One of the conclusions set out in this paper is that the “accountability mechanisms” common to management system standards can have a negative impact on OH&S performance.

The authors suggest that many of the fundamental requirements of management system standards – establishing accountability, performance tracking and internal auditing – are “antithetical to measures that our findings suggested had a positive impact on OHS.”  They go on to discuss social science research that finds that accountability mechanisms can decrease trust and, as a result, negatively impact performance. 

What does this mean for OHSMS internal audit programs?

 First, it is important to recognize that internal audit programs have a purpose.  That purpose is best summed up by the phrase – “Trust – but Verify.” That is why OHSAS 18001 includes an internal audit program requirement.

 As Steve Covey states in his book - Nothing is as Fast as the Speed of Trust there is a difference between Judgment – what he calls “Smart Trust” and Gullibility.  Extending trust can bring great dividends; however, it can also create significant risks.  The goal is to find the appropriate balance of trust and scrutiny to manage risk appropriately while avoiding both gullibility and excessive suspicion.

 With that in mind, let’s examine the goal of an internal management system audit. 

 In an effective OH&S management system, the goal of your audits should be to find evidence of conformance – to verify that processes are being done right.  This means that the focus should be on documenting conformance NOT on finding nonconformities. 

It is human to resent being audited – very few people like having their work questioned.  Simply shifting the focus of the audit process away from a negative intent (finding problems) to positive (celebrate what you are doing right) will go a long way to improving the process and increasing trust.  So will treating the identification of any nonconformities as opportunities for improvement rather than occasions to assign blame.

Recognize the negative impact audits can have on “trust” and take steps to mitigate them.

Avoid using internal audits as “buck passing” or “institutional feel good” exercises. Make sure that top management is as invested in providing the resources needed to fix problems as they are in identifying them in the first place.  Here’s a thought – perhaps you can put a positive spin on your audit program by having a set amount of “safety bonus” dollars that are immediately available to fund one or more “opportunities for improvement” identified during the audit.  Every safety program has potential improvements that aren’t being pursued becaue of lack of funding.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2009)

The purpose of this blog is to provide real-world practical advice to assist you in establishing, documenting, implementing and maintaining an integrated management system.

This website provides information and resources to help you understand the requirements of the various management system standards - ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, etc.  In addition, it provides an opportunity for you to post your questions and comments on a variety of management system topics.

An integral part of this blog is the monthly FREE teleseminar that ENLAR will be hosting.  These monthly ”conversations with experts” will provide a unique opportunity for you to BOTH listen to experts on a variety of management system topics AND ask questions for them to answer in their calls.

Click here to check out this new blog.  While you are there, check out the upcoming teleseminars on -

• Revision of ISO 19011 – The Challenge of Drafting a Generic Auditing Standard
• Five Steps for Achieving Employee Engagement

 Thanks!  I hope you like this new site.

© ENLAR^® Compliance Services, Inc. (2009)

Five of these driving forces are particularly important to occupational health and safety management systems:

1. Moving upstream from correction to prevention.  As more legislation and regulations require self-governance (think Sarbines Oxley), more organizations are implementing internal audit programs.  A key element of these audit programs is using audit findings to identify the need for corrective and preventive actions.
2. Emphasis on the business case for good EHS practices.  Rather than viewing EHS issues as simply problems to avoid, organizations have begun to realize that there can be significant ”bottom line” impacts as well.
3. Nanotechnology Safety.  More and more products and processes are utilizing nanotechnology.  Unfortunately, we don’t know the long-term health effects that may be associated with exposure to these materials.
4. Global economic dynamics related to EHS.  As industries move to developing countries, particularly India and China, there will be growing pressures to address environmental, health and safety concerns in a globally consistent manner.
5. Ethics.  As Glen Hiemstra summarizes the issue in his blog: “Environmental, health and safety issues are often the result of lack of knowledge of long term impacts, and often the result of poor decisions or processes, mistakes in other words.  But, very often deliberate decisions are made to ignore rules, bury adverse research, and seek short term financial gain over long term environmental responsibility.  The auditing process is the check and balance on this unfortunate human frailty.”

© ENLAR^® Compliance Services, Inc. (2007)