Environmental and safety audits : Processes to improve business performance

For a number of years numerous organizations have utilized environmental and safety compliance audits to verify that facilities and operations were meeting legal and company requirements. Historically these audits have focused on ensuring that regulatory standards, permit conditions, company standards, etc., were being achieved. In some companies the focus of internal audits is moving away from compliance to an evaluation of the management systems and work processes that lead to improved environmental and safety performance in concert with improved business performance. This paper discusses this evolution within a U.S. Business Unit of an international oil and gas company. A process for the management of these audits at both a facility and business unit level will be presented. The benefits of periodic reviews focused on the environmental and safety management systems and work processes within an organization in identifying both deficiencies and 'best practices will be demonstrated. It will also be shown that improvements in environmental and safety performance, as measured by both safety and environmental performance metrics, can contribute to improved business performance in terms of reduced operating costs.