Measurements management systems audits

The team should be realistic about the time required to see improvements in end-of-pipe measures in most cases the pilot project success will be measured on efficiency improvements and other in-process measures alone. In this case it is important to demonstrate that all PSM and ESH issues are being managed. You should consider having a management systems audit (validation) conducted by a group independent of the integration project team. This may be done in conjunction with the next scheduled audit. This may be a corporate or divisional audit function or a consultant engaged specifically for this task. 

Boundaries or Scope. Compliance audits, management system audits, and early sustainability audits all generally measured activities based on the traditional... 

There are some considerations that are supra to the individual elements in safety management systems. 1 have concluded that most safety, health, and environmental management system audits, intended to measure the quahty of hazards management in place, are deficient in purpose and content. 1 include in that observation the guidehnes used for the audits 1 drafted for individual client needs, the many audit reports 1 reviewed, and a study of several audit systems. 

Many organizations may make substantial revisions in their audit systems as they achieve conformance with ZIO. Requirements are for safety and health management systems audits, not specification audits. Periodic audits are to measure the organization s effectiveness in implementing the elements of the occupational health and safety management systems. Thus, the audits are to determine whether the management systems in place do or do not effectively identify hazards and control risks. 

To ensure an environmental management system continues to meet the policy objectives, regular checking of its effectiveness is necessary and, where found wanting, suitable corrective action should be initiated. There are four aspects that contribute to the maintenance of environmental standards monitoring and measurement corrective and preventive action for non-compliance records and an enviroiunental management system audit. 

Two types of measurements of effort, routine checks and management systems audits, are described in the following section. 

Although routine measurements of effort are important, they do not provide an in-depth evaluation of work being done to prevent accidents. Management systems audits provide this in-depth analysis. They take more time to complete but they measure the site s complete safety management system, rather than just indicators. They complement routine measurements. 

Management systems audits and routine measurements provide information necessary to develop short- and long-range plans for improvement. They form an important part of an overall improvement process. Because many do not understand an improvement process, the most typical aspects of such a process are listed below. 

If there are no existing measures of PSM and ESH, do not panic Use the results of an independent audit of the management systems conducted before and after the pilot study or use the results of existing audits. 

Some measures of PSM and ESH performance are easy to identify, establish and track. These include accident rates, effluent tonnages and composition and number of days lost to illness. Almost all of these traditional performance measures are end-of-pipe that is, they measure the output of the management system and allow corrective action only after a failure has occurred. The ideal measurement system identifies potential problems ahead of actual failure allowing corrective action to be taken. This requires using techniques such as audits and hazard assessments. 

Nonconformance arises when any aspect of the work of a laboratory does not conform to its procedures, to the standard, or the agreed-upon requirements of the customer. These are detected by customer complaints, internal quality control measures, management audits and reviews, and by observations of staff. They must be dealt with under the appropriate part of the management system and fully investigated and reported. 

The organization has ensured continual improvement in the effectiveness of the quality management system through management review (measurement and analysis), internal and external audits, and corrective actions. 

A QA system describes the overall measures that a laboratory uses to ensure the quality of its operation. Typical items include suitable equipment, trained and skilled staff, documented and validated methods, calibration requirements, standards and RMs, traceability, internal QC, PT, nonconformance management, internal audits, and statistical analysis. 

Because of such uncertainties, each supplier should be audited at the start of the project to establish whether a Quality Management System (QMS) exists that will support the validation of the equipment or process. Where none exists, an agreement must be reached with each supplier as to what quality measures will be used. This should be outlined by each company in their Quality Plan. In our case, we decided that all companies concerned should comply with the GAMP Guide, as this outlines validation documentation that is suitable for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration s (FDA) requirements and may also be used to support the European Union s CE mark accreditation (see Table 40.1). The device was to be released in both the American and European markets. 

Check - Monitor and measure performance, investigate, correct and prevent nonconformances, including auditing the management system, and identify... 

Safety audits must also properly measure management commitment, primary evidence of which is a results-oriented accountability system. If such an accountability system does not exist, management commitment is questionable. 

This is meaty stuff. All elements in a safety management system, while necessary, do not equally impact on those hazards that present the greatest potential for harm, whether measured by incident frequency or severity of injury. Obviously, the safety management elements included, and those emphasized, in an audit system should relate to the hazards that an entity... 

Most safety systems count the serious injuries as a measure of safety. This measurement method, while still accepted, is in fact a measurement of failure. Assessing and eontrolling the risks of the business and the activities that make up the control measures should be audited, and the result will be a more comprehensive measurement of safety because the management work being done to combat loss is measured. 

Internal safety system audits should take place every 6 months by a trained team of internal accredited auditors. The audit is not merely a safety inspection. A safety audit provides the means for a systematic analysis of each elanent of a loss prevention program to determine the extent and quality of the controls. It is a critical examination of all, or part, of a total safety operating system, and it is a management tool that measures the overall operating effectiveness of a company s safety and health program. 

A safety and health audit of the work being done to control loss measures the safety system and highlights its strengths and weaknesses. The audit compares work being done, and standards being maintained, with accepted safety and health standards. It can be used to review and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the safety system, and also to establish whether or not it meets international safety management system standards. 

In addition to performance measurements by those working in the laboratory, periodic audits by knowledgeable people independent of the location or activity should be arranged to enable a deeper and more critical appraisal. Top management should review the management system and its... 

A set of interrelated or interacting elements that organisations use to direct and control how quality policies are implemented and quality objectives are achieved. The operational measures that are taken to meet the specified requirements. This includes the activities for maintaining the quality management system, such as analysis of the product, procedures for change control, deviations and complaints, internal and external auditing. 

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