With the growing practice of mass production and sophisticated technologies at play, the need to opt for smart solutions for the safety of your workers and the environment as a whole is also important.
To make sure you invest in the right procedures and abide by the set protocols and regulations, the first thing you need to do is run an audit of your workplace.
While there are many types of audits or assessments that you can conduct, e.g. an energy audit or an insulation audit, an environmental and safety compliance audit specifically revolves around ensuring a safe and healthy place for your workforce with minimal impact on the nature or the environment.
That said, some of the key roles of an environmental and safety compliance audit include:
1. Regulatory compliance
Compliance audit services usually start with a general audit of your place to ensure that your business follows the right protocols and laws of your state and federal authorities.
Needless to say, non-compliance with the said rules and regulations can lead to unwarranted fines and legal conflicts, and at worst, indefinite shutdowns of your work-related facilities.
A regulatory compliance audit, therefore, helps you figure out the weaknesses or errors in your business practices before it is too late.
2. Environmental compliance audits
Environmental audits help you target those areas and processes that can potentially harm the environment or put the community at risk.
To avoid any mishap or disaster, environmental compliance audits ensure proper use and disposal of waste, controlled emissions or release of chemicals, a responsible use of energy, and a minimal carbon footprint of your business on the environment in the end.
By keeping your environmental responsibilities in check, these audits can ultimately help you avoid unnecessary fines and maintain a good reputation in the market.
3. Health and safety compliance audits
Similarly, safety compliance audits are meant to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the well-being of your employees and the workplace as a whole.
As an integral part of an environmental and safety compliance audit, it helps foster a worker-friendly culture and avoid any disasters and financial burdens.
With regular safety audits, you can further send a positive message to your clients and employees that their well-being is always at the top of your list. This eventually helps you retain your employees and build healthy relationships with your customers as well.
4. Operational efficiency
Ensuring that all your machines and equipment are performing to the best of their ability is yet another crucial element of an Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) compliance audit.
No matter how smart and autonomous they are, machines tend to stop or malfunction when left to work on their own for too long. This can lead to unwanted downtime, loss in productivity, and even damage to the system, and delay in workflows.
To achieve a safe and seamless operation of your business, ehs compliance audit services pay special attention to your assets and resources to remove any inconsistencies or inefficiencies.
5. Sustainability audits
Along with your environmental responsibilities, an environmental and safety compliance audit shall also include your social and community-wide initiatives.
Better known as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), it is a core ingredient of an EHS audit that insists businesses adopt more nature-friendly approaches or sustainable practices in their endeavors.
As a crucial factor of the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals, more and more investors and customers are turning to companies that prioritize sustainability over profit.
So, if you haven’t invested in that by now, make sure to do it asap by contacting a professional environmentalist, or an environmental auditor or specialist.
6. Certification and formal recognition
Perhaps the most useful application of an environmental and safety compliance audit is none other than obtaining the requisite approvals, licenses, and certifications like ISO 14001 and LEED certification that are needed to get going with your business in the first place.
If not for anything, it is what most companies carry out these surveys or audits for.
As such, an environmental and safety compliance audit is primarily used to grant formal recognition, authority, and a competitive edge that allows businesses to stand out and build their brand as a trustworthy option.
7. Cost cutting
Finally, it is the question of the cost of running a business on a daily basis that can be addressed with proper and regular EHS audits.
That is when companies evaluate their environmental and safety standards from time to time, it helps them not only identify but also rectify the areas of improvement well in advance before they turn into major faults.
Also known as predictive and early maintenance, thanks to advanced technologies such as AI and machine learning, it can remarkably reduce the risk of accidents and mechanical malfunctions, both of which can be far too expensive in the long term if not dealt with at the right time.
All-in-all, an environmental and safety compliance audit can help businesses address a lot of issues that can result in violations and penalties as stated or recommended by your local, state, or federal laws.
To make sure your workplace sticks to the ideal practices at all times, contact an expert EHS auditor now.
