One of the requirements of the Project Health, Safety, and Environment Management Plan (PHSEMP) is for the Project Owner’s authorized representation and the Contractor to conduct a joint HSE audit to verify the implementation of the selected HSE risk controls. The monthly joint audit intends to ensure compliance with safety practices observed on site against the criteria contained in the checklist. Corrective actions will be required to be implemented to rectify all reported non-compliances.
Some of the reasons to conduct regular HSE audits include to determine if Safety and Health programs and procedures are working, to verify that field employees and management are engaged in the safety programs, to verify that project HSE processes comply with company policies and regulations, to verify compliance with applicable OSHA or any other adopted HSE rules, to determine if you are documenting your safety and health program activities properly, to discover and identify potential hazards, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing management controls, to check the safety of the project workplace, to check the safety of project equipment, to evaluate the adequacy of contractor’s supervisors’ safety training and performance and to evaluate the adequacy of field employees’ safety training and performance.
Using Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) like PMWeb, HSE audit checklists and all other HSE processes will be implemented. Using PMWeb form builder, the HSE audit checklist will include tables for the different sections of the checklist. For example, it can include tables for Office Procedures, Site Security and Warning Signs, and Safety Responsibilities. Each table will include a list of items to be audited, and audit status which could be “Yes”, “No” or “Not Applicable”. For those with the status “No”, corrective action will be required to implement to rectify the reported non-compliance.
The attachment tab will be used to upload, store and attach pictures and documents that were relevant to the HSE audit. Accessing PMWeb using a smart mobile device, will allow the audit team to take pictures and record videos that can be attached to the checklist.
A workflow will be assigned to the HSE audit checklist where it will be formally sent to the contractor to implement all corrective actions required to rectify the reported non-compliances. When the contractor completes those corrective actions, the contractor will submit the HSE audit checklist to the project owner’s authorized representative to review and approve.
The HSE Audit Checklist report will detail the audit status for each period. The report will include a table that details all inspections carried out for each group along with its status. For those that are not compliant, the corrective action field will detail the taken action. The report also includes a visual to summarize the completed inspections for all groups and additional three visuals one for each group.
The HSE Audit Checklist Trend Report will detail the status of inspections made each period. The trend report has four bar charts, the first for all groups, and additional three bar chart visuals one for each group.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and control services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, and Telecommunication and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA and London Business School, London, UK.