Inspection elements and activities

Many inspection processes are performed in work sites for specific purposes.  These inspections may be driven by:

• Past accident history.
• Equipment manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Regulatory requirements.
• The risks inherent in the operation or for other management reasons.

Irrespective of the driving force, all inspections have certain prerequisites and common elements.  The inspection process must accomplish the following activities:

1. Identify workplace hazards.
2. Analyse the risk of those hazards.
3. Identify the causes which allow the hazard to exist.
4. Develop corrective actions to eliminate the hazard or reduce it to a level consistent with the needs of the organisation.
5. Assign responsibility for implementing the corrective actions.
6. Establish target dates for completion.
7. Implement corrective actions.
8. Monitor the progress of implementation.
9. Validate the effectiveness of corrective actions taken.

A number of key activities are essential to achieve inspection objectives.  They are:

• Proper preparation.
• Conducting the inspection.
• Identifying corrective measures
• Assigning responsibility for implementation, and
• Timely and adequate following-up.

Knowledge:

Those employees who undertake inspections must have in-depth knowledge of the operation, the equipment and the work being performed.  Also, these employees must possess adequate knowledge of regulations, codes and standards affecting the operations.  This requires that a site have an effective training programme in place to ensure that this knowledge is imparted and maintained. 

Those doing the inspections must know what they are looking for and where to look.  What is considered safe and in regulatory compliance must be known not only by those performing the inspection, but the general work force as well.

Inspections cover the whole of the working area and so must include elevated areas, basements and out-of-the-way places which may have become improper storage depots or where unnoticed hazards could develop.

Objectivity:

Inspectors must be prepared to be objective.  They must recognise and comment on those conditions or acts which meet standards as well as those which do not.  If inspections are seen as negatively focused and punitive, they will not get the ownership or buy-in needed to be successful.  As previously stated, positive, timely feedback is a strong motivator for continued proper performance. 

Except where there is an immediate danger to the life or health of the employee, inspectors should not get personally involved in resolving substandard conditions, acts or procedures.  This role belongs to the immediate supervisor or team leader.

Team Composition:

When teams are used to conduct inspections, they should include members of management and the work force.  Some jurisdictional agencies now mandate that members of the work force form a part of all inspection teams and members of the Safety and Health Committee can perform this role. 

The team should include experts in the work area to be inspected.  For example a boiler house inspection should include a steam engineer on the team, a process area inspection should include both maintenance and operations personnel.  The supervisor for the area being inspected should always be a part of the inspection team as he/she is the one who has the responsibility for correction of the items identified.

Planning:

The area to be inspected should be defined and the type of hazards likely to be found in the area identified.  Plot plans for the area should be reviewed to familiarise the inspectors with the location of equipment, production flow, raw material used and storage, mobile equipment, utilities and services and the potential for generation of hazardous materials.  A route which ensures adequate coverage of all areas should be determined.  All inspection team members should understand their role and that of other team members.  

The team should review the area hazards.  Previous inspection reports should be reviewed and notes made of any repetitive items found at that time.  These notes should be given special attention to ensure that corrective action has been completed.  Remedial actions which have been implemented should be observed to determine their effectiveness.  These items should be listed to ensure adequate attention is given to them during the forthcoming inspection.

Checklists:

Equipment inspection checklists provided by manufacturers may be more extensive than needed.  Experience in many industries has shown that internally developed, area specific checklists prove far more effective than those which are generic or adopted from other industries. 

The area checklist serves to record the specific, administrative details of the inspection, remind inspecting personnel what to look for and provides available space for recordkeeping during the inspection.  An example of a checklist is shown later in the module on page 18 (Inspection Checklist and Record Form).

Hazard Classification System:

Hazards detected in the workplace are generally substandard conditions or acts. 

The use of a hazard classification system helps to determine the timeliness of corrective action and the application of sufficient resources to effectively correct the identified hazard.  Hazard classification systems normally specify three levels of hazard.  These levels can be “A, B, C”, “1, 2, 3”, “Major, Substantial, Moderate” or any other classification system easily recognisable in your worksite.  For simplicity, the example in the table below uses the “A. B. C” classifications.

Each company must define those values which make sense for their organisation.  In the “A” Classification, capital intensive industries such as petroleum refineries may have dollar amounts exceeding 500,000 for property and process losses, while small manufacturing plants might choose values in the 5,000 range.

