Audit Question Set Section 4.10 Independent Assurance

These questions can be used as an aid to assure that your project adheres to the policy briefed in clause 4.10 of the Statute Policy mandated by Defence Regulators which states;

Independent review of the Safety and Environmental Management System shall be ensured, as appropriate and commensurate to the risk, by the individual with formally delegated authority for safety and environmental protection. Information/findings arising from independent assurance shall be stored on the BMS/SharePoint as appropriate.

- Policy Clause 4.10 Independent Assurance

These questions address ASEMS Part 1, Clause 4.10 and DSA 01.1, Elements B, C, D, H and K.
Information Management
  1. How has information / findings arising from independent assurance activities been communicated as necessary to those who need it?
  2. Is there a list of interested stakeholders and where is it located?
  3. How is information / findings arising from independant assurance activities being declared as formal records?
Organisational Leadership, Culture, Capability and Change Management
  1. How did the team decide there was a need for Independent Assurance of their SEMS and how did it select an appropriate provider?
  2. What arrangements / agreements have been put in place for Independent Assurance and where are they recorded?
Personnel Competence and Training
  1. What competence requirements were identified for those providing Independent Assurance and where are they recorded?
  2. What checks were carried out on potential Independent Assurance providers to ensure that they had the necessary competences and where are the results recorded?
Supervision and Control of Activities
  1. What supervision and oversight of Independent Assurer’s activities has been arranged and where are the arrangements documented?
  2. What reporting mechanisms have been created for feeding back the outcomes of Independent Assurance to the team and where are they documented?
Self-Assurance
  1. How has the team assured itself that its independent Assurance arrangements are adequate and effective?

Covers assurance for policy clause

Independent Assurance

Independent review of the Safety and Environmental Management System shall be ensured, as appropriate and commensurate to the risk, by the individual with formally delegated authority for safety and environmental protection. Information/findings arising from independent assurance shall be stored on the BMS/SharePoint as appropriate.

4.10

Assures Procedures

EMP01

Environmental Management Plan

A fully resourced plan to facilitate proactive environmental management should be developed. It is likely that aspects will be known to the Delivery Team prior to commencement of the POEMS Process. This procedure should allow the Delivery Team to budget and resource tasks that ensure products, systems and services deliver sound environmental performance.

EMP09

Continuous Review

Continuous review should ensure that outputs from all EMPs are kept up to date with overall project and other developments. A review should be part of a planned process of the revision of outputs as the project progresses in order to incorporate improved or amended information, or as the result of audit findings. This procedure assists the Delivery Team in continuous review and improvements to their projects

SMP12

Safety Case and Safety Case Report

This procedure provides guidance on the development of a Safety Case and Safety Case Report. The Safety Case brings together all project safety information, forming a number of arguments which are summarised in the Safety Case Report.

SMP01

Project Safety Initiation

This procedure describes the start-up of safety management activities on a project. It identifies safety stakeholders, and legislative and other standards that should be satisfied. The procedure also creates the key elements of the safety management organisation for the project.

SMP02

Safety Committee

This procedure describes the implementation of a Safety Committee, in order to ensure effective co-ordination between persons holding safety responsibilities.

SMP13

In-Service Safety Management System

This procedure provides guidance for sustaining safety performance by ensuring in-service arrangements are recognised and operated.