Keeping records plays a critical part in monitoring the effectiveness of the health and safety system. Examples of records that should be maintained to assist in evaluation include:

• employee orientation and training records

• hazard assessment records

• work site inspection records

• incident investigation reports

• maintenance records

• meeting minutes where health and safety was discussed

• first aid records.

Evaluating health and safety at the workplace will indicate where changes may be required to make the health and safety management system more effective. Common ways of measuring effectiveness include:

• monitoring the number and severity or cost of injuries/illnesses and other incidents at the work site

• monitoring the number of days lost due to absenteeism

• monitoring property and equipment damage

• monitoring the preventative maintenance program

• auditing the health and safety management system An audit is a comprehensive and systemic check of the system to ensure that:

  • everything that should be done is

  • workers are actively involved

• comparing the company’s safety record to that of similar companies in the industry or to the company’s historical record.