Part 1 is the audit plan, issued by the lead auditor 15 working days before an annual audit and five before a spot-audit (01 Audit Program section 10). Part 2 is the report, issued within 15 working days of the closing meeting (section 11). Part 3 is the finding record, one per nonconformity. The plan, the report, the category score sheets and the roll-up worksheet from 02 Audit Checklist Master Index section 6 together are the audit file. The structure follows the elements ISO 19011 expects of an audit plan and an audit report (ISO 19011:2026, cl. 6.3.2 and 6.5).
| Field |
Entry |
| Audit reference |
FSSMS-AUD-{{Year}}-{{Sequence}} |
| Type |
Spot-audit / Annual internal / Post-event / External / Follow-up |
| Objectives |
|
| Scope: sites, platoons, modules, dates |
|
| Exclusions and reasons |
|
| Criteria: this management system’s edition; criteria register version; legal register date; standard editions |
|
| Lead auditor (role, division, competence record ref.) |
|
| Team members (role, division, competence record ref.) |
|
| Conflict declarations |
|
| Lead auditor independence confirmed by fire chief (date) |
|
| Auditee representative (role) |
|
| Schedule: opening meeting; site visits by day; interview slots; observations; closing meeting; report date |
|
| Sampling plan: stations selected and why; records sample sizes by type; interview numbers by group (career, volunteer, officer, member, chief, JOHSC, contractor) |
|
| Observations planned (incident or drill; apparatus and SCBA check; decon cycle; JOHSC meeting; station inspection; training evolution; fit test or medical scheduling process) |
|
| Documents requested in advance (list) and date due |
|
| Prior findings to follow up (register references) |
|
| Resources: auditor days; vehicle; access; PPE for observations |
|
| Approved by (role, date) |
|
2.1 Executive summary (one page)
#
| Result |
Value |
| Program score (per cent) and pass or fail |
|
| Category profile (20 scores; attach the roll-up worksheet) |
|
| Program effectiveness index and maturity band |
|
| Program documentation index |
|
| Legislated floors not met (list) |
|
| Findings: majors / minors / OFIs / good practices; and by priority (P1 / P2 / P3 / P4) |
|
| Psychological-safety measure (proportion positive on the two standing questions, by group) |
|
| Culture baseline score and the gap to the maturity band |
|
| Trend against the last audit (program score, effectiveness index) |
|
| Three things to fix first |
1. 2. 3. |
| Three things the department does best |
1. 2. 3. |
| Pillar |
Paragraph |
| Effective: do the controls work? |
|
| Efficient: does effort go where the risk is? |
|
| People: participation, culture, wellness, psychological safety |
|
2.3 Scope, criteria, team, method and sampling
#
| Field |
Entry |
| Scope as audited (and any departure from the plan, with reasons) |
|
| Criteria applied (versions) |
|
| Team and independence |
|
| Sites visited (career and volunteer), platoons, dates |
|
| Interviews completed by group, against the sampling table |
|
| Observations completed |
|
| Records sampled by type (population, sample size, method) |
|
| Limits of the sampling and of the audit |
|
2.4 Category results (one block per category)
#
| Category {{Category number}}: {{Category name}} |
|
| Category score / effectiveness / documentation (per cent) |
|
| Legislated floor met? |
|
| Findings (references) |
|
| Good practice |
|
| Trend against last audit |
|
| Auditor’s note (two or three sentences on what the score means for this department) |
|
2.5 Findings register (summary table; full records in Part 3)
#
| Finding ref. |
Grade |
Priority (P1 to P4) |
Category |
Item |
Criterion |
Owner (role) |
Plan due |
Closure due |
Register ID |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.6 Status of prior findings
#
| Register ID |
Finding |
Status (closed with evidence / open / overdue) |
Evidence examined |
Auditor’s conclusion |
|
|
|
|
|
2.7 Conclusion and priorities for the management review
#Free text, one page: the auditor’s overall judgment; the three priorities; what the department should expect the next audit to find if nothing changes.
Interview counts by group; observations completed; documents examined; completed category score sheets; roll-up worksheet; closing meeting attendance and auditee comments.
