Seven weaknesses to look for in an ISO 45001 internal audit
Published by Thinking Freely Ltd · General guidance
An effective ISO 45001 internal audit should test whether health and safety arrangements work on site, not just whether the procedure contains the right words. These seven prompts can help an audit team look beyond the paperwork.
- Risk assessments that do not match the task: compare written controls with real work and changing conditions.
- Worker participation only on paper: speak to operatives and check how concerns are raised and acted upon.
- Contractor arrangements without verification: sample selection, induction, supervision and actual work controls.
- Training records without competence evidence: ask how supervisors confirm that people can carry out their roles safely.
- Actions closed without effectiveness checks: trace an incident or nonconformity from cause to completed corrective action and review.
- Emergency plans never tested: check credible scenarios, drills, arrangements and learning.
- Management review disconnected from site performance: verify that trends, objectives, worker input and resources influence decisions.
How to use these prompts
Choose representative activities and sample records, observation and interviews together. Record objective evidence and classify findings under your established audit procedure. These are prompts, not a complete ISO 45001 audit checklist.
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