One of the common processes that is part of every Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management plan for construction projects is the Daily HSE Inspection Checklist. The inspection checklist, which needs to be performed by the safety team, will include HSE inspection categories and what items to be inspected under each category. Those categories would usually include accident prevention actions, scaffolds and mobile cranes, power tools and equipment, trenching, excavation and shoring, hot works, crane lifting devices, working conditions, housekeeping and environment, PMV (Plants, Machinery and Vehicles), fall prevention, transportation, temporary electrical, PPE (Personal Protection Equipment), signage, barricades and openings, and welfare facilities. For each category, the inspection status would be either Pass, Fail or Not Applicable. For failed items, a corrective action needs to be provided with the responsibility to close and a due date for closing the action.
Using a Project Management Information System (PMIS) that enables creating new project management processes like PMWeb, organizations can automate the Daily HSE Inspection Process. Being a 100% web-enabled, responsive and zero-foot print application, PMWeb can design the Daily HSE Inspection process form to be accessed using smart mobile devices like an iPhone or Android phone. The HSE Inspection Checklist form will include fields to capture the location of the inspection and the inspector name along with the items to be inspected for each inspection category. The form will also include a table to capture the corrective actions for items that failed the inspection.
If the items within each inspection category need to be carried out by different inspectors, then there is two options to accommodate this requirement. The first option, which is highly recommended, is to create different HSE Inspection Checklists for which each will include only the categories that will be inspected by the assigned inspector. The other option is to keep all categories on the same HSE Inspection Checklist but with assigning the edit access rights for each inspection category table to its relevant inspector. With the second option, PMWeb also allows restricting what inspection tables to be viewed by the inspection. Should the second option be the one to be selected, then it is also recommended to add a workflow to detail the sequence for completing the inspection category tables in the inspection form.
Pictures, videos and documents can be attached to the Daily HSE Inspection Checklist by selecting the add command under the attachment tab of the form. PMWeb will automatically recognize the presence of the camera in the smart mobile device to allow either taking and attaching a picture or a video to the HSE Inspection Checklist form. Of course, there is also the option to attach other type of documents if needed either directly to the form or from PMWeb document management repository.
In addition, the notes tab in the inspection form enables the inspectors to add their own notes to the HSE Inspection Checklist. Each recorded note will include the details of the note and the name of the inspector who added the note along with the data and time of the added note. PMWeb notes are rich text notes thus allowing to format the notes content in the desired format as well as to insert pictures if needed.
PMWeb email notification option allows the inspector to send emails to other project team members, whether they are authorized PMWeb users or not, soliciting their opinion or feedback on inspected items. The details of all issued emails will be captured in PMWeb and displayed in the notification tab of the HSE Inspection Checklist. The response emails to those notifications will be imported into PMWeb email inbox. This will enable linking those response emails to their relevant HSE Inspection Checklist.
To ensure that the Daily HSE Inspection Checklists are formally submitted and reviewed by the HSE Manager and Project Manager, a workflow will be assigned to the form. The workflow will also serve the purpose of distributing the completed Daily HSE Inspection Checklist to other project stakeholders who need to be made aware of the inspection results. Email notifications will be sent to all team members who are assigned workflow tasks depending on when they should receive the notification which will be based on the sequence of those tasks in the workflow.
Reports can be created to consolidate the inspection results from the different Daily HSE Inspection Checklists done by the different inspectors at different project locations. In addition, there also the option to report on the inspection results for different time periods as well as comparing the inspection results across the different projects that the organization might be responsible for.
The report can include visuals to group inspected items by inspection category, inspector, inspection location among others. The reported inspection items will be grouped into items that had passed the inspection and those that have failed. In addition, the report can be also used to report on all corrective actions assigned to items that have failed the inspection.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with 40-year service record providing project management, project controls services and project management information system to over than 400 projects with a total value in excess of US$ 400 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment, Hospitality and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, 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 in topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 40 years he has lectured at more than 400 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South America. He has written more than 400 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He was 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.