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Posted By Jason McQueen
Hi Everyone,
Im currently reviewing the use of a third party to conduct a audit of our safety standards.
I see the value in using an external body but was wondering which organisations/companys people use (e.g. BSC 5 Star) and their views of the suitability and quality of the feedback.
Thanks
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Posted By Jason McQueen
Anyone?
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Posted By Sylvia Tyler
We do use an external agency (probably incorrect to name them, so I won't). But I think any extenal organisation used will have similar problems eg.
Their comments can be demoralising and very nitpicking - rather than constructive.
They are very black and white - where we know safety is not.
External auditors - sometimes lack practical application and refer to utopia, that internal safety auditors and safety managers wold like - but the practicality is not always possible.
You can lead a lot of external auditors into the "good" side of your systems and they don't notice the bad.
Positves - you can point them in the direction where you are trying to make improvements - MD's seem to listen to auditors they are paying a fortune for rather than their in-house staff.
They do occassionally identify problems - you have not thought about, though most of the time they just identify what a Safety person already knows, so they can confirm your argument.
Marketing - the clients likes to see you have been audited.
Awards and accreditation by any bodies -
(a) you usually pay for it
(b) they don't always verify it
(c) if they do, they put a disclaimer in.
Self auditing is the answer for improvement in my opinion, being honest with your mangement on their failings and them accepting it - with management listening and actioning.
Sorry - again no black and white answer as all auditors are different, all organisations are different.
Just opinions from own experience with external auditors
Sylvia
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Posted By Jane Ling
I arranged for an external audit just over a year ago and as a result instead of fitting Health and Safety into a very small part of my job as Admin Manager I now have the full-time role of Health and Safety Controller with company support to become fully qualified.
I found the audit a very positive experience and deliberately did not point them in the direction of our good points as I wanted some guidance in areas I knew had problems, principally due to some rapid growth through two mergers.
All in all we received some good feedback on our current systems and procedures and the recommendations have formed the basis of an action plan. The auditor did not nitpick but provided some valuable advice.
Not naming any names but we received three stars and are aiming for five next time. The Chief Exec also gave me an all expenses paid trip to London to pick up the certificate (this does not happen often in our organisation) at a very enjoyable shindig.
All in all not a bad result!
Jane
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Posted By Kevin West
Jason,
I have tried to contact you directly with no success.
Please contact me to discuss this further.
kevin_west@natbrit.com
I hope to hear from you soon.
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Posted By Stephen D. Clarke
Hi,
In the past the cable company I worked for used the RoSPA Qsa Quality Safety Audit system. You can pay for RoSPA to carry out the audit or do as we did and have RoSPA train staff as Qsa auditors who subsequently use the RoSPA audit workbooks to audit the organisation as a whole and/or individual sites. I found the RoSPA system to be very comprehensive, excellent for spotting where improvements were needed, and good for making comparisons between sites.
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Posted By John Webster
I would endorse Stephen's comments. We have had good experience with the RoSPA QSA Audit. Its not cheap, but the report was taken notice of at all levels.
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