NP14 - Pool Safety Audit Communications

Purpose

To confirm the agreement of all parties to the Pool Safety Audit Plan and ensure that the planned audit activities can be performed.

Opening Meetings

An opening meeting may be held with the owner or manager of the aquatic location and, where appropriate, those responsible for the functions or processes to be audited. During the meeting, an opportunity to ask questions should be provided.

The degree of detail should be consistent with the familiarity of the owner or manager of the aquatic location with the audit process. In many instances, the opening meeting may simply consist of communicating that an audit is being conducted and explaining the nature of the audit.

During the Audit

During the audit, it may be necessary to make formal arrangements for communication within the audit team, as well as with the owner or manager of the aquatic location, the audit client and potentially with external bodies (e.g. regulators), especially where legal requirements require the mandatory reporting of non-compliances.

The audit team should confer periodically to exchange information, assess audit progress, and reassign work between the audit team members, as needed.

During the audit, the audit team leader should periodically communicate the progress of the audit and any concerns to the owner or manager of the aquatic location, as appropriate. Evidence collected during the audit that suggests an immediate and significant risk should be reported without delay to the owner or manager of the aquatic location and, as appropriate, to the audit client. Any concern about an issue outside the audit scope should be noted and reported to the Lead Auditor, for possible communication to the owner or manager of the aquatic location.

Where the available audit evidence indicates that the audit objectives are unattainable, the Lead Auditor should report the reasons to the owner or manager of the aquatic location to determine appropriate action. Such action may include reconfirmation or modification of the Aquatic Safety Audit Plan, changes to the audit objectives or audit scope, or termination of the audit.

Any need for changes to the Pool Safety Audit Plan which may become apparent as auditing activities progress should be reviewed and approved, as appropriate, by both the Audit Program Manager, Lead Auditor and the owner or manager of the aquatic location.

Closing Meetings

A closing meeting, facilitated by the Lead Auditor, may be held to present the audit findings and conclusions. Participants in the closing meeting should include the owner or manager of the aquatic location and, where appropriate, those responsible for the functions or processes which have been audited, and may also include the audit client and other parties.

For some audit situations, the meeting may be formal and minutes, including records of attendance, may be kept. In other instances, the closing meeting may be less formal and may consist solely of communicating the audit findings and audit conclusions.

As appropriate, the following should be explained to the owner or manager of the aquatic location in the closing meeting:

1. advising that the audit evidence collected was based on a sample of the information available;
2. the method of reporting;
3. the process of handling of audit findings and possible consequences;
4. presentation of the audit findings and conclusions in such a manner that they are understood and acknowledged by the owner or manager of the aquatic location;
5. any related post-audit activities (e.g. implementation of corrective actions, audit complaint handling, appeal process).

Any diverging opinions regarding the audit findings or conclusions between the audit team and the owner or manager of the aquatic location should be discussed and, if possible, resolved. If not resolved, this should be recorded.

If specified by the audit objectives, recommendations for improvements may be presented. It should be emphasized that recommendations are not binding.

Reference

• AS/NZS ISO 19011:2014 Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems
• Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations

Template

• Pool Safety Audit Open Meeting Agenda
• Pool Safety Audit Closing Meeting Agenda