Audits and Inspections Procedure

The Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) team will prepare an annual internal audit schedule. 

The HSE team will perform the following audits per the audit schedule across GMW operations:

• Desktop Corporate Safety Management System audit
• Desktop Corporate Environmental Management System audit
• Health & Safety Coordination Plan (HSCP)/Safety Management Plan (SMP) audit for projects
• Environmental Management Plan audit for projects and significant risks
• Business Unit (Divisional Compliance Schedule(s)) audit

GMW maintains certification to appropriate Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) and Environmental Management System (EMS) standards.

GMW’s OHSMS and EMS is subject to an annual surveillance audit by an external provider to ensure compliance and continuation of its certification. 

A recertification audit is undertaken at the completion of each three-year cycle

Compliance Schedules

Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members are accountable for their respective Divisional Compliance Schedule(s) within their Business Unit.  Compliance Schedules are to be tailored to ‘specific divisions’ through consultation between the SLT members and their associated HSE Business Partner. 

SLT members will ensure that their respective Compliance Schedule(s) are up to date on a monthly basis.

General Managers will ensure that their respective Business Unit Compliance Schedule(s) are up to date on a quarterly basis.

The Compliance Schedule incorporates the required inspections, reviews, templates, and intervals to ensure the expectations of the OHSMS are achieved.

Further direction in relation to selected inspections that are contained within the Compliance Schedule is as follows:

• Workplace Inspections
  • Managers and supervisors must develop a 12 month schedule of inspections at the start of each year
  • Inspection frequency is scheduled at the discretion of the manager depending upon the size and risk exposure of the site.  Areas of higher risk must be inspected more frequently; however it is recommended each section of the business is to be inspected annually
  • The timing of inspections can be decided by the manager or supervisor
  • Inspections must be conducted by a manager, supervisor or delegate
  • Inspection results to be recorded on an inspection checklist
  • The inspection checklist is to be signed and dated by the person conducting the inspection. Record findings that are identified during the inspection in a Local Action Register
  • The completed action register is to be passed to the manager who can delegate someone to manage the findings
  • Dates for completion of actions must be set
  • Managers must ensure findings are actioned by the due date.  If an action cannot be completed by the due date an explanation for the delay must be given in the action register
  • Discuss the action register at local team meetings
  • Hazards presenting an immediate risk must be eliminated or managed as soon as possible
  • Record hazards that cannot be fixed immediately in IRIS

Note: An inspection checklist may be modified to suit individual site or area’s needs

• Employee/Contractor Supervisory Works Inspections
  • Managers or supervisors must prepare a schedule of employee/contractor supervisory inspections for the year for staff completing field based activities
  • Inspection frequency is scheduled at the discretion of the manager depending upon the size and risk exposure of the site.  Areas of higher risk must be inspected more frequently
  • Hazards identified during these inspections must be recorded in IRIS
  • Findings (Hazards and other observations) identified during the inspection must be reported in the local action register
• Safety Shower and Eye/Face Wash Stations
  • Safety showers and eye wash stations must be inspected monthly by operator and six-monthly by competent person
  • Results are to be recorded

Project Works

• Site/Construction/Fabrication/Installation Project Works are inspected on a monthly basis (regardless of duration) by the Project Manager; and
• Project Works of less than 4 weeks subject to a 10% inspection delegated by the Project Manager

Environmental

• All construction type projects or tasks that require a ‘Work Pack’ must have an Environmental Inspection completed by the Project Engineer or Site Supervisor

WorkSafe (Regulator) Inspections

• Inspectors from WorkSafe Victoria or WorkCover NSW are to be given assistance and support in carrying out their duties
• A member of management must accompany the Inspector.
• Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) for the Designated Work Group (DSW) must be advised that an inspector is on site and are entitled to accompany him or her during the course of the inspection
• Notify the HSE Team as soon as possible if the inspector identifies a hazard or poor work practice
• Action must be taken to remedy any identified problem within the required/agreed timeframes
• If an inspector issues an Improvement Notice or Prohibition Notice, the manager or supervisor must advise their General Manager and the Manager of Health, Safety and Environment immediately before a response is made to the notice
• Forward a copy of the notice with the proposed response to the HSE Team and General Manager immediately
• Place a copy of the notice in the area where it applies

All audits and inspections are to be digitally recorded within the corporate document management system.

After the audit has been completed the following is to occur:

• The auditor and audit owner normally the supervisor / manager to investigate underlying cause (root causes) of audits findings, review and determine if similar findings exist in other parts of GMW and agree on a way forward with the audit findings
• The audit owner / supervisor / manager in consultation with the HSR is to review existing risk assessment/s and work method statements or other safety documentation and determine, agree on corrective actions and identify action owners.
  Actions are not to be allocated to any member of the HSE team unless the HSE Manager has agreed on the actions
• The audit owner /supervisor / manager is to enter the actions into GMW’s Periscope system
  The Periscope action number must be transcribed onto the audit sheet against each finding
• The audit owner / supervisor / manager is to return a copy of the audit with the Periscope numbers to the auditor
• The audit owner / supervisor / manager is to save the audit into objective.

General Managers and action owners will receive a report of overdue audit findings from Periscope as they become overdue. Reminder reports will be generated at regular intervals from that point until such time as the finding(s) is actioned.

Action owners are to monitor and review the effectiveness of any corrective actions implemented. Any relevant information is to be reported to the local Safety Committee; this is to be recorded in Objective.

Once corrective actions have been completed and there are no further issues with regards to the underlying causes of a finding, nor relating to the effectiveness of the control after monitoring and review has occurred, the audit finding will be closed in Periscope.