When creating complete and comprehensive occupational safety and health policies and

procedures, it is important to include some kind of third party auditing schedule within them.

Third party audits help to ensure your policies and procedures remain effective and accurate as

your company grows and changes. It also helps to ensure that any changes to the industry are not

overlooked by your safety team in error.

Third party occupational safety and health auditors will do a complete wall to wall inspection of

your facility, searching for hazards and areas of non-compliance. The auditors will also review

all accident investigations to ensure there are no areas of opportunity which have been

overlooked either in the potential hazards or in the incident reporting process. With this

information, your auditor will create an action plan and best practice recommendations. Finally,

your auditor will review potential hazards with your safety team and help you to craft

appropriate policies and procedures to correct any deficiencies, utilizing the action plan as a

reference point.

Additionally, there are many OSHA standards which require third party safety audits to remain

compliant. By having a comprehensive third party auditing program in place, you ensure you are

meeting said requirements.

So through third party occupational safety and health audits, you ensure compliance, ensure

employee safety, and help to support your safety team. If you are in the process of obtaining VPP

Star/Merit Status or any other certifications, these audits are a requirement, as well.

If you have any questions about third party occupational safety and health audits, please contact

us. If you have anything to add about the importance of these audits, please leave a comment.