Safety Auditing & Review

Why Having An Outside Audit Is Important

Daily exposure to your workplace makes hazards invisible to people who work there every day. Equipment guards that gradually deteriorated over months seem normal to employees who watched the slow decline. Walkways that accumulate clutter gradually escape notice from supervisors who navigate them routinely. Procedures that drifted from written requirements become accepted practice when nobody questions the evolution. Outside auditors bring a fresh perspective unclouded by familiarity, identifying risks that internal personnel simply cannot see anymore.

Professional safety audits provide objective assessments free from internal politics and operational pressures. Internal staff may hesitate to report problems that reflect poorly on managers or require expensive corrections. External auditors have no stake in minimizing findings or avoiding difficult conversations. We report what we observe without filtering concerns through organizational dynamics.

Regular audits demonstrate your commitment to worker safety and regulatory compliance, showing employees that management takes protection seriously. This documentation proves invaluable during OSHA inspections, workers' compensation proceedings, and litigation, establishing that your company actively sought to identify and correct hazards. Audits also prepare you for actual regulatory inspections by revealing problems before government inspectors arrive, giving you the opportunity to implement corrections proactively rather than reactively under enforcement pressure. Companies conducting regular third-party audits consistently maintain better safety records than organizations relying solely on internal oversight.

The Costs Of Waiting For OSHA

Many companies avoid safety audits, believing that ignorance protects them from liability. The opposite proves true—OSHA finds problems eventually, and the consequences of reactive compliance far exceed proactive correction costs.

• Financial Penalties: OSHA citations for serious violations start at several thousand dollars per violation, with willful or repeat violations reaching tens of thousands per instance and potential criminal charges for egregious cases.
• Operational Disruption: OSHA can halt operations immediately when inspectors identify imminent danger conditions, stopping production until corrections are implemented and potentially costing far more than the violations themselves.
• Increased Inspection Frequency: Companies with citation histories face more frequent OSHA inspections and greater scrutiny during future visits, creating ongoing compliance burdens that distract from business operations.
• Reputation Damage: OSHA citations become public record and may be reported in the media, damaging your reputation with customers, potential employees, and the community while providing ammunition for plaintiff attorneys.

Our Audit Services

We offer three audit types designed to meet different needs, from comprehensive facility-wide assessments to targeted evaluations of specific concerns. Each service provides objective evaluation, detailed reporting, and actionable recommendations for addressing identified issues.

• Global Health & Safety Audit: Comprehensive yearly or bi-yearly evaluation of your entire operation against applicable OSHA standards and your internal safety policies, examining everything from written programs and training documentation to physical conditions and actual work practices.
• Risk Audit & Risk Mapping: Focused risk-based evaluation targeting specific processes, manufacturing lines, equipment, or practices where concerns exist, providing detailed analysis of hazards and risk levels to prioritize mitigation efforts.
• Facility Walk-Through Evaluations: Periodic site visits throughout the year to monitor action item status from previous audits, conduct follow-up reviews, provide status updates, and identify emerging compliance or risk concerns before they become serious problems.

Each audit type can be customized to address your specific concerns, industry requirements, and operational characteristics.