Section one – Five questions worth two marks each – maximum 10 marks

1. ISO 45001 requires that “personnel.......shall be competent”. Explain, in your own words, what
“competent” means.
 Competent means having the knowledge and skill that you need and knowing how to apply it. It
means that you’re qualified to do the job.

2. Outline four ways in which an organisation can encourage worker participation in an OHSMS to ISO
45001.
 Establishing a safety committee consisting of managerial and non-managerial employees;
 Make available time, resources and training necessary for consultation and participation;
 Provide relevant information about the OH&S management system in a timely manner;
 Identify and remove or minimise deterrents to participation such as, language or literacy
difficulties, policies that discourage worker participation, etc.

3. State four benefits of an effective OH&S management system

 To prevent work related injury and ill health to workers
 To provide safe and healthy workplaces;
 To eliminate hazards and minimize OH&S risks by taking effective preventive and protective
measures.
 To fulfil its legal requirements and other requirements.

4. List four different ways an auditor may obtain objective evidence whilst performing an OH&S audit.
 Interview people
 Examine documents
 Observe activities and conditions

5. Identify two ISO 45001 clauses that support the aim of continual improvement.
 5.1 h - Top management shall demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the OH&S
management system by ensuring and promoting continual improvement.
 5.2 e - Top management shall establish, implement and maintain an OH&S policy that includes a
commitment to continual improvement of the OH&S management system
 7.1 - The organization shall determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment,
implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the OH&S management system.

6. Give two reasons why it may be necessary to involve a contractor in an organisation’s OHSMS.
 To identify hazards and to assess and control the OH&S risks arising from:
 the contractors’ activities and operations that impact the organization;
 the organization’s activities and operations that impact the contractors’ workers;
 the contractors’ activities and operations that impact other interested parties in the
workplace.
7. In your own words, explain the difference between the terms ‘audit criteria’ and ‘audit findings’.
 Audit Criteria – It includes policies, procedures or requirements which are used as a reference
against which collected audit evidence is compared.
 Audit Finding - Audit findings result from a process that evaluates audit evidence and compares it
against audit criteria. It can show that audit criteria are being met (conformity) or that
they are not being met (nonconformity).
 8. List two items which an audit plan should include.
 Audit Objective and scope
 Audit Criteria
 Organisational and other functional units to be audited
 Sequence of events incl. feedback session
 Focus on high priority risk areas
 Audit Team Members
 Reference Documents (Eg. Procedures and permits)

9. State four items of objective evidence which an auditor might seek to verify conformance with the
requirements of clause 6.1.3 of ISO 45001?

10. Explain the difference between an ’audit programme’ and an ‘audit plan’
 Audit Programme: set of arrangements that are intended to achieve a specific audit purpose
within a specific time frame. It includes all of the activities and resources needed to plan,
organize, and conduct one or more audits.
 Audit Plan : It describes the activities and arrangements intend to carry out the audit in order
to achieve the audit objectives.

Section two – Four questions worth five marks each – maximum 20 marks

1. You wish to establish that the auditee organisation has implemented an effective internal communication
process in accordance with ISO 45001.
a. Identify two topics that ISO 45001 requires to be communicated internally. (2 marks)
 5.2 OH&S Policy
 5.3 Responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles within the OH&S management system
to be communicated at all levels within the organization
 8.1.3 Mangement of change
b. List three methods an organisation could use to facilitate effective internal communication. (3 marks)
 Safety committee meetings,
 workstation procedures,
 bulletin boards and posters,
 memoranda and employee letters
 Intranet, Emails & newsletters.

2. List five subjects to include in a closing meeting and briefly describe the purpose of each.

3.
 a. State three reasons for using an evidence-based approach to auditing. (3 marks)

b. Identify two methods which an auditor may use to gather evidence.

