ISO-45001-LEAD-AUDITOR practice question 2 of 10

You are conducting a Stage 2 certification audit to ISO 45001 at an adventure park in the Scottish Highlands. The park offers treetop walks, zip-line…

You are conducting a Stage 2 certification audit to ISO 45001 at an adventure park in the Scottish Highlands. The park offers treetop walks, zip-line rides, walking trails, and horse-riding trips. The park is open to adults and children of any age. You are particularly interested in compliance with legal requirements and interview the Park Manager. You: How do you evaluate the risks to participants that the various activities present? Park Manager: Our risks are covered by insurance, and we operate under health and safety legislation that requires frequent checks of all our facilities. For example, we trust staff to check all our harnesses every morning. You: Are you required to have an independent inspection carried out of zip lines, for example? Park Manager: Yes, our insurance company employs a reputable body to do that sort of thing. You: Can you show me a copy of the latest inspection report? Park Manager: I’d need to get that from the insurance organisation. I have the initial one when we opened eight years ago. You examine the inspection report, which takes the form of a checklist that does not identify individual zip lines, treetop platforms, harnesses, or rope ladders. It is dated eight years previously and has a scribbled signature with no other identification of the inspection engineer. Select the two statements for which there is evidence of a nonconformity to ISO 45001. Select two statements.

Answer options

A: The park did not have the required documentation to demonstrate compliance with legal requirements. Correct answer

B: The organisation did not monitor the safety checks by the staff of equipment.

C: The inspection organisation employed by the insurance organisation was not evaluated. Correct answer

D: The park relied on the insurance organisation to evaluate its OHS risks.

E: Testing to determine the safe loading of equipment was not carried out.

Correct Answer:

A. The park did not have the required documentation to demonstrate compliance with legal requirements.; C. The inspection organisation employed by the insurance organisation was not evaluated.

Explanation

The scenario provides objective evidence of two nonconformities. First, the park cannot provide the required documented information (a current inspection report) to demonstrate its compliance with legal requirements, which is a nonconformity against Clause 9.1.2. The only report available is eight years old, generic, and unverified, failing to serve as evidence of ongoing compliance. Second, the park has outsourced a critical safety function (independent inspection) but has demonstrated no control over this process, as required by Clause 8.1.4.3. Relying solely on the insurance company to select a "reputable body" and accepting a completely inadequate report shows a failure to ensure the outsourced arrangement conforms to the OHS management system's requirements.

Why Incorrect

B. The manager’s statement about "trusting" staff is a concern, but the scenario provides no direct evidence that monitoring of the checks does not occur.
D. The manager’s comment on insurance is about risk treatment (financing), not an admission that the insurer performs the park's OHS risk evaluation process.
E. The scenario provides no information regarding safe loading tests; therefore, a nonconformity cannot be raised based on the evidence provided.

References

1. ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use.

Section 9.1.2, "Evaluation of compliance": States that "The organization shall retain documented information of the compliance evaluation result(s)." The park's inability to provide a current inspection report is a failure to meet this requirement.

Section 8.1.4.3, "Outsourcing": Requires that "The organization shall ensure that outsourced functions and processes are controlled." The park's reliance on the insurer without its own verification or evaluation process for the inspection body is a failure of this control.

2. PECB. (2021). PECB Certified ISO 45001 Lead Auditor Training Course Material.

Domain 5: Conducting the audit, Section: "Audit evidence": Emphasizes that audit conclusions and nonconformities must be based on verifiable and objective audit evidence. The lack of a current report (for A) and the acceptance of a substandard report without verification (for C) constitute objective evidence.

3. Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2018). Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health (7th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Chapter 5, "Recordkeeping and Reporting": This university-level textbook explains that maintaining records of legally required inspections is fundamental to demonstrating due diligence and compliance with occupational safety and health regulations. The eight-year-old report is insufficient as evidence of current compliance.

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