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Article
Checklists: Tools for Compliance
Copyright © All rights reserved.
by Randy Oglesby
Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.
Managing environmental / health and
safety (EHS) issues in an organization can be a daunting task for the EHS
professional. Checklists are convenient tools for expressing a lot of
related ideas in an easy-to-read format, and often spell out the steps
required to reach a certain goal. If the goal is environmental and/or health
and safety compliance, checklists can be indispensable.
For an overall picture of the EHS
status of a workplace, a self-appraisal checklist can be developed to see
whether there are any gaps in the EHS programs that need to be addressed.
Questions that might be asked include:
- Is there a written policy statement
that includes goals for environmental and health and safety?
- Does the policy statement include
goals for environmental and health and safety compliance?
- Does the company have the written
programs required by EPA and OSHA?
- Is there a environmental and safety
and training program, complete with documentation?
This list is, of course, not
all-inclusive. It could become quite lengthy depending on your situation.
However, from the information compiled from such checklists, it becomes easy
to see where a company’s environmental and safety strengths and weaknesses
lie. The more detailed the lists, the more complete the picture becomes.
After your overall assessment is
completed, details can be fleshed out. For example, OSHA requires the
forklifts be inspected on a regular basis. This is a good opportunity to use
a checklist to ensure the equipment is operating properly and that any defects
are found. If OSHA were to pay your company a visit and see forklifts in use,
they most likely would check whether regular maintenance inspections are done.
A signed and dated inspection checklist could be the recorded proof.
Information included in a checklist
depends on what type of workplace functions are involved. For example, if
your company produces or uses highly toxic hazardous chemicals, hazard
analyses must be done. If your company is involved with construction
activities, such things as fall protection and excavation should be covered.
Getting Started
Developing checklists begins by
gathering as much information as you can that relates to the environmental and
health and safety management of your workplace. Areas of concern depend on
what job functions are involved. You should develop checklists for areas such
as:
- Safety and health activities –
incentives, tornado and fire drills, etc.
- Equipment – power presses,
forklifts, scaffolding, automobiles, cranes, etc.
- Processing, receiving, shipping,
and storage – equipment, job planning, layout, heights, floor loads,
material handling and storage methods, etc.
- Chemicals – storage and handling,
transportation, spills, disposal, amounts used, toxicity or other harmful
effects, warning signs, protection clothing and equipment.
- Building and grounds – floors,
walls, ceilings, exits, stairs, walkways, ramps, etc.
- Housekeeping – waste disposal,
tools, objects, materials leakage and spillage, cleaning methods, schedules,
remote areas, storage areas
- Electricity – equipment, fixtures,
circuits, insulation, extensions, tools, motors, grounding, NEC compliance.
- Lighting – type, intensity,
controls, conditions, diffusion, location, glare, and shadow control
- Heating and ventilation – type,
effectiveness, temperature, humidity control, natural and artificial
ventilation and exhausting.
- Machinery – points of operation,
controls, lighting for tools and equipment, maintenance, lockout, guarding,
location.
- Personnel – previous training,
experience, clothing type, personal protective equipment, work practices,
housekeeping methods.
- Hand and power tools – purchasing
standards, inspection, storage, repair, types, maintenance, grounding, use,
handling.
- Fire prevention – extinguishers,
alarms, sprinklers, smoking rules, exits, flammable materials and dangerous
operation, explosion-proof fixtures, waste disposal.
- Maintenance – regularity,
effectiveness, materials and equipment, records, lockout/tagout procedures.
- Security – gates, locks, lighting,
employee identification methods, alarms, emergency action plans
- Personal protective equipment –
type, size, maintenance, repair, storage, assignment.
- Accident and injury/illness history
– recordkeeping, dates, employees involved, OSHA 300 log, worker’s
compensation records.
The Hazard Communication Standard and
the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard are other
regulations that can be broken down into a checklist.
In all cases, training is required in
the development and use of checklists. With a comprehensive checklist in
hand, you can tell what needs to be covered and what has already been
covered.
For
more information about Ken Chapman and Associates’ Environmental and Health
and Safety Management Programs contact Randy Oglesby at 205.366.0265 or email
Randy at
rogelsby@leaderscode.com.
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