4.
a. Give one reason for conducting a OHSMS stage 1 audit as part of a third party certification audit.
(1 mark)

b. List in the correct sequence the four typical main phases involved in an OHSMS stage 2 audit and
briefly describe the lead auditor’s role during each of these. (4 marks)

5. An important auditor characteristic is the ability to remain open minded.

a) In your own words, explain how an auditor might demonstrate being open minded. (3 marks)

b) Give two specific examples of a close-minded auditor. (2 marks)

6.
 a. Describe the purpose of the closing meeting (2 marks)
To present the audit findings and conclusions

b. List three items to be included in a closing meeting. (3 marks)

7.
a. Describe the purpose of the opening meeting (2 marks)
 Confirm the agreement of all participants (auditee, audit team) to the audit plan
 To Introduce audit team and their roles
 To ensure that all planned audit activities can be performed.
b. List three items to be considered at the meeting (3 marks)
 Introduction of audit team and their roles
 Confirmation of audit objective, scope & criteria
 Confirmation of focus areas
 Review of audit plan.
 Clarification of method of reporting
 Conform availability of facilities
8. Outline five items that an audit plan should include.
 Audit Objective and scope
 Audit Criteria
 Organisational and other functional units to be audited
 Sequence of events incl. feedback session
 Focus on high priority risk areas
 Audit Team Members
 Reference Documents (Eg. Procedures and permits)
9.
a. Briefly describe why it is important to contact the auditee prior to an audit. (This might be the
process owner for an internal audit or relevant management for an external audit). (2 marks)

b. List three topics you would want to discuss when contacting the auditee prior to the audit. (3
marks)

Section three – three questions worth ten marks each – maximum 30 marks
1. You are conducting an external audit with ISO 45001 as the audit criteria. The next item is a meeting with
top management to audit the OH&S policy, OH&S objectives and planning to achieve OH&S objectives.
Develop a checklist that would help you perform this audit. It must contain a series of five audit
checkpoints/questions which cover these three issues. For each checkpoint, identify examples of the
audit evidence you would want to gather and state the appropriate ISO 45001 reference.
2.
a. In your own words, state your understanding of the phrase ‘context of an organisation’ in relation
to its OHSMS. (2 marks)
b. Give four examples of interested parties who may need to be taken into account in the OHSMS of
an organisation operating heavy lifting equipment. Identify one item of audit evidence to be
sought for each example and briefly state why it is relevant. (8 marks)
3. As part of an on-site OH&S audit to ISO 45001 you have been assigned by the lead auditor to verify that
the continual improvement of the OH&S management system (as required by clauses 4.4 and 10.3) is
effectively implemented. Your objective is to seek evidence of a planned and systematic approach to
OHSMS improvement throughout the organisation, taking into account applicable requirements from ISO
45001.
Outline in a checklist how you will perform this part of the audit by developing a series of ten audit
checkpoints that you could use to guide you through the audit in a structured and systematic way. State
the applicable requirement of ISO 45001 in each case.
4.
a. List four key aspects you would need to consider when auditing top management involvement as
required by ISO 45001. (4 marks)
b. List six checkpoints based on these key aspects. State the relevant clause number. (6 marks)
5.
a. Explain the difference between the terms “correction” and “corrective action” (2 marks)
b. A major nonconformity was raised by a certification auditor during a site audit of a construction
company when a worker was found working on his own in a 4-metre-deep manhole with no
safety precautions being taken. Give two examples of “correction” and two examples of
“corrective action” which could apply to this situation. State the relevant clause of ISO 45001 for
each example. (8 marks)
6. Risk management is an essential discipline if an organisation wishes to prevent losses resulting from
incidents and near misses.
If you were an auditor examining whether or not an organisation had implemented a robust approach to
managing its risks, identify ten relevant topics to consider when gathering evidence on this subject.
7. During a Stage 1 visit to an organisation you note that a construction company, contracted to repair and
maintain the site drainage system, is currently working in the main production area. The organisation
informs you that production is continuing and the production personnel have to work around the
 contractor’s activities (which involves removing and replacing many of the existing drains). Next month is
the Stage 2 audit and you are the lead auditor carrying out the audit. Explain what you would wish to
examine by listing at least 10 issues or audit checkpoints for investigation making reference to relevant
clauses of ISO 45001.
8. You are conducting a third-party, ISO 45001 audit of a food processing company, focussing on their
internal audit process. You determine that the organisation’s occupational health and safety system
internal audit programme has been the same for the past four years. Each department is audited once
every year and audit objectives have been limited to checking that the operational controls are carried
out as described in documented information.
a) There are two requirements of ISO 45001 clause 9.2 that are unlikely to be met based on what
you have determined so far. Describe these two requirements. (4 marks)
b) List three topics that you would want to discuss with the audit programme manager during your
audit. For each topic, briefly outline what you would want to discuss and why. State the
applicable clauses of ISO 45001 as appropriate. (6 marks)
9.
a. Explain, in your own words, the difference between a “hazard” and an “OH&S risk” in an OHSMS.
(2 marks)
b. You are conducting a OHSMS audit in the warehouse of a large distribution company working
mainly in the online market for books and other publications. From an overhead gantry, you
observe that there are a number of diesel powered fork lift trucks moving around the floor area
which has pallet storage racks four levels high. A number of people are pushing trolleys along the
passageways. You have noted that more safety incidents took place in this area in the last year
than in any other area. Describe four hazards and their potential consequences in the
warehouse which you would expect to have been identified as part of their risk management
process. (4 marks)
c. Outline four opportunities for OH&S improvement which might eliminate these hazards and
reduce OH&S risks. (4 marks)
Section four – three questions worth 10 marks each – maximum 30 marks

