On July 11, 2010, an article titled “EHS Audits—Have We Lost Our Way?” was published in EHS Journal.[1] It has since elicited a number of quite thoughtful and extensive comments and much general discussion. The premise of the article was that perhaps environmental, health, and safety (EHS) audit programs have evolved, particularly in the United
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Tablet computers and smartphones are not appropriate work tools for every professional or for every task; it really depends on what you do for a living. For auditors on the go, however, new generations of tablet devices, especially Apple’s iPad and iPhone, are proving to be essential working tools. Savvy auditors find plenty of ways
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A client of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) was seeking benchmarking data about the organizational location of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) audit function. In particular, the client wanted to know how common it is to have the EHS audit function report to the internal audit department, as opposed to the corporate EHS department. Since
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Registration is now open for two upcoming conferences sponsored by the Auditing Roundtable, a professional organization dedicated to the development and professional practice of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) auditing. “What’s In Your Audit Plan?” will be the theme of the Auditing Roundtable’s North American meeting in San Diego, California, U.S.A. on January 24 –
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As part of a proposed settlement agreement, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ordered BP to “audit a statistically significant number of pressure vessels, piping and instrument controls during the company’s PSM compliance audits” at one of its refineries. This article explores the implications of conducting a statistically significant audit sample and reviews the requirements for audit sampling contained in several auditing standards.
