Top Five Benefits of Regular Safety and Compliance Audits for Facility Owners
Getting regularly audited for safety and compliance is a ton of work. But it is generally worth it, considering the many perks it offers. If you cannot decide whether to have your facility audited, check out the benefits you can get out of it.
Overview of Regular Safety and Compliance Audits
A safety and compliance audit refers to the process of assessing a facility’s work environment, equipment, and procedures. The audit is done by an external auditor or someone who does not work in your facility.
Safety and compliance audits involve collecting all relevant documents. If a facility undergoes regular audits, it helps to have record-keeping and a facility safety audit checklist in place. Otherwise, your team may spend hours just gathering all necessary records.
In addition to assessing records, auditors may also have to visit facilities. They need to be on-site to observe employees’ behavior, walk through workspaces, and test the safety of equipment. An on-site visit is also needed to find out whether there are sufficient functioning safety tools and pieces of equipment.
Auditors will then provide a report and recommendations by the end of the audit process. Facilities are then required to implement the recommended corrective actions within a certain amount of time.
What Is the Purpose of Safety Audits in the Workplace?
The purpose of conducting safety audits in the workplace is to determine whether the facility meets industry standards. It also helps employers keep their workforce out of danger, increase efficiency, and avoid legal risks related to compliance.
Why Facilities Should Consider Regular Safety and Compliance Audits
Having your facility undergo regular safety and compliance audits can be overwhelming. Collecting documents and preparing your facility and team can take a lot of time. Still, it is worth every effort, as regular safety and compliance audits benefit your facility in many ways.
1. Identifying and Fixing Potential Hazards
Are you wondering what the main benefit of conducting regular safety audits is? These efforts drastically reduce workplace safety hazards.
Many things can become a hazard in a facility, such as missing ground pins on electrical systems and moving and unguarded machinery. A simple liquid spill can become a slip-and-fall hazard as well. If your employees need to climb up ladders and scaffolds, they may fall and get injured.
With so many safety hazards in a facility, it’s easy to overlook some of them. When you miss a potential hazard, employees are put at risk. Facility owners or managers are usually liable if an employee sustains an injury at work because safety hazards were neglected. Accidents at work can also disrupt your business operation.
As a facility owner or manager, you are responsible for creating a safe working environment for your people. And regular safety audits can help you with that. The auditor will scrutinize all aspects of your facility, from equipment to employee practices. It means you won’t miss a hazard that could harm your team. By proactively pinpointing existing risks and vulnerabilities, you can fix them before it’s too late.
2. Cost Reduction Through Increased Efficiency
Any facility owner wants their facility to operate efficiently. The more efficient a facility is, the fewer resources are wasted. By increasing your facility’s efficiency, you can make more money. And as the facility becomes more profitable, you will have more resources to expand or invest back into employees.
Safety and compliance audits can be useful in determining issues that drag your team’s efficiency down. For example, the audit will let you know which pieces of machinery need maintenance. By detecting problems early, you can get the machinery inspected before the issue worsens. By ensuring all equipment in your facility stays in its best shape, your team can work undisrupted.
Additionally, determining and addressing hazards minimizes the risk of accidents and compensation claims. As a result, you’ll save money and make your facility a safe place to work.
Furthermore, regular safety audits can reduce the risk of unexpected downtime. Unplanned facility downtime can hurt a business’s bottom line, so finding ways to prevent it from happening is crucial. Overall, safety and compliance audits can help you reduce expenses over time.
3. Improved Employee Morale
If you want your team to become more productive, you should work on improving employee morale. One way to do that is to create a safe working environment. Employees who feel safe in their workplace tend to become more satisfied and engaged in their jobs. After all, satisfied employees are motivated to do more.
As previously mentioned, a facility safety audit helps employers create a safe place for employees to work. With the audit, you can uncover and promptly address potential hazards in the facility. By eliminating all safety risks, your employees don’t have to be cautious all the time. They don’t have to worry about getting injured while doing their job. Instead, they can concentrate on the task at hand and are less likely to be absent.
Also, conducting audits and taking corrective actions can show your employees that you care for their well-being. It can foster trust within the organization.
4. Ensuring Compliance With Regulatory Standards
Government agencies have set compulsory standards and regulations that facilities must comply with. Compliance with these regulatory standards isn’t optional. You have to adhere to these standards, no matter the cost. Otherwise, your business can face legal repercussions.
Rules and regulations constantly change. One of the ways to stay on top of everything is to undergo regular safety and compliance audits. These audits aren’t designed to punish facilities but to help them pinpoint gaps and issues. By being aware of the problems found during the audit, your facility can avoid hefty fines and lawsuits.
Aside from that, compliance with regulatory standards will give your facility an impression of trustworthiness. It can help you gain stakeholders’ confidence, which is vital in a competitive business landscape. Your safety and compliance records are evidence of your facility’s commitment to constant improvement and dedication to keeping your people safe.
5. Data Protection for Valuable Assets
Conducting a compliance and safety audit protects your most valuable asset: your workforce. Keeping employees out of harm allows your facility’s operation to continue without any delay.
Other assets that get protection are your machinery and the facility itself. You likely have invested substantial resources in the aforementioned assets and want to make the most out of them. With regular audits, you will be aware of issues, like structural weaknesses and maintenance backlogs, before it is too late. You can address any issue and prevent it from worsening, keeping your assets in tip-top shape.
Certain compliance audits can also help protect the security and privacy of your facility and personnel data. Data protection is important in building trust between clients and stakeholders as it guarantees them that their information won’t fall into the wrong hands.
The benefits of facility compliance and safety audits are incredible. However, to reap them, you’ll need to allocate enough time and resources to planning.
Prepare Your Facility for an Audit With the Help of Experts
Substantial preparation is essential before compliance and safety audits. If you need expert facility support before the audit, you can count on Kaloutas. We offer facility fireproofing, containment, industrial flooring and cleaning, caulking, and commercial painting. No matter your facility’s needs, we guarantee our team will handle and complete your project with safety and compliance in mind.
Kaloutas implements various programs, including OSHA 10 Certification and Jobsite Hazard Analysis. These programs ensure that each member understands safety and compliance requirements. Therefore, each project handled by the team is up to standards. Aside from that, these programs train our members to work without causing harm to people and facilities.
Let us know about your facility goals and project. Contact us today.