Boost Your Career and Protect Your Workplace: Become a H+S Auditor

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ISO 45001 is becoming increasingly popular in New Zealand, with more and more organisations seeking certification to demonstrate their commitment to workplace health and safety. This is likely to lead to increased demand for qualified auditors and increased scrutiny of organisations' health and safety practices.

Auditing is one of the most valuable tools for informing an organisation’s leadership team about their health + safety management system’s performance, and to propose improvements. Comprehensive training is essential to ensure audits are carried out effectively, and offers many advantages, both for individuals and their organisations.

The Critical Role of Health and Safety Auditing

Lance Hiscoe, a Principal Consultant at +IMPAC says, “An effective independent OHS audit will guide an organisation to achieving compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and good practice standards such as ISO 45001. It also identifies areas for improvement and ultimately supports the organisation in reducing the risk of potential legal issues, financial penalties, fines, and reputational damage.”

Health and Safety Audits:

• Verify that an organisation adheres to NZ's Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 2015, ISO 45001 and other relevant regulations.
• Uncover potential hazards so they can be mitigated and assess the effectiveness of existing controls.
• Assess the overall performance of an organisation's health and safety management system.
• Drive continuous efforts to enhance safety performance and create a safer workplace.
• Demonstrate an organisation’s commitment to health and safety and boosts reputation. It shows stakeholders, clients, and employees that the organisation prioritises their well-being, which can lead to increased trust and business opportunities.
  
  

The Importance of Auditor Training

Having skilled auditors on your team ensures an organisation gets the most out of their audit process including valuable safety insights. Comprehensive auditor training is essential. It equips auditors with the skills to approach real-world situations and provides:

• Deep understanding of standards such as ISO 45001 - ensuring audits are conducted in alignment with the standard's requirements.
• Knowledge of NZ legislation and understanding the legal context within which audits are conducted.
• Expertise in risk assessment - enabling the identification and evaluation of workplace hazards.
• Mastery of audit methodologies - so audits are thorough, objective, and evidence-based.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to facilitate effective communication with all levels of personnel.

Lance emphasises, "Investing in HSMS auditing training is a strategic move for health and safety professionals aiming to advance their careers and for organisations committed to maintaining the highest safety standards. It doesn’t just enhance an individual’s professional credentials but also gives them the skills to make a real measurable impact in workplace health and safety."

For those looking to upskill in this area, consider +IMPAC’s Auditing HSMS training. This intensive course covers the ISO 19011:2018 auditing guidelines and covers how to develop and audit in accordance with the internationally recommended health and safety standard ISO 45001, WorkSafe SafePlus, or a company’s own health and safety management system.

Or study the globally recognised qualification ISO 45001: Lead Auditor. This course provides attendees with the skills to be effective Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Lead auditors. It sets auditors up to lead audits and support their organisations to achieve a successful ISO 45001 accreditation. Completing this CQI and IRCA Certified training course, offered by +IMPAC in partnership with Make UK, ensures that your skills are recognized worldwide.

Lance advises, “Regardless of the changes occurring around the world, one constant always remains – the need to actively protect workers’ health and safety. Creating a positive safety culture with the focus on doing the right thing is critical and becoming a trained auditor ensures you can make sure your organisation is effectively achieving this.”

If you’re interested in gaining valuable lead auditing skills – talk to us today on 0800 246 722 or contactus@impac.co.nz or book online for our scheduled courses. Our next CQI and IRCA certified ISO 45001: Lead Auditor course starts on September 23.