2.9 Distribution and acceptance
#
| Field |
Entry |
| Issued by (lead auditor role) and date |
|
| Accepted by fire chief (date) |
|
| Distributed to (roles, dates): senior officer H&S; HSO; deputy chiefs; program managers; JOHSC co-chairs; CAO or corporate safety; union; volunteer association |
|
| Member summary issued to stations (date, within 30 days) |
|
| Interview notes destroyed (date) |
|
Grade and priority. Every finding takes a grade and a priority on the department’s one scale, the same scale the Corrective Action Register uses for every deficiency. A major nonconformity is P1 (Imminent) or P2 (Serious) by risk; a minor nonconformity is P3 (Moderate); an opportunity for improvement is P4 (Improvement). Good practice takes no priority. The priority sets the interim control and the due dates:
| Priority |
Meaning |
Interim control |
Plan due |
Closure due |
Extension and escalation |
| P1 (Imminent) |
Could kill or seriously injure someone before the next shift or training night; a critical control absent or failed; a regulator stop-work order |
Immediately, the same shift: stop the activity, isolate, tag out or remove from service; fire chief and JOHSC co-chairs told within 24 hours |
2 working days |
7 days |
Fire chief may extend once, to 30 days, only with the interim control kept in place; fire chief informed at once if overdue |
| P2 (Serious) |
A legal duty not met; a critical control weakened but not absent; injury likely within the month |
Within 24 hours where practicable |
7 days |
30 days |
Deputy chief may extend once, to 90 days; deputy chief at the due date, fire chief at 30 days overdue |
| P3 (Moderate) |
An isolated lapse; injury potential that is not imminent |
None beyond logging |
30 days |
90 days |
Deputy chief may extend once, to 180 days; deputy chief at 30 days overdue, fire chief at 60 days |
| P4 (Improvement) |
Housekeeping, comfort, an opportunity to be more effective |
None |
Next quarterly program update |
365 days or the next budget cycle, dated |
Cancelled only with a written reason |
| Field |
Entry |
| Finding reference |
{{Audit reference}}-F{{Finding number}} |
| Grade |
Major / Minor / OFI / Good practice |
| Priority |
P1 / P2 (major, by risk) / P3 (minor) / P4 (OFI) |
| Category and item number |
|
| Criterion (document, clause, or law found through the topic pages in 00 Jurisdiction Index) |
|
| Evidence (what was seen, read or heard; D/O/I; where and when) |
|
| Statement of the finding (the gap between evidence and criterion, in one or two sentences; conditions, not people) |
|
| Root cause as understood at the closing meeting |
|
| Interim control (P1 the same shift; P2 within 24 hours where practicable) |
|
| Owner (role) |
|
| Corrective action plan due / closure due (from the priority table above) |
|
| Auditee comment |
|
| Register ID assigned |
|
| Verifier for closure (role; not the author for majors) |
|
| Effectiveness check due |
|
| Field |
Type |
Required |
Who completes |
| Audit reference |
Text pattern |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Type |
Pick list |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Objectives, scope, exclusions, criteria |
Text |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Team, conflicts, independence confirmation |
Text; date |
Yes |
Lead auditor; fire chief |
| Schedule and sampling plan |
Table |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Documents requested, date due |
List; date |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Prior findings |
Register IDs |
Yes (may be none) |
Lead auditor |
| Approval |
Role, date |
Yes |
Fire chief or senior officer H&S |
| Executive summary values |
Numbers; lists |
Yes |
Lead auditor from the roll-up worksheet |
| Three-pillar paragraphs |
Text |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Scope as audited, limits |
Text |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Category blocks (20) |
Numbers; text |
Yes for every applicable category |
Audit team |
| Findings register |
Table |
Yes |
Audit team |
| Prior findings status |
Table |
Yes |
Audit team |
| Conclusion |
Text |
Yes |
Lead auditor |
| Appendices |
Attachments |
Yes |
Audit team |
| Distribution and acceptance |
Roles; dates |
Yes |
Lead auditor; fire chief; HSO |
| Finding record fields |
As listed |
One record per finding |
Audit team; HSO assigns register ID |
Jurisdiction requirements
#This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.
| Topic |
What to check in your jurisdiction |
Page |
| OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement |
Which OHS statute and regulations supply the legal criteria and legislated floors an audit finding cites, who enforces them, and whether a federal regime applies instead |
J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement |