SIZA Audit Readiness Workshop

Description

Course Overview

Course 6 of the SIZA-Aligned Farm OHS & Occupational Hygiene Training Series.

Prepare your agricultural business for SIZA Social audits with our SIZA Audit Readiness Workshop, designed to help South African farm owners, managers, supervisors and compliance personnel assess workplace health and safety practices, identify compliance gaps and implement meaningful improvements.

Offered by SA Farming College, this practical course focuses on evidence-based audit preparation, occupational health and safety documentation, workplace verification, employee understanding and continuous improvement.

Preparing for a SIZA audit involves more than maintaining policies and completing checklists. Agricultural businesses need to demonstrate that their health and safety systems are effectively implemented, employees understand workplace risks, and identified hazards are being addressed.

This workshop introduces practical methods for reviewing workplace documentation, evaluating health and safety controls, conducting internal inspections and identifying areas requiring corrective action.

Learners will explore the importance of accurate records, worker participation, practical risk management and structured improvement planning, including the development of a 30/60/90-day action plan.

Through agricultural examples and practical self-assessment techniques, this course provides valuable guidance for businesses seeking to strengthen workplace safety systems and improve their readiness for SIZA Social audits.

Course Highlights

• Practical preparation for SIZA Social audits
• SIZA-aligned agricultural health and safety guidance
• Understanding audit readiness versus actual workplace compliance
• Reviewing occupational health and safety documentation
• Evaluating risk assessments, training records and inspection registers
• Preparing for worker interviews and workplace verification
• Identifying and prioritising compliance gaps
• Developing a practical 30/60/90-day improvement plan
• Corrective-action tracking and verification
• Self-paced online learning through SA Farming College

What You Will Learn

Upon completion of this course, learners should be able to:

• Understand the purpose of health and safety verification during SIZA Social audits.
• Recognise the difference between documented compliance and effective workplace implementation.
• Identify the occupational health and safety information commonly reviewed during an audit.
• Understand the importance of accurate, current and consistent workplace records.
• Review risk assessments, training documentation, inspection records and corrective-action registers.
• Identify potential gaps between written procedures and actual working conditions.
• Understand how workplace inspections and worker interviews contribute to audit verification.
• Recognise the importance of including permanent, temporary and seasonal workers in workplace safety systems.
• Conduct practical internal reviews of agricultural health and safety arrangements.
• Identify and prioritise workplace health and safety improvements.
• Develop a structured 30/60/90-day corrective-action plan.
• Understand how to verify that corrective actions have been implemented effectively.
• Promote continuous improvement between workplace audits.

Course Content

Module 1: Audit Readiness versus Real Compliance

Understand the difference between preparing documentation for an audit and maintaining genuinely effective workplace health and safety systems.

Topics include:

• Introduction to SIZA Social audit readiness
• Understanding the purpose of workplace health and safety verification
• The difference between written policies and practical implementation
• Recognising the importance of evidence-based compliance
• Understanding workplace risk assessments and corrective-action planning
• Reviewing the effectiveness of health and safety management systems
• Considering the needs of temporary and seasonal agricultural workers
• Workplace safety considerations involving accommodation and communal facilities
• Understanding the importance of drinking-water safety evidence
• Evaluating training effectiveness and employee understanding
• Identifying gaps between workplace records and actual conditions
• Using self-assessments to identify improvement opportunities

Module 2: OHS Documentation Audit

Learn how to review occupational health and safety records and identify gaps in workplace documentation and supporting evidence.

Topics include:

• The importance of accurate health and safety documentation
• Reviewing hazard identification and risk assessments (HIRA)
• Evaluating workplace training matrices and attendance registers
• Health and safety representative and committee records
• Reviewing workplace inspection registers
• Hazardous chemical inventories and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)
• Occupational hygiene assessment reports, where applicable
• Medical surveillance documentation, where required
• Workplace incident and near-miss records
• Corrective and preventative action documentation
• Document control, review dates and version management
• Linking identified workplace risks to implemented controls
• Developing a practical occupational health and safety evidence matrix
• Identifying missing, outdated or inconsistent documentation

Module 3: Worker Interview and Field Verification

Understand how workplace observations and employee discussions can help determine whether health and safety procedures are effectively implemented.

Topics include:

• The purpose of worker interviews during workplace audits
• Understanding how auditors verify actual working conditions
• Assessing employee awareness of workplace hazards
• Evaluating worker understanding of safety procedures
• Reviewing training effectiveness and task-specific knowledge
• Health and safety considerations for seasonal and temporary workers
• Identifying differences between written procedures and workplace practices
• Conducting practical workplace walk-throughs
• Recognising ineffective or impractical safety controls
• Encouraging open communication about workplace hazards
• Understanding the importance of accessible hazard-reporting systems
• Using workplace observations to identify improvement opportunities
• Recording findings and recommending corrective actions

Module 4: 30/60/90-Day Improvement Plan

Learn how to develop a structured workplace improvement plan that addresses identified health and safety gaps and supports long-term compliance.

Topics include:

• Understanding continuous improvement in agricultural health and safety
• Identifying and prioritising workplace compliance gaps
• Assessing risk levels and urgency of corrective actions
• Developing practical corrective and preventative measures
• Assigning responsibilities and implementation deadlines
• Establishing 30-day, 60-day and 90-day milestones
• Addressing immediate high-risk safety concerns
• Improving workplace documentation and training systems
• Monitoring the progress of outstanding corrective actions
• Conducting follow-up workplace inspections and employee interviews
• Collecting evidence of completed improvements
• Verifying the effectiveness of implemented safety controls
• Maintaining workplace safety improvements between audits

Who Should Enrol?

This course is particularly suitable for:

• Farm owners and agricultural business operators
• Farm managers and operations managers
• Agricultural compliance officers
• Health and safety representatives
• Health, safety and environment (SHE) personnel
• Farm supervisors and team leaders
• Packhouse managers responsible for workplace compliance
• Individuals coordinating preparations for SIZA Social audits
• Agricultural businesses seeking to improve occupational health and safety systems

Course Information

• Course Type: Short Course
• Study Mode: Self-Paced Online Learning
• Recommended Duration: Half Day to 1 Day
• Industry: Agriculture and Farming
• Focus: SIZA Social Audit Readiness and Occupational Health & Safety
• Assessment: Online Knowledge Quiz
• Certificate: SA Farming College Certificate, subject to successful completion requirements
• Applicable Frameworks: Relevant SIZA Social Standard principles and South African occupational health and safety legislation

Why Choose This Course?

Preparing for a workplace audit can be challenging, particularly when agricultural businesses must manage safety documentation, seasonal workforces, machinery, hazardous substances and changing operational conditions.

Effective audit readiness requires more than ensuring that documents are available. Businesses need to demonstrate that workplace risks are understood, preventative measures are implemented and employees have received appropriate training.

This workshop provides a practical, agriculture-focused approach to reviewing workplace health and safety arrangements, identifying areas for improvement and developing realistic corrective-action plans.

Whether you operate a small farm, manage a commercial agricultural operation or coordinate compliance across multiple departments, this course provides valuable knowledge to support stronger safety management, better recordkeeping and continuous workplace improvement.

Strengthen your workplace health and safety systems and prepare more confidently for SIZA Social audits with SA Farming College.

Important: This is an independently offered SA Farming College training course aligned with relevant SIZA Social Standard principles. It is not an official SIZA training programme, SIZA qualification, SIZA audit or SIZA certification, and does not guarantee audit approval or compliance. It does not replace the current SIZA Standard, official SIZA guidance, applicable legislation, independent audits or professional occupational health and safety advice.