Survey, walk-through checklist

Qualitative information on exposure can be obtained from study subjects using questionnaires or interviews. Experts such as occupational hygienists can evaluate the exposure by walk-through surveys, detailed workplace investigations using validated checklists or judgements based on their experience. 

Checklists are primarily used when published standards, codes, and commonly accepted industry practices exist. There are many such checklists. They consist of lists of questions pertaining to the applicable standards and practices—usually with a yes or no or not applicable response. Their purpose is to identify deviations from the expected, and thereby possible hazards. A checklist analysis requires a walk-through of the area to be surveyed. 

Internal safety inspections are important features in good safety practice. In daily production tasks, it is not always possible to detect all safety deficiencies. It is also well known that experienced employees can be too familiar with their work to note even imminent dangers. Regular walk-through surveys are therefore required. Safety checks may be conducted weekly, monthly or with some other level of frequency, depending on local risk conditions. It is usually advisable to use a checklist form appropriate to the plant, in order to conduct a systematic consideration of all of the relevant hazards. In the case of advanced safety inspection routines documented and issued using company systems, there is also a communication tool and checkout for the implementation of corrective measures by management. 

Inspections, observations, and walk-throughs are a core feature of a safety management system. This subcommittee assists in coordinating the various types of surveys, reviews, and inspections of facilities and operations. It would review checklist and inspection formats to ensure that these remain current, are kept up to date and consistent and are routinely scheduled. The subcommittee assists in training on each of the various formats used (Coble et al., n.d.). 

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