Objectives of Level 1 HSE Audits​

Level 1 HSE audits are carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of the HSE Management System (HSE-MS). They are meant to provide independent assurance that HSE risks are adequately controlled and managed, and to identify areas for further improvements.

HSE Audit Cycle

HSE Audit Hierarchy

The 'HSE Management System describes PDO’s HSE audit process. The hierarchy of HSE audits and inspections within PDO is illustrated in the diagram below:

Audit Program

A five year rolling Corporate HSE Audit Plan is issued by the Business Planning and Assurance Department in Q4 every year. This is updated annually, and endorsed by the Integrated Audit Committee IAC) as well as the Business Audit Committee (BAC) in Q4. The Corporate HSE audit program is planned and executed by MSE/5. Audits frequencies are scheduled based on a minimum 5 year audit cycle, and also taking cognizance of the potential risk that the audit location has in relation to the corporation. Additional factors that are considered include legal requirements, analysis of HSE data which may highlight potential areas of concern, as well as special requests from stakeholders.

Royal Dutch Shell Involvement

PR-1980 Corporate HSE Audits describes the audit process. It makes provision for participation from stakeholders, and an invitation is sent annually to Royal Dutch Shell inviting their participation in the following year’s corporate HSE audits. This can take the form of providing audit team members, making available specialized HSE personnel, as well as leading a specific agreed audit.

Corporate HSE Audit Teams

The Corporate HSE audit teams are resourced by MSE/5. The audit planning cycle determines which areas are to be audited. This allows affected auditee’s to nominate suitably trained personnel to participate in the planned audits, but only as team members for peer audits (those not within their own areas of responsibility). A team typically has a mixture of HSE Corporate auditors as well as trained participants from areas other than those of the Auditee. Persons participating are required to have attended an auditor training course (Internal 2 day, or external 5 day Independent Certified Auditor training)

Audit Follow-up

Findings and corrective actions are recorded and tracked in the electronic database PDO Incident Management System (PIM). Action close-out review is done by MSE/5 personnel who verify actions before closing them. Overdue actions are reported to the IAC & BAC for review.

Audit Reports

On completion of the audit, a report is provided reflecting the Terms of Reference (ToR), the scope, as well as a summary of the audit. It includes non-conformances (findings) and provides recommendations for correcting non-conformances. The Auditee is responsible for actioning any findings resulting from the audit. An audit coordinator facilitates development of corrective actions, action parties and target dates in conjunction with the Lead Auditor. Audit Reports can be obtained from the Corporate HSE Audit Section (MSE/5)