Preparing For An Inspection

You will need the following:

• A floor plan of the workplace in order to
• mark areas where people work.
• write down the number of people working in each area.
• work processes and machinery in each area.
• A health and safety checklist
• Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from management

What To Look For

• Noise
• Very cold or hot working areas.
• Dust or fumes.
• Any noticeable smells.
• Unguarded machinery.
• Ease of entry and exit from workplace.
• Ease of movement within and around the workplace.
• Storage of articles and substances.
• Location of fire extinguishers/ first aid boxes.

The Most Important Tools You Need For Workplace Inspections Are:

• Eyes to spot hazards
• Nose to smell bad odours as indication of hazards.
• Mouth to talk to health and safety representatives
• Brain to be always thinking and learning
• Ears to listen to workers complaints and suggestion for improvements.
• Guts to be strong enough to fight to get the hazards corrected,
• to stop work which you see is of immediate danger.
• Feet to regularly inspect the workplace.

In order to carry out the inspection, you will need a checklist.  Depending on the work procedures in your organisation, the check list could include the following items.