IA202612 — Emergency Preparedness¶
Audit Record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Audit reference | IA202612 |
| Area audited | Emergency preparedness and response |
| Audit criteria | ISO 14001:2015 clause 8.2 and ISO 45001:2018 clause 8.2 · SOP 5.4 · SOP 8.15 · SOP 8.3 · SOP 8.1 |
| Audit date | 19/05/2026 |
| Auditor | Sean Ashton, HSQE Consultant, Onyx Operations Ltd |
| Auditees | Aaron Mason (Director), Leanne Mason (Director), Jason May (Site Supervisor) |
| Result | Conforms. 0 non-conformities, 0 observations |
| Previous audit of this area | IA202512, 2025 cycle |
| Form | FORM_INTAR001 Rev 1 ID 01/09/2025 |
1. Scope, criteria and independence¶
1.1 Scope¶
Whether AMWS has identified the emergency situations it could face, has a planned response to each, tests those plans, and revises them on what the tests show.
Clauses examined: ISO 14001 8.2 and ISO 45001 8.2, sub-clause by sub-clause. Business continuity beyond the immediate emergency response is held separately and is examined only where the two meet.
1.2 Independence¶
The auditor is an external HSQE consultant engaged through Onyx Operations Ltd. He is not an employee of AMWS and holds no line responsibility for the work audited. SOP 6.2 requires that an auditor does not audit work for which they are also responsible; AMWS has no second competent auditor, and the consultant drafted much of the documented system. The mitigation applied is that no document is tested against its own wording. Each clause is tested against records, against what the people responsible describe doing, and against what can be produced on request. Findings are reviewed and countersigned by a Director, who holds the authority to accept or reject them.
2. Method and sample¶
| Method | What was covered |
|---|---|
| Document review | SOP 5.4 Emergency Preparedness & Response Issue 3 (01/05/2026) · SOP 8.15 Fire Issue 3 · SOP 8.3 First Aid Issue 3 · SOP 8.1 Accident, Incident & Near Miss Reporting Issue 3 · POL_HSQE_10 Environmental Policy Revision 3 |
| Registers examined | APP_16 Emergency Preparedness at Issue 2 · APP_17 Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity at Issue 2 · APP_18 Emergency Equipment Log at Issue 2 |
| Records sampled | The testing log in full for the period 20/05/2025 to the audit date — seventeen dated entries · the fire risk assessment held for the premises · the equipment inspection history for emergency equipment |
| Interview | The Site Supervisor and both Directors, and two operatives on what they would do in the two scenarios most likely to affect them |
3. Result against each clause¶
| Clause | What the standard requires | Objective evidence examined | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.2 a) Establish a planned response to potential emergency situations, including the provision of first aid | SOP 5.4 Issue 3 identifies the situations by name rather than by category: "A M Water Services identifies potential emergency situations across its operations — trench collapse, asbestos exposure, gas main strike, electric strike