Prevention system OHS management audit methods: description, content validation and an assessment of the feasibility of measurement research: final report to the WSIB RAC on project #06112

Objectives: 1. Describe the audit methods of the Ontario Prevention System. 2. Examine their content validity. 3. Determine the feasibility of further study of reliability and validity Methods: Data were collected through interviews, review of documents and observations of audits. Features of audit methods and their associated programs were described and compared. A content validity analysis compared the content of methods with CSA Z1000, an OHS management system standard. Results: Seventeen audit methods from the Ontario Prevention System were studied. Similarities and differences among methods and their associated programs were found on aspects such as the structure of the auditing function in the auditing organization, the recruitment and training of auditors, quality control practices, sampling, and the judgment of audit evidence against audit criteria. On average the methods represented 74% of the CSA Z1000 content partially or fully. Conclusions: 1. A wide variety of audit methods are used in the Ontario Prevention System. 2. The more comprehensive audit methods represent the content of the recent Canadian OHS management system standard CSA Z1000 well overall. Management elements that are more characteristic of system approaches to OHS management are represented more weakly. 3. Further measurement studies of Prevention System audits are feasible