Scenario 1:
You are in the production area of a food processing factory that employs 30 people and are
being given a tour by the Supervisor of the area. Due to the machines in operation, the
area is noisy so you have to go into his office so you can hear each other. Your
preparation notes for the audit record that, on a previous audit six months ago, you
noticed two people were not wearing hearing protection and raised it as an observation in
your report. At the time the Supervisor said he would remind the staff to wear hearing
protection to stop it happening again.

On this audit, you notice at least half of the workforce is not wearing their hearing
protection and there are signs in the area stating that hearing protection is mandatory.
The Supervisor says this is an ongoing problem, especially with the agency/temporary
workers and he reminds them during the monthly briefing sessions. He says he will take
action and remind the staff again to wear their hearing protection.

You confirm that the operational activities, conditions and the controls in place have not
changed since your previous audit and the current risk assessment is still valid.

Scenario 2:
At the Burger Packing Machine station of a food processing organisation, you ask an
experienced operator if things ever go wrong with the machine that automatically folds up
the cardboard to form the box that contains the burgers.

The operator said that “Yes, the machine stops because sometimes cardboard jams in the
rollers”. The operator said that “I’m not sure if we are supposed to do this but because it’s
such a simple thing to fix, we usually just take off the guard, pull out all the jammed
cardboard and restart and it’s never caused any problems”. You ask if there is a formal
procedure or instruction for the unjamming and the operator says “not as far as I know”.

Later that day you review a process diagram and find instructions for unjamming the
machine (Control instruction number 4/22, issued 6 months earlier) and it states that
“maintenance should be called whenever the machine jams”.

Scenario 3:
You are conducting a OHSMS audit in the production area of an engineering factory that
operates heavy presses, large drilling machines and Computer Numerical Control (CNC)
machines.

You notice an electrical switch with a large red button on the wall with the nearby
inscription “Emergency Stop”. A line of pallets containing the raw materials for the machine
shop is situated in front of the switch, preventing access to it. When you enquire about the
switch, the shop foreman states that it cuts the electricity supply to the machines but has
never been used as far as he knows. He says that the pallets will be moved shortly and
were only located in that position due to a busy period of work orders.

Earlier in the audit, you noted from the minutes of the Health and Safety Committee
meeting three months previously that the workers’ representative raised the issue of
access to emergency switches in the machine shop. You ask to speak to this person but
find out that he left two months ago. Nobody has replaced him as the workers’
representative.

Scenario 4:
You are auditing an organisation that supplies offshore oil rigs with provisions and supplies
such as food, water, fuel and tooling. You are in an office that overlooks the quay side
where you can see a ship being off loaded with empty containers from an oil rig. The
containers are being lifted off the ship using a mobile crane and deposited onto a truck.

You witness a worker walk under a suspended load, crawl under the truck to get to the
other side and then secure the load from that side of the truck.

You establish that OH&S risks associated with the loading and off-loading of trucks have
been determined and appropriate documented operational controls are in place that forbid
standing beneath suspended loads. All staff are also trained in the use of these controls
during their induction training, which you had audited earlier and found to be well recorded
and administered.

The manager who was with you also witnessed this and said this was an “unusual” practice.
You later find that the worker was a full time/permanent employee who has worked for the
company for 3 years and he has been formally warned on several occasions before for
similar practices.

