The key for me in 2020 and now 2021 in my role as an environmental and H&S auditor and trainer has been learning to adapt to client needs during the pandemic. Life goes on, work needs doing, trainees need training and sites still need auditing.
Overall I have been really encouraged by the need of businesses to keep operating and find a solution to ensure ongoing compliance, rather than cancel all external work.
To this end the majority of work undertaken in 2020 by EHS Management was through remote audits, which are a skill in themselves, but no less rigorous. I have found that the types of audit or support fall into three camps:
1. Fully remote audit
2. Partial remote audit (limited site visit plus remote audit)
3. Normal site audit where access to site is critical
The key message for me is preparation. If I can provide my clients with clear instructions as to what I need to see remotely in advance, then audits can go ahead without a hitch.
If it’s a legal audit then I provide a list of the areas of legislation I will be covering, including permits and exemptions, releases to atmosphere, water discharges, waste, energy use, contaminated land, use of chemicals, nuisance and others.
If the audit relates to a management system, then I will provide a list of key clauses and information required under those clauses, e.g. policy, scope, legal register, aspects register, training records, approach to risk management, role of top management etc.
If you need an environmental or H&S compliance audit but don’t currently allow external contractors on site then do get in touch and I will be happy to help.
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