Sent by Maire Hunter.

Safety inspections can be intimidating for factories and other industrial work settings. A safety inspector wields a lot of power in these situations. If a business runs afoul of established safety regulations, it can be hit with fines or even shut-down altogether.

Management is responsible for ensuring the workplace meets safety standards at all times. It’s just good business – and attention to safety keeps employees out of harm’s way and assures your business will pass an inspection with no problems.

Practice sanitary and safety compliance at all times

While most inspections are arranged in advance, if you haven’t been following safety guidelines, you’ll have a hard time pulling it together quickly enough to pass an inspection. Plus, you run the more serious risk of accidents occurring as a result of poor safety practices.

While an ideal industrial business is already meeting all safety regulations, it’s hard to accomplish that at all times, in practice. Little things might escape your attention – like a machine operator who routinely removes his safety glasses, or a burned-out light that may reduce visibility in a hazardous area. Get in the habit of looking for and replacing any facility safety equipment that is in disrepair.

Go through a factory safety checklist

Safety inspectors will be working off of a checklist when assessing your factory’s regulatory compliance. They usually make that checklist available to your business ahead of time, so review it and make sure you’re able to pass all of the requirements.

Even before you’re preparing for an inspection, perform a self-inspection, so you don’t miss any important details.

Enlist the help of employees to meet regulatory standards

Your employees are a valuable resource that can help enact change in a short time frame. If you identify any problems that need to be addressed, assign employees to handle specific tasks and review their work when they’re finished. When you assign an important task like this to employees, it demonstrates that you trust them.

Brief employees on conduct involving the inspector

Employees need to understand that, while talking to the inspector is not prohibited, they need to be careful about the information they discuss. Being cordial and conversational is always a good idea, but if an inspector questions employees, they should always defer to management.

Accompany the inspector throughout the visit

The appointed manager should remain with the inspector at all times, in order to answer any questions as they arise. And when management is present for the inspection, he or she can see first-hand any problems the inspector identifies and discuss how to remedy them.

When you have clear safety procedures and guidelines for employees to follow and provide quality protective gear and maintain equipment in the workplace, you’ll be more prepared for inspections. Emphasize to your employees the importance of safety regulations – for their own good, and for the benefit of the company.