness of the compilation and maintenance of labor protection documentation, magazines and reports. In addition, testing is carried out to determine the real knowledge of employees and the degree to which instructions are followed.
- Studying the enterprise. This includes a comprehensive technical analysis of the state of labor protection, checking documents for equipment, the availability of necessary instructions and the appropriate level of training for staff.
Based on the information received, the inspection commission develops its recommendations on improving the conditions and quality of labor protection in the organization, as well as options for eliminating identified violations.
Documentation for
Preparation for an internal audit of labor protection begins with the execution and signing by the management of the company of an order on the creation of an appropriate commission. This document includes the following information:
- objectives and goals of the audit;
- composition, full name and the positions of all members of the commission;
- list of documents to be checked;
- start and end date of verification.
Often in the same order, a report form on the results of the audit is approved. Also attached is a schedule of work and a description of organizational procedures. The requested documents must be submitted no later than 10 days before the appointed audit start date for the purpose of preliminary examination.
Commission composition
Who should be included in the list of members of the audit committee? There are no clear indications on this topic, however, it is desirable that the team should include:
- the general director of the company or his authorized representative;
- lawyer;
- labor protection specialist.
In addition, from 2 to 4 auditors are members of the commission. It can be both employees of the company itself, and external experts. If the company conducts an audit of labor protection on its own, the principle of independence must be observed. That is, team members cannot be subordinates of the head of the unit in which the audit is conducted.
Main questions. Form filling
Let's move on to how the audit results are recorded. The main document at this stage is a form with a list of questions on the work of the OSH management system. It consists of several blocks.
The main elements of OSHMS
Checks the availability of documents and orders on the creation of such a service, approved work schedules. If the production is associated with hazardous and harmful factors, the organization should keep official forms for assessing the risk to employees and precautionary methods. Also, auditors should pay attention to how timely changes are made to the regulatory acts of the enterprise when changing state standards.
Targets and goals
The key issues that are considered at this stage are ensuring the safety of production processes, operating conditions of buildings and structures. These data are obtained from the technological documentation for the work, their compliance with sanitary, hygienic and other standards. An important condition is the implementation of scheduled and major repairs, as well as periodic inspections of buildings and equipment.
It is necessary to establish what the organization does to improve working conditions - whether certification of workplaces, monitoring and elimination of harmful factors, measures to reduce the use of hazardous substances, mandatory medical examinations among staff are carried out.
Other protocol issues:
- To what extent are employees provided with personal protective equipment?
- Are treatment and preventive and sanitary services provided? Does the company have equipped wardrobes, lounges, a first-aid post, premises for eating?
- How is staff training on labor protection organized?
- How developed is the information support of the company's employees on labor protection issues? Does the organization have a sufficient number of regulatory documents, posters, wall newspapers, etc.?
Having answered all the questions, you can get an idea of how the OSH complies with the requirements of current legislation. The results are recorded in a table where the auditor records the facts and personal observations. The commission determines how the company is doing on each item and gives ratings (usually on a 10-point scale).
| Question | Additional Information | Facts and Observations | Rating (0-10 points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a labor protection service been created at the enterprise? | It is confirmed by the presence of management, relevant positions in the company structure and work instructions for the OSH. |
Stages
How is the audit of labor protection at the enterprise? Before starting work, members of the commission undergo introductory briefing and receive the required personal protective equipment. After that, the team analyzes the status of the OSH using the following algorithm.
1. Initial inspection. Internal auditors, together with a representative of the unit, make a familiarization tour of the facility. The main task is to get a general idea of its size, the location of the sites on which production is carried out, and also to understand what points you need to pay special attention to during the inspection.
2. Collection of facts.At this stage, members of the commission conduct personal interviews with management, analyze documentation and monitor the work of the enterprise in real time. Data obtained from various sources allows us to form an objective idea of the organization and quality of OSH, as well as develop recommendations for improving conditions.
3. Filling out the protocol. Information processing usually occurs in conjunction with representatives of the labor protection service and employees of the inspected facility or unit.
4. Evaluation of the results. Conclusions about the effectiveness of OT at the enterprise are made taking into account both state and internal standards of the enterprise itself. They must be objective and impartial.
5. Development of recommendations. They can be divided into several levels. The first one is the actions that have the highest priority (the life and health of employees, the environment, reputation and even the existence of the company depend on whether they are completed). The recommendations of the second and third levels mainly relate to single situations or organizational issues.
After completion of work, the commission should prepare and transmit to the owners of the company a detailed report on the work done and its results.
Information sources
Members of the review commission may use information from various sources.
- Personal observation. This includes any facts that members of the commission can see in person, for example, the availability of personal protective equipment at work.
- Study of documents. It is necessary to study everything related to the activities of the analyzed unit: orders for the establishment of an OT service, instructions, descriptions of technological processes, schedules for examinations and repair work, medical examinations, etc. All of them should be provided to auditors for a preliminary study no later than 10 days before the start of work.
- Interviews with staff and managers, surveys. In the course of communication with employees of different levels, you can assess the situation with a “look from the inside”: what problems arise, how the briefings and training go - not in the reports, but in fact.
Experienced auditors also pay attention to the so-called indirect evidence. So, you can get an idea of the work of the OT service at the enterprise by assessing the order and impeccability of filling out the documentation, the attitude of the workers themselves to labor protection, their moral position.
Preparing of report
This is the final stage of the audit of the OSH management system. In this document, the commission should give management full information about the work done, their own conclusions and a set of recommendations for improving the work of OSH in an organization or a separate unit.
What information does a typical internal audit report include?
- general information and object of verification (name and address of the enterprise, full name of the members of the commission);
- scope and main objectives of the audit;
- inspection plan and schedule;
- main conclusions about the strong and weak points requiring improvement;
- priority recommendations;
- classification and explanation of each conclusion;
- list of standards, norms, and rules used to evaluate;
- conclusion.
In the recommendations section, as a rule, a list of missing documents and necessary corrections for existing standards is indicated, as well as advice on the approval of mandatory requirements in the field of OS.