Facility Audits

WHY DOES MY FACILITY NEED AN EHS AUDIT?

In a word–accountability. Operators of manufacturing facilities are responsible for ensuring that their facility is following regulations while simultaneously providing a safe work environment for employees and safeguarding the communities that are near their business.

However, knowing what aspects of your operation need to be addressed is not something that every person knows. Hiring an expert with experience performing audits in these types of facilities will help you assess gaps in your safety program that must be addressed.

Risks to employee safety, negative impacts on neighboring communities, environmental hazards, and potential legal problems are some of the issues that a comprehensive safety audit can identify for you. Falling short in your EHS efforts could put your business at risk with regulatory agencies and may well result in costly fines, other legal action, or worse, injured workers.

WHAT DOES AN EHS AUDIT ENTAIL?

Walden’s EHS professionals start their audits by visiting a facility and observing people, processes, and procedures. This cursory observation allows them to look at an entire operation and conclude if an organization needs a lot of help with their EHS program, or if they simply need an outside source to confirm they are doing things correctly.

For example, if employees work on loud machines; have noise level measurements been taken? Has a hearing conservation program been developed? Are employees given hearing protection? Has annual audiometric testing been done?  This is only one example. Are fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, or eye wash stations where all employees can reach them and just as important–do all employees know where they are? Is everyone outfitted with the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that they need for the work they perform? Are hazardous chemicals disposed of in compliance with regulations? Are the machines in proper working order? Does EVERY employee know what to do in the event of an emergency or accident?

These are just some of the questions that a professional will ask when performing an EHS audit. Sometimes, the size of a facility and the work being done determine what takes place in an audit. No matter what, a good audit should result in actionable findings that are presented to the operator with suggestions that can be taken to improve the EHS program.

DOES IT HELP MY BUSINESS?

Helping your business is a great reason to perform an EHS audit. An EHS professional works closely with the facility representatives to document shortcomings, provide sound advice for improvements, and ensure operators understand what their obligations are under applicable regulations.

Improving your EHS program could improve your operation’s overall efficiency and raise the quality of output because accidents or incidents tend to cause work to stop while costly investigations take place. Additionally, organizations that have reputations as safe places to work often find that they attract top performers as employees.

Everyone wants to work for an organization that operates in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. A thorough EHS audit arms you with the data that you need to make decisions and provides the foundation for a robust EHS program.

Contact us today to learn more about how partnering with Walden can help your organization run more efficiently, safely, and profitably.