Scenario 5:
You are in a call centre which is staffed twenty-four hours and employs two hundred and
fifty people. You have just completed your interview with the OH&S Manager who
explained to you the main hazards and risks in the centre’s activities. You now proceed to
the operations room of the centre. And note that some operators are not wearing phone
headsets and are cradling the phone on their shoulder for several minutes at a time whilst
talking and typing on their computer terminal. You have confirmed that the assessment of
OH&S risk for this activity states that neck injuries and strokes can be caused by prolonged
(over one minute) and frequent cradling of a phone on the shoulder, and that the planned
action introduced by the organisation to address this risk was to make the use of headsets
mandatory.

You raise this observation with the Operations Room Manager and he states that it was
difficult to ensure that the staff always used the headsets. Following protests from many of
the staff who did not want to wear them, he downgraded the headset use from mandatory
to advisable because it seemed a reasonable request. He was not aware of anyone having
a neck injury or being off ill because of telephone use. He said that this has made the staff
happier and easier to manage.

You try to establish if this change had been recorded anywhere but can find no objective
evidence to support this.

You also establish with the OHS Manager that the original assessment of OH&S risk and the
planned action to reduce it is still current.

Scenario 6:
When asking the OH&S Manager of a pharmaceutical manufacturer about the management
review process and how it relates to improvement of the OHSMS, the auditor learns that
she prepares a slide presentation every year for a meeting of the management board. She
shows the latest presentation to the auditor who observes that it is made up of historical
data from incidents, internal audits, legal compliance checks, external audits and
improvement action results. The auditor recognises selected slides from the presentation
which he has seen displayed on notice boards.

On enquiring about improvement decisions by the board, she advises that she has been
authorised to initiate any OH&S improvement objectives of her choosing as long as no
additional expenditure is involved. She explains that the company is severely constrained
financially at the moment. The auditor checks the minutes of the management review and
finds that this authorisation is documented but there is no mention of financial matters.
The auditor notes that the OH&S Manager has signed off the minutes of the management
review meeting.

Scenario 7:
During an audit of a company that refurbishes computers, you notice a new Spray Booth
has been built for use when painting small parts. It uses Aerosol Spray Cans. This activity
used to be sub-contracted overseas, but has now been brought ‘in house’.

You observe the spraying being carried out and note that there is a strong smell of solvent
even though the fans in the spray booths are operating. You note from the paint material
safety data sheet that the paint fumes are harmful and ask if an assessment of OH&S risks
has been carried out for this activity. The Manager replies stating that was not necessary
as the aerosol spray paint and the booths are similar to those used by the overseas sub-
contractor so the hazards are well established. The operators have access to face masks.

Your audit trail leads you to the accident and incident records and you note that there have
been recent reports of personnel complaining about ‘stinging’ eyes and slight difficulties in
breathing. The action taken was to instruct operators not to put their heads too far into the
spray booth when spraying.

Scenario 8:
You are auditing an organisation that delivers sandwiches to offices by a fleet of small vans
on a daily basis. You note that, over the past twelve months, there has been a twenty-five
percent increase in ‘near misses’ for road traffic accidents recorded by the six employees.
You are provided with a verbal explanation as to how the incident reporting process
operates. The auditee further advises you that although this process is not maintained as
documented information, all six employees know how to report and record incidents,
including any near misses, as it is covered in the induction training.
You ask about the cause of the increase in near misses and are told “there are no special
reasons; we can go for a while without any and then we get quite a few in a short period”.

Scenario 9:
During a site visit for a stage 2 certification audit of a facility management company, you
notice that a window cleaner is stretching from a long ladder to clean a window pane on
the second floor. The ladder is resting on loose chippings. There is no indication that the
ladder is secured and the cleaner is unaccompanied. He is not wearing a safety harness
and is working with a bucket perched on the top rung of the ladder.

You discuss this situation with the OH&S Manager who states that the operator works for
a subcontractor, EasyClean. He adds that they have also used this subcontractor for
many years to service their own clients. He tells you that he has visited the contractor’s
offices to discuss OH&S issues and was satisfied with their level of awareness of their
responsibilities. He mentions that he will have a word with the operator about safety
practices when using ladders.