Independent third-party auditors

The addition of a mandatory independent third party auditor brings necessary objectivity to identifying good practices and any deficiencies that may exist in an operator s SEMS program. ... 

The first edition of this book discussed the audit program that was published in the first SEMS rule and in the proposed SEMS II. The final SEMS II rule is one area where there have been considerable changes. In particular, the requirement for the use of Independent Third Party auditors (BPs) has been dropped. 

Individual auditors are trained and certified and work under the auspices of an ASP. They fill the role of DP (Independent Third Party auditor) that was described in the draft SEMS II rule. 

Many companies will choose to hire consultants to help them set up the SEMS program. These consultants may also serve as the Independent Third Party Auditors (I3Ps), although the BOEMRE has stated that they are more likely to double check a program if the contractor who helped create the program is also the program s auditor. 

A challenge for the center is that many other organizations—including individual companies and BOEMRE—will be conducting audits at the same time. Hence, the demand for qualified independent third party auditors (I3Ps) is likely to exceed the supply. 

The role of independent third-party auditors is desoribed, along with the qualifioations that these people will need to have. BOEMRE state that they are more likely to participate in an audit if the auditor comes from the contractor company that developed the SEMS program. 

In many parts of the rule, BOEMRE talks about the need to use independent, third-party auditors. These people will also need to be experienced in offshore operations and will draw from the same pool of skilled personnel. 

With regard to having internal personnel conduct an audit this may be one key area of difference between SEMP and SEMS. BOEMRE requires the use of Independent Third Party Auditors (l3Ps). This may preclude operators from using their own personnel as auditors. Clarification on this issue is likely to be provided with the release of SEMS II. 

The SEMS rule makes it clear that the qualified, independent third-party auditors can be used. Details regarding the audit program were provided earlier in this chapter. BOEMRE says that they would be more likely to participate as an observer in the case where the third-party auditor is the same as the contractor who developed the SEMS program. ... 

The arm s length approach as a result of lack of funding associated with ethical trade, there is only limited use of third-party auditors. However, the partial use of independent auditors does occur mainly within the context of arm s length relationships between retailers, auditors and suppliers. This can be defined as the contractual relations between companies involving competitive bidding and playing-off of suppliers. Weak social ties and detached social relations are characteristic of such relationships (Doel, 1996, 1999). 

Audits—These are defined by the National Safety Council (NSC), as a methodical examination of procedures and practices to verify whether they conform with good ES H practices auditors base their judgment of compliance or deficiency on the evidence gathered. Audits generally have a larger scope than inspections and may employ large teams of auditors that are often independent (third party) from the area audited. 

In Australia a formal verification protocol was developed with independent auditors. A company site is selected by the PACIA and the site is asked to nominate one of the auditors. Since 1995 some 104 self-assessments have been verified. A similar third-party certification process is currently being developed in the UK, and this became a mandatory requirement for CIA members at the end of 2000. 

Audits and inspections may be carried out by a company s/site s/plant s/project s own staff (for example, self-audit) or by independent persons (for example, corporate auditors, quality assurance department, regulators, customers or third parties). 

Notified Bodies, third-party bodies, which are required to audit safety cases via a contracted independent safety auditor. 

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