Prerequisite: Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety or equivalent
Course Description
EOH-AUD: Occupational Health and Safety Audit is a specialized course designed to equip professionals with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools to plan, conduct, and manage effective audits of occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems. Drawing primarily from Safety, Health and Environmental Auditing: A Practical Guide by Simon Watson Pain (covering Periods 1–4) and Environmental Health and Safety Audits by Lawrence B. Cahill (covering Period 5), the course integrates foundational principles of auditing with advanced program management, compliance strategies, and best practices. Participants will explore auditing as a key tool for loss prevention, regulatory compliance, continual improvement, and risk reduction in occupational health and safety contexts. The course emphasizes practical application through protocols, checklists, and real-world scenarios, preparing learners to lead or participate in internal, external, or third-party audits aligned with international standards such as ISO 45001 and ISO 19011.
Course Structure
– Periods 1–4: Focus on practical auditing techniques and core principles (based on Simon Watson Pain’s text).
– Period 5: Advanced program management, legal considerations, and strategic auditing (based on Lawrence B. Cahill’s text).
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the principles of effective occupational health and safety management systems and the role of auditing in ensuring compliance, identifying nonconformities, and driving continual improvement.
2. Describe the key stages of an OHS audit process, including preparation, entry meetings, area familiarization, observation, formal and informal discussions, verification, documentary review, exit meetings, and reporting.
3. Develop and apply audit protocols, checklists, and tools to assess conformance with OHS standards, including hazard identification, risk assessment, legal compliance, and operational controls.
4. Demonstrate essential auditor skills, such as observation techniques, interviewing, statistical significance evaluation, managing auditee expectations, and achieving audit uniformity and credibility.
5. Integrate auditing concepts with loss prevention strategies, including convergence of safety, health, and environmental audits, and the use of international standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 19011).
6. Plan and manage a comprehensive EH&S audit program, including benchmarking best practices, addressing legal and government perspectives, ensuring auditor competencies and training, and conducting third-party evaluations.
7. Conduct effective opening and closing conferences, identify typical compliance problems, prepare high-quality audit reports, and recommend actionable improvements to enhance organizational OHS performance.
8. Evaluate and critique OHS audit programs for gaps, challenges, and alignment with regulatory requirements and international guidelines.
This course is ideal for safety professionals, auditors, managers, and consultants seeking to enhance their ability to conduct rigorous, value-adding OHS audits that contribute to safer workplaces and organizational resilience.
Instructional Format
Usual EUCLID format.
This course is ideal for students preparing for roles as occupational health and safety specialists, system safety engineers, industrial hygienists, process safety professionals, environmental health officers, and regulatory compliance managers.