By Alex Antoniou, PhD, Thomas M. Lachocki, PhD and Laurie Batter
For all pool and spa professionals, maintaining a safe workplace for both staff and the general public is the ultimate goal, one that can be best achieved by conducting regular facility audits. Audits can significantly impact how an organization prevents, prepares for and responds to emergencies, and they are an integral component of any risk management plan. In fact, a facility audit is arguably the most important task an organization can perform.
Whether you are a facility manager, service professional, consultant, builder or retailer, audits should be a regularly scheduled activity. On-site audits assist managers in the development of operational and emergency response plans, including appropriate documentation, maintenance strategies and ways to improve operational and staff management and training. Audits may also identify potential emergencies that assist a facility in developing an emergency response plan.
Management personnel have a responsibility to either conduct self-audits or to hire a qualified consultant to perform them. Those who conduct the audits should make recommendations for corrective action, and should be empowered to conduct followup inspections to ensure those actions are taken.
While these concepts are not new to the pool and spa industry, properly conducting them still requires a clear understanding of their purpose and processes.
Audit objectives and scope
The first step when conducting an audit is setting objectives to evaluate current operational practices and identify areas where safety improvements can be made. The result should be recommendations that mitigate problem areas.
Regardless of facility size, it is essential to identify the scope of an audit before proceeding. Answering a few basic questions will help to determine the nature, extent and formality of a given audit. For example:
- What kind of audit is being conducted?
- What knowledge, reference information and supplies will be required during the audit?
- What qualifications should the auditor have?
- What items should be included on the audit checklist?
- Who or what facilities, operations or areas will be audited?
- Who in or outside the organization will be conducting the audit?
- When and how will the audit be carried out?
- Who in the organization should receive audit results and/or a formal report?
Prior audits and injury and illness reports may establish a precedent for the upcoming audit. They may also guide the auditor to learn if previous recommendations have been implemented.
