Slightly different situation, but closing actions is something I have been struggling with on my safety committee. When I inherited chairing it typically we had around 30 actions rolling from one meeting to the next. Some occasionally got closed but every meeting picked up 2 or 3 new ones, so the total hung around 30.

Basically, my solution has been to just bang on about it. The meeting meets every two months. I circulate minutes the day after the meeting. I re-circulate them a month later. I recirculate them at two weeks before the next (along with a request for any discussion items for the next meeting) and at one week before the meeting with the agenda. In all these I mention the number of outstanding items and identify key ones. In between times I occasionally follow up individual items. Yes this all takes time.

I track at each meeting the number closed, the number reporting significant progress, the number reporting no progress and the number of new items. I draw graphs (red line for no progress, amber for partial, green for closed). I circulate graphs.

I guess I just make not doing actions more annoying than doing them, really.

The first couple of years of banging on I made no discernible progress - no change. Over a year, however, things suddenly improved. My red and amber lines head steadily downwards.

The interesting thing is that in parallel with an increase in things getting closed, we've seen an increase in things getting raised. That is - we used to have 30 outstanding , and say 2 closed plus 2 new each meeting. Now we get 10 new items each meeting, but they all get done before the next meeting.

We've been in this new regime (nearly everything cleared each meeting) for about 6 months. I hope that by admitting to it, it doesn't now all fall apart.

Finally, at the last meeting, for the first time ever (well, since I joined the committee in 1999) every single item from the previous meeting was either closed or reported significant progress. I can hardly express how happy I felt.

But in summary - no clever system, just measuring performance and banging on about it.

Safetyman

I have been using a purpose built (by me and a colleague) access database which allows you to track, report and assign actions from all of your various programmes.

It has proved to be a very effective planning tool repeatedly over the last 12 years in a range of organisations.

In brief, get the relevant guys on the floor to do the inspections, audits etc. You then upload the data to access, assign (email) individual actions to relevant persons, get confirmation on closure, close action in system.

Numerous ways to run the reports, PM me if you want a copy.

Jonty

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WEEKLY audits - I really think you need to reconsider what you actually mean - But they defintely not be audits or else how will you find time to do anything else and how will the management team and the supervisors feel. Death by audit is about to strike.

Bob

It's a Pseudonym, Graham guaranteed to get he or she No1 in the IOSH members directory.