OH&S MS performance evaluation
Domain 5 - OH&S MS performance evaluation
This domain tests clause 9: monitoring and measurement, evaluation of compliance, internal audit and management review. The exam expects you to distinguish activity from effectiveness.
Core rules
- Monitoring and measurement (9.1.1) requires deciding what to monitor, methods, criteria, when and who; analysing and evaluating results; and retaining evidence. Monitoring equipment must be calibrated or verified where used.
- Performance evaluation should include both leading indicators (near-miss reporting, inspection completion, exposure monitoring) and lagging indicators (incidents, ill health).
- Evaluation of compliance (9.1.2) requires determining frequency, evaluating legal and other requirements, taking action and maintaining knowledge of compliance status.
- Internal audit (9.2) must be at planned intervals, using an audit programme that considers importance, changes and previous results; auditors must be objective and impartial.
- Management review (9.3) is top management's review at planned intervals, with specified inputs including audit results, compliance, incidents, risks, resource adequacy and improvement opportunities, and outputs covering improvement, resources and system changes.
Worked example
A site reports a falling lost-time injury rate and concludes its system is effective. Review shows no exposure monitoring, no compliance evaluation and no leading indicators. The correct reasoning is that a lagging metric alone cannot demonstrate effectiveness; the organization needs monitoring data, compliance status and audit evidence before management review can make sound decisions.
Traps
Auditing your own work; treating management review as a slide show without decisions; confusing a legal register update with evaluation of compliance; ignoring contractor and outsourced performance; and failing to act on monitoring results.