What is a Workplace Inspection?
Workplace Inspections are a systematic process of reviews of the workplace for any hazards by a trained team of inspectors. The inspection team would document all findings and put forward the findings and recommendations to the leadership team to address the hazards preventing any potential injuries. Workplace Inspections are one of the most effective ways to prevent injuries and accidents in the workplace. Regular workplace inspections identify any substandard conditions before it injures workers.
Workplace Inspections are a requirement of the WorkSafe BC Occupational Health & Safety Regulations (Section 3.5)
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To complete an effective Workplace Inspection, CSSHSA has developed a suite of tools to help you complete a Workplace Inspection. Follow the link to access these resources.
What must be inspected?
Every employer must ensure that regular inspections are made of all workplaces, including buildings, grounds, tools, equipment, and work methods and practices. This must occur at intervals that will prevent the development of unsafe working conditions.
The following are all types of workplace inspections, which should be incorporated into your workplace inspections program:
- Regular/General inspections – can be hazard specific or generic
- Pre-operational inspections
- Preventative maintenance inspections
- Job observations
- Special inspections – following an accident or malfunction
Workplace Inspections is an intuitive process that anyone with knowledge of inspection and of the work area can complete.
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Temperature checks – answers to these questions to know if your program is in good shape!
- How many hazards can you identify from the picture?
Ans: There are at least 6
If you would like additional training, consider attending training on Workplace Inspections offered by the Employers Advisory Office
The process of Workplace Inspections follows 3 basic steps. Click on each step to learn more.
It is important that the Inspection are conducted in a team with participation from at least:
- A leadership team member
- A worker of the area being inspected
This team will provide a balanced perspective as well as a feasible action plan on any findings.
If possible, a member of the Joint Health & Safety Committee member should also make efforts to attend.
The appointed/delegated Inspection Team Lead will guide the inspection team through a systemic route of the area ensuring that all parts are reviewed.
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CSSHSA has developed a Workplace Inspections General Inspection Checklist that highlights common deficiencies within workplaces. Please access the checklist at the following link (link).
Note: Each operation will have unique elements and it is important that the Inspection Team inspect the unique elements in addition to the checklist items.
During the Inspection, there may be times that it is overwhelming with multiple deficiencies or work processes occurring all at once. It is important that findings are recorded during the inspection as they come up so that items are not overlooked.
CSSHSA has created a preparation Workplace Inspections Records Template to assist in capturing findings during the inspection. (Link)
The record template will help to organize the findings you uncover
The Workplace Inspection Records is used to document findings and support in reporting which is a critical component of Follow up and Monitoring.
As part of a continuous improvement cycle, following up and monitoring is fundamental to moving forward and ensuring any correction remains effective.
- Follow up is the act of connecting with the responsible person to ensure the recommendations are being actioned in the required time to address the deficiencies.
- Monitoring is the act of continuously reviewing the actioned recommendations and ensuring it continues to be effective.
Different groups can support this step in different ways. Here are some examples of actions that support Following up and Monitoring
- Leadership Teams can incorporate Following Up as part of regular performance reviews of departments
- Leadership Teams can review incident statistics as part of Monitoring
- Joint Health & Safety Committees can review inspection reports and support Following Up with responsible persons.
- Joint Health & Safety Committees can post Inspection Reports for workers so everyone can help to review and Monitor
- Department Managers can invite the Inspection Team back as part of concluding the Follow Up.
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