Knowing the elements of an effective compliance program ensures getting certified quickly. It’s crucial because business non-compliance can have harmful consequences, including the following:
- Lawsuits – As a business owner, you must ensure employee safety. Failure to follow safety guidelines can lead to lawsuits from injured workers and crippling OSHA fines.
- License Suspension – Many businesses need licenses and permits to ensure compliance. A restaurant that sells alcohol must have a Recognised Competency Liquor Card and a health permit.
- Business Disruption – When non-compliant, businesses must implement compliance changes before resuming business. It can affect business areas not subject to the breached regulations, paralyzing the entire company.
- Damage to Business Reputation: Reputational damage is one of the worst consequences of non-compliance. Stakeholders will be skeptical if a company is non-compliant with EU legislation like GDPR or industry-specific regulations like licensing or insurance.
Did you know it can sometimes take over 18 months to prepare your HSEQ systems for certification? It’s true — and it’s time you could otherwise use to compete for tenders and enjoy a business run on insights, not guesswork.
FocusIMS helps you meet the elements of an effective compliance program:
- Client: Do you have a clear process to ensure your client requirements are filtered through the organisation, including field workers? Do personnel verify they have fulfilled the requirements with simple checklists and photos?
- Projects: Do you complete risk assessments on your projects? Is evidence readily available for an incident or a claim of unsafe work?
- Field: Do your field staff complete a daily risk assessment identifying any hazards and the controls implemented? Do they conduct pre-start checks on their equipment that is instantly available for office staff?
- Personnel: Do you have evidence of all staff training? Does it include expiry dates for training that needs to be renewed? Does your organisation clearly understand its skills and competency gaps and a plan to address them via a training matrix?
- Assets: Do you complete pre-start checks on your equipment? Do you have complete maintenance records? How do you ensure all programmed maintenance is completed within requirements?
- Risk: Have you identified the risks in your organisation and put in place plans to manage them? Do you regularly audit/inspect to ensure processes are completed as intended? Do you get to the cause of your incidents and put actions to address the cause in place?
- System: Do you regularly check your legal compliance? Do you have an effective policy and procedure management solution? Are your Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in date and available for the personnel who use the chemicals? Are your chemicals stored and transported as outlined in the SDS?
- Planning: do you identify opportunities and risks within your business and plan actions to improve? Do you consult with personnel regarding changes to the company? Do you have evidence of consultation?
These are the elements of an effective compliance program. How does your business fare?
But what if you could get your business certification-ready in seven days?
And see your level of compliance in a simple menu bar. Green is compliant, Red is non-compliant, and yellow is action required in the next 30 days.