Inspection tools and equipment:

People conducting the inspection should make certain that they are properly prepared.  Preparation is the key to successfully completing this essential task and providing the service needed to improve prevention efforts.  Supplies will be needed to perform the inspection in a professional manner.  These supplies include the following:

Personal protective equipment:

The inspection team should review the hazards in the work area to be inspected and obtain and use the proper personal protective equipment.  This would include proper clothing for the activities to be performed.

Recordkeeping:

To properly record the observations, each of the inspecting personnel will need a clipboard, a weather proof cover for the clipboard, checklists, report forms, pencils or pens.

Validation equipment:

Finite measurements may be required to validate such things as equipment spacing, aisle widths, and distances to exits or extinguishers.  Thus, a tape measure should be included in the equipment carried.  Also a camera may be carried to provide photographic records of conditions or acts which could lead to loss.

 Once the inspection team/inspector is prepared to perform the inspection, it is imperative that the efficiency and effectiveness of the inspection be maximised.  The following suggestions may prove useful to achieving these objectives:

• Stick to the plan:

In the planning stage, a plot plan was used to determine the route to be taken to ensure that all areas received adequate coverage.

• Use the checklist as a reminder:

Identify and record those hazards within the work area and assess the risk associated with those hazards.

• Use a classification system:

This classification system should be developed internally and be relevant to the levels of hazards requiring specific responses.  The classification system should specify remedial action response times.  

• Commend proper performance by employees:

Use the inspection record form to record these commendations.

• Record all conditions and acts which do not meet company standards, regulations or established codes of the act.  

• If life or health is endangered, ensure that immediate action is taken:

Take action that will eliminate or reduce the hazard.  Alert the area supervisor so that he/she can implement immediate controls.  

• Make sure all areas are covered:

Ensure that unused areas and equipment are inspected, that storage and housekeeping in those areas are in compliance; and that spare parts are returned to inventory rather than being left in non-productive, out-of-the-way areas.  Report any inventory not properly stored and items that could be salvaged or sold for scrap.

• Analyse substandard conditions and substandard acts to identify their root causes and the systems that allowed them to exist:

Employees may have modified their work habits or acts to meet the time demands imposed by a supervisor whose focus is on production rather than the trio of safety, quality and production.  The key to success is to probe deeply by asking “Why” to each response until the root causes are identified.

Developing corrective actions to either eliminate or reduce the hazards requires a solid understanding of incident causation and a company philosophy which recognises and supports this process.  

The people doing the inspections must consider the following in determining the appropriate corrective action to be taken:

• The severity of loss from the hazard.
• The frequency at which that loss could occur.
• The cost to implement control actions recommended.
• How much control can be achieved.
• What other methods would achieve similar control.
• Which control action(s) should be implemented.

Normally, the immediate supervisor is responsible for implementing corrective actions.  They know the department and the personnel best, and have the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy work place.  The inspection team must carefully consider the assignments and ensure that those assigned have the authority to make the corrections happen.  

In some instances, conditions or acts not meeting standards may require the plant manager to be assigned the responsibility for corrective action.  Examples are corrective actions which require modifications to company policies or high level budgeting authority for major modifications to plant and equipment.

Effective follow-up of corrective actions depends upon assigning an individual to steward this process.  The most appropriate employee to be delegated this responsibility is the inspection leader.  An effective follow-up process includes:  

• Action Reporting:

A process which accumulates all noted items requiring corrective action, lists these in a table along with their source, the recommended corrective action(s), the name of the employee responsible for implementing the corrective action(s), the target completion date, the actual completion date, and sign-off by the responsible employee.  This listing must be regularly updated and distributed to management personnel.

• Regular Interim Reporting:

All management meetings should include the requirement to review the “Action Reporting” listing.  Additional resources should be allocated where needed to support lagging corrective actions and meet the target completion dates.  

• Regular Progress Reviews:

The manager assigned the responsibility for the inspection follow-up should review the progress of the corrective actions.  Any concerns or issues preventing completion on target should be given priority.  

• Verification of Corrective Actions:

Approximately one month after the completion of the corrective actions, a review should be held to confirm the effectiveness of the corrective actions.  The review team should include workers affected by the actions taken.  

• Recordkeeping:

A filing system should be implemented into which all records pertaining to corrective actions are placed.  This provides an historical record and information on the evolution of successful corrective actions.  Inspectors faced with similar situations do not need to re-invent the wheel and need only to review the historical files to determine the best methods used for correcting conditions or acts which do not meet standards.