Understanding the differences between audit and assurance in health and safety
Aside from our moral obligation, in today's highly regulated business environment, ensuring that you can both assess and evidence the effectiveness of your health and safety systems is paramount and two critical practices that can help an organisation achieve its goal are audit and assurance.
However, I am often asked , what’s the difference between the two? The terms are often used interchangeably but they have distinct differences when applied to health and safety management.
So, what are the key differences between the two practices?
Audit in Health and Safety
An audit is a systematic and independent examination of your health and safety processes, policies, and practices. The primary purpose of an audit is to assess compliance with established standards, identify areas of improvement, and mitigate risks. Here are some key characteristics of a health and safety audit:
Scope: Audits tend to be more focused and specific, targeting specific areas of compliance.
Inward Looking- Usually conducted for an internal audience.
Compliance against specific standards: Focused on evaluating whether you are complying with relevant health and safety regulations, laws, and internal policies.
An Objective Evaluation - Auditors, (who may be internal or an external consultant) can provide an unbiased assessment of your health and safety practices.
Documentation Reviews - When auditing I would typically examine documentation such as policies, procedures, incident reports and training records to gauge their effectiveness as part of your safety management system.
Assurance in Health and Safety
Assurance in health and safety provides stakeholders, including employees, investors, and customers, with confidence that your health and safety measures and practices are effective and reliable. Assurance can go beyond compliance and focus on the broader context of safety culture and risk management. Key aspects of health and safety assurance may include:
Scope : Assurance takes a holistic approach to evaluate the overall effectiveness of your health and safety programme.
Assurance activities are typically aimed at providing confidence to both internal and external stakeholders.
Risk Management - Assurance activities assess an organisation’s ability to identify, assess, and mitigate health and safety risks effectively.
Safety Culture - Evaluates your commitment to fostering a culture of safety, which includes leadership engagement, employee participation, and continuous improvement.
Transparency - Assurance can provide transparency by reporting the results of assessments to stakeholders, demonstrating accountability and commitment to safety.
So, while audit and assurance in health and safety can share common goals of improving safety and compliance, they differ in scope and audience, but both have their place in providing stakeholders with confidence that your health and safety measures and practices are effective and reliable. Combining both practices in an organisation can provide a comprehensive approach to managing health and safety risks, fostering a culture of safety, and enhancing overall organisational performance and reputation. More importantly both audit and assurance activities can help identify and rectify gaps in your safety management practices and ultimately reducing workplace accidents and injuries.