Workplace inspections allow you to:
Listen to the concerns of workers and supervisors
Gain further understanding of jobs and tasks
Identify existing and potential hazards
Determine underlying causes of hazards
Recommend corrective action
Monitor steps taken to eliminate hazards or control the risk (i.e. engineering controls, administrative controls, policies, procedures, personal protective equipment)
What should you examine during a workplace inspection?
Every inspection must examine who, what, where, when and how. Pay particular attention to items that are or are most likely to develop into unsafe or unhealthy conditions because of stress, wear, impact, vibration, heat, corrosion, chemical reaction or misuse. Include areas where no work is done regularly, such as parking lots, rest areas, office storage areas and locker rooms.
Look at all workplace elements – the people, the environment, the equipment and the process. The environment includes such hazards as noise, vibration, lighting, temperature and ventilation. Equipment includes materials, tools and apparatus for producing a product or a service. The process involves how the worker interacts with the other elements in a series of tasks or operations.
Planning and Implementation: Cabinet Division, A2I, BCC, DoICT and BASIS