A health and safety audit, whether by a client, an accreditation scheme or the contractor's own adviser, reads documents in a predictable order, and the result is decided by whether they exist, are dated and are followed. The risk assessments and method statements for the tasks on site. The training and competence records for the people named in them. The incident and near-miss reports and what was done after each. The plant and equipment inspections. The toolbox talks. The daily logs. The risk assessment template and the incident report template on this site print two of the six, free.
The assessments and methods
Per task, site-specific, signed by the crew, reviewed when things changed. The auditor picks a task from the programme and asks for its RAMS; a generic one or a missing sign-on is the first finding. The HSE's guidance, cited below, gives risk assessment as five steps: identify hazards, assess the risks, control the risks, record your findings, review the controls, and says that if you employ 5 or more people you must record your significant findings.
Training, competence, plant
The people named in the method statements with the training the tasks need, dated; the plant they use with its inspection records. The auditor cross-checks: the method names a MEWP, the operator's card and the inspection should be on file.
Incidents, near misses, talks
Every incident report with the investigation and the change that followed; near misses recorded, because a contractor with none recorded has a crew that does not report; toolbox talks with attendance. The incident report template on this site prints the first.
The daily log and the record
Who was on site, what was done, the visitors and the problems, every day, and the whole set kept per job. DailyLogDesk Pro keeps the six against the job so the audit is an export rather than a search. From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: SafetyCulture lists its Premium plan at $29 per seat per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with a free plan for small teams; Contractor Foreman lists its Basic plan at $49 per month for one user. DailyLogDesk Pro is $29 per month for the whole site team.
Questions people ask about health and safety audit
How often should a small contractor audit itself?
Quarterly, with the six documents above as the checklist, and before any client audit.
What is the most common audit finding?
A generic risk assessment, or a method statement the crew never signed.
Are the templates free?
Yes, without an account.