--- title: Best Practices for Your Next Internal Safety Audit description: Internal Safety Audits help you spot problems early, before they become big issues or are discovered by an external auditor. SafetyPro best practices. image: https://www.safetyproresources.com/hs-fs/hub/322414/file-825448291.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.safetyproresources.com/blog/best-practices-for-your-next-internal-safety-audit#main-content) **Call Us Today! 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Many safety professionals use inspections and audits as a way to determine areas where their company's safety programs can be improved. [Safety audits](https://www.safetyproresources.com/safety-auditing) are a great tool to assess risks and identify hazards. Internal audits can help you spot problems early, before they become big issues or are discovered by an external auditor. Here are some best practices to help you improve your [internal safety audits process](https://www.safetyproresources.com/safety-auditing): 1. **Focus on the system, not the individual**. If a step is being overlooked, examine the entire system to figure out why. An audit should never be about assigning blame. It is a way to examine your safety system and processes to make sure they are yielding the desired results. 2. **Go on site** to make your observations check physical records to confirm whether procedures are being followed. You must verify everything by personally inspecting both the work site and company records. 3. **Don't limit yourself to the safety department**. Make sure you get input from supervisors, committee members and workers in gathering information during your audit. 4. **Be open with your team** about the audit process and the benefits of [conducting internal audits.](https://www.safetyproresources.com/safety-auditing) 5. Learn from your audit findings. They will reveal strengths and weaknesses in your company's safety management system and give you ideas for improvement. 6. **Set a regular audit schedule** and measure improvements over time. We recommend once per year.  7. Once those hazards are identified, you need to **close the loop** by determining what corrective actions are required and following them through to completion. 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