8.3.3 Recommendations for corrective action in an inspection report
The following points are a guide to preparing recommendations for a health and safety report. Effective recommendations may include some or all of the following.
Correct the cause whenever possible.
Do not merely correct the result, leaving the problem intact. In other words, be sure you are curing the disease and not just the symptom. If you do not have the authority to correct the real cause, bring it to the attention of the person who does.
Immediately correct everything possible.
If the inspector has been granted the authority, and opportunity, to take direct corrective action, take it. Delays risk further accidents. Disciplinary action may also be called for, however this is subject to strict guidelines that are set out in employment contracts and regulations. Do not consider disciplinary action without the backing of an established and appropriate disciplinary policy and procedure.
Report conditions beyond your authority and suggest solutions.
Relay to management the hazardous condition, the potential consequences or hazards found, and solutions for correction. Even when nothing seems to come of a recommendation, it may pay unexpected dividends. A company health and safety committee made a detailed proposal about guarding a particularly hazardous location, only to be told that the engineers had planned to move operations to another location. However, instead of feeling that it had wasted its time, the committee pointed out that the organisation had serious communication problems. The committee recommended that effective management techniques be applied to the hazard control program.
Take intermediate action as needed.
When permanent correction takes time, don't simply ignore the hazard. Take any temporary measures you can, such as roping off the area, tagging out equipment or machines, or posting warning signs. These measures may not be ideal, but they are preferable to doing nothing.
Some of the general categories into which recommendations might fall are; setting up a better process, relocating a process, redesigning a tool or fixture, changing the operator's work pattern, providing personal protective equipment and improving personnel training methods. Recommendations may also call for improvements in the system of preventative maintenance and housekeeping. Cleaning up a lot of dirt may be considered the janitor's job, but preventing its accumulation is part of the hazard control program.
Management must realize that employees follow with keen interest the attention it pays to correct faulty conditions and hazardous procedures. Recommendations approved by management should become part of the organisation's program. At regular intervals, supervisors should report progress in complying with the recommendations.
Activity 5
In a previous exercise you were asked to conduct a safety inspection and discuss the results with your manager. Using the format discussed in this section, prepare a safety report which describes the steps you took when inspecting the workplace, identifying the potential hazards at your workplace, and providing recommendations for minimising these hazards.
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