The majority of us have heard the word audit, yet we rarely realize what it implies. Audits are very different from inspections and many people get them confused. Audits can generally be considered to be more in-depth.
Inspections, on the other hand, are focused on checks in a specific area. The two together, however, are a potent force in providing the true picture of a business.
For instance, in the financial world, an audit and the inspection report is fundamentally a bookkeeping procedure. It is done precisely for the guarantee that organizations are providing the right information. When it comes to technology and manufacturing organizations, audits can be used to verify legal compliance. Audits often include inspections as part of their scope, but they tend to go into more detail on the results.
The Importance of the audit and inspection reports
There are many different reasons to focus on audit and inspection reporting. Businesses that miss this step can suffer financial and legal implications. In addition, companies that do not review health and safety concerns regularly are at risk of injuring staff and consumers. Making sure your organization has a robust audit and inspection process is critical and crucial.
When doing an audit or inspection, many checks are completed. As businesses become more robust in their process, their checklist expands. These items can be added from additional sites, research or changes in compliance regulations.
By ensuring that the checklist is accurate, it is possible to capture errors that were earlier missed. Lack of regular auditing can lead to equipment failure or other severe repercussions. This can cause a significant financial impact on businesses at a minimum.
Automating Audit and Inspection Reports
Having a regular cadence of reporting is essential for organizations looking to achieve success. There are several different reasons why this is so important.
Accuracy
First, these reports are supposed to be error-free at all costs. Automating the reports helps ensure that all required checks are carried out at the scheduled intervals. By linking your audit systems to other reporting systems, you can minimize manual data input.
Compliance
Local laws and regulations change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction at regular intervals. For organizations with operations spanning different sites, testing requirements can be cumbersome to manage. By integrating compliance regulations into your audit software, you can ensure that you are verifying the right information.
Communications
Audit and inspection software provides communication capabilities. Earlier, inspectors in remote locations would need to return to the office before results could be shared. Now, the software provides inspectors with the ability to communicate in near real-time. This ensures that any issues identified in the field can be further analyzed while the inspector is on-site.
Costs
Automated software helps improve costs in many different ways. From the minimization of human error to travel costs, inspection software can help businesses at the core.
Safety Audits
Safety audits can generally be used to rate an organization’s total safety and health program. They can also be used to identify strengths and weaknesses. In this case, it can show where improvements are needed.
This can help create a process and procedure by which to correct problems. In addition to assessing safety violations and work conditions, these audits help determine management’s attitude and policies towards safety.
There are three types of safety audits that are used to evaluate these practices. They include; compliance, programs, and management system audit.
What makes up a safety audit?
First, you have to determine your safety requirements and the expectations you are after. It is the best and ideal way to achieve the real value of audit and inspection reports. For instance, these expectations may be regulatory, organizational, or cultural.
Part of the process includes documentation. Afterward, create a checklist to refer to at every audit. This will help when the method for conducting the audit is different each time.
In this regard, there are many ways to measure audit outcomes. Keep in mind that auditing is not a one time process; it is a continuous exercise. This is why it is ideal to employ the use of health and safety software.
Creating Inspection Reports
The inspection report is essential. This record serves several purposes and helps businesses identify areas of concern. The following are the steps required to create a report:
Pre-planning
First, do the planning on how to do the inspection. It is important to know where to start and where to end.
You would want to consider key individuals that are needed. You would also want to look at the specific rules and regulations you’re inspecting against.
Finally, you want to consider your reporting engine and how you are going to be tracking your inspection.
Create an inspection plan
After doing the planning, create and put it in writing or a soft copy. It is easy to forget the steps if they are not written down.
Your plan should detail resources, tools, sites, and other specifics. It needs to be as detailed as possible to ensure there is no misinterpretation. This will become a standard template that you can use in future inspections so it should be editable as circumstances change. Certain fields should, however, be mandatory to ensure that the onsite inspector knows this information is required.
Do the inspection
While conducting the inspection, ensure that all the findings are being recorded. Make sure that the inspection occurs in all the specified areas. This is where an automated inspection tool comes into the equation. Using an automated tool ensures that the right questions are asked and the right information is obtained.
Collect and Create the Report
Create the report using both the collected data and the inspection findings. To avoid future incidents, it is essential to include preventative maintenance in your inspection report.
The Need for Compliance
Countries, cities, and townships change local laws and regulations regularly. These changes can occur for a variety of reasons and can have a significant impact on how a business operates. Health and Safety is often a reason for changes in regulations.
A safety audit based on compliance will determine if the company can provide a safe and healthy environment. Companies that do not conduct regular safety audits risk injury to staff and consumers. They can also face hefty legal and financial penalties for non-compliance.
Conclusion
Technology is constantly changing and advancing. Automated tools can help ensure that these advancements are beneficial in time and money. By using Field Eagle’s Inspection Management Software, organizations can realize many of these benefits. Field Eagle’s inspection management software provides companies with a unified solution that helps ensure audits and inspections are completed accurately and on time.
Field Eagle is an inspection management software with built-in templates that help companies be more efficient. Using this tool ensures that inspectors review and audit the critical elements to keep a business running. Field Eagle also allows businesses to quickly and easily generate relevant reports and information. This includes verifying audits and their compliance against industry regulations.
