CHECKLISTS:  SAFETY EVALUATIONS AND INSPECTIONS

Introduction

The inspection process can be utilized to identify hazards in your facility  and the need for further safety program development or compliance.  This chapter presents two different approaches to evaluating the hazards.  The first is a broad and general approach, (CKL:1  General Safety/Inspection Checklist), and the other is more specific (all remaining checklists) by department, equipment, work process, or location. 

The general approach to safety inspections is a broad sweep at identifying hazards in your facility.  It is a good way to get a quick overview of the areas that may require further evaluation.  This approach is also a good way to train a new group of evaluators or to draw supervisors or safety committee members from other departments into the evaluation process.  The latter provides departments with a different set of eyes to search out hazards that may be overlooked by members of the department.  The disadvantage to the general approach is that it is not as thorough as specific audits and may not go deep enough.

In contrast to the general approach, the specific approach is a better process to evaluate operations with  high hazards or accidents, and items not covered by the general inspection; however, it is also more detailed and time consuming.  You can utilize the specific checklists to customize  your own comprehensive evaluation by selecting only those subjects which apply to your operation and arranging them into one document.  The specific approach also allows you to break the inspection process up into smaller components which are spread out over time or multiple employees. Both the general and specific approach to safety inspections should be incorporated into your overall safety program.