Abstract
Failure to apply lockout procedures for the control of hazardous energies is one of the main causes of machinery-related fatal and serious injuries in North America. The absence of audits of lockout or the lack of proper tools for auditing lockout is prevalent, and thus the application of lockout is often not fully in compliance with standards and regulations. A self-audit tool for the application of lockout procedures for machinery was developed on the basis of the current standards and regulations, and previous research. The tool was then tested for content validity through experts’ opinions and qualitative feedback from six organizations in the province of Quebec in Canada. The developed audit tool defines the actual procedures to audit, as well as the surrounding conditions that are needed and the prerequisites based on standards, regulations, and findings from previous research. The results showed that the tool displayed a high content validity index and demonstrated that the usability, applicability, and comprehensiveness of the tool were adequate. This self-audit tool helps organizations monitor the application of lockout on machinery for the safety of workers and to ensure that the actual practice of controlling hazardous energy is in compliance with relevant standards and regulations.
Highlights
IntroductionThe international standard ISO 19011 explains that an audit is a systematic, independent, and documented process to obtain objective evidence and evaluate it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are being fulfilled [1]
The internal audit allows the organization to determine if its occupational health and safety (OHS) management system is effectively implemented and maintained, and whether it is compliant with standards [2,3]
The validated self-audit tool is presented in Tables 4 and 5, which are the pre-audit and audit stages respectively
Summary
The international standard ISO 19011 explains that an audit is a systematic, independent, and documented process to obtain objective evidence and evaluate it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are being fulfilled [1]. The audit can be internal or external. The standard states that internal audits are conducted by, or on behalf of, the organization itself. External audits are conducted by other individuals outside of the organization or by independent auditing organizations (e.g., governmental agencies) [1]. The internal audit allows the organization to determine if its occupational health and safety (OHS) management system is effectively implemented and maintained, and whether it is compliant with standards [2,3]. A safety audit can be based on regulatory or other compliance assessments (i.e., compliance-type audits) through a review of the documents, interviews, and observations to determine whether the workplace is safe [1,4]
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