August 18, 2010

Most companies regularly conduct internal safety audits—audits performed by in-house personnel—to determine how their facilities are doing with compliance. Other companies, however, go a step farther and use external auditors. External auditors bring a new set of eyes and can greatly improve both regulatory compliance and your safety program. Before taking this path, though, you should consider whether an external audit will truly be worthwhile for your organization. Here are some things to think about:

Confused about regulatory compliance and compliance audits? Join us on September 22 for an in-depth webinar on Safety Audit and Compliance Management.

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1. Picking the auditor: To make the time and effort of an external audit worthwhile, you need to put some thought into selecting the right auditor. You should define the scope of the audit (will it focus on one process, one safety issue, one facility, or the whole organization?) and find an auditor with experience in that area (check with associations you belong to or your workers' comp insurer for recommendations). Remember to get references—and to actually call them.

2. Access: The external auditor will need a great degree of access to your company's operations—including personnel, written policies, safety records, and work areas. If you are not comfortable providing the necessary access, you should reconsider the decision to do an external audit.

3. Time: To do the job properly, your external auditor will need time: time from someone in your organization to help guide him or her to the necessary resources; time from employees and supervisors to discuss what goes on in the organization; and time with senior personnel to discuss the results of the audit. This can mean one or more employees spending entire days with an auditor. If you can't invest the required personnel time right now, you may want to postpone rather than risk a poorly done audit.

4. Deliverables: Your organization needs to determine the exact output you hope to get from the auditor. Do you just want a list of the areas that are out of compliance and nothing more? Do you want recommendations for corrective action? Do you want explicit instructions on how to implement the corrective actions? Defining what you want helps the auditor focus his or her attention and helps ensure that you will get usable deliverables upon completion of the audit. It can also help to control the cost of the audit.

5. Level of commitment: External audits, even more so than internal audits, will often generate long-term corrective action issues (system or process changes, for example). Is your organization willing to commit to correcting the issues found by an external audit? If not, it's probably not a worthwhile pursuit.

Safety Audit and Compliance Management: Practical Strategies for Avoiding Citation Landmines under Both California and Federal Law

It's always "safety first." You want to be compliant with all the standards affecting your business. But being well-intentioned and making your best efforts don't always keep you from getting fines and citations—especially when it comes to navigating the confusing, often contradictory federal, state, and local standards.

Even if you self-audit or self-certify, you may not catch everything. A company can be in compliance with the state regulations, and then the Feds come in and issue fines that catch you totally by surprise! And for those used to self-reporting an infraction, be very aware: Many companies are facing sticker shock from six-figure penalties that indicate a new aggressive stance toward companies that self-report.

Join us on September 22 for an in-depth webinar that will help you comply with all the layers of regulation while avoiding the missteps that could land you in legal hot water. Be sure to bring along your management team to learn the specifics and set a course for your company's compliance strategy. You'll learn:

• Fed/OSHA and Cal/OSHA's changing roles and what you need to watch out for in the near future
• The key differences between the state and federal rules and how they interact
• How to identify and integrate confusing multi-agency compliance requirements
• What to consider when self-auditing and why it may be best to get external help
• All the new regulatory and legislative changes, and which ones you need to worry about most
• How to manage and support complex, multiple-location permitting and compliance program requirements
• Legal defensive strategies if/when you get caught between governing agencies

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