Consider the following statements about Environmental and Safety Audits:

Question

Consider the following statements about Environmental and Safety Audits:

I. Environmental Audit verifies compliance with laws and effectiveness of an EMS.

II. Safety Audit is primarily a one-time exercise for project-inception only.

III. Regular audits contribute to continuous improvement of performance.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. A. I and II only
2. B. I and III only (Correct answer)
3. C. II and III only
4. D. I, II and III

Correct Answer

Option B — I and III only

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is I and III only.

Key Points

• Statement I is correct. An Environmental Audit verifies compliance with law and the effectiveness of the EMS.
• Statement II is incorrect, and it is the error the question rests on. A Safety Audit is not a one-time exercise at project inception; it is periodic and recurring, because hazards change as plant, processes and personnel change.
• Statement III is correct. Regular auditing drives continuous improvement, which is the entire rationale of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

Additional Information

• A one-off audit would be worthless within a year or two. Equipment degrades, processes are modified, staff turn over, and each change introduces hazards the original audit could not have seen.
• Audit frequency is normally set by risk: high-hazard installations are audited annually or more often, lower-risk units less frequently.
• The improvement loop runs audit → findings → corrective action → verification → next audit, and it is the verification step that most organisations neglect.
• Look again at the pattern across this paper's statement questions: the false statement is almost always the one containing "only", "always" or "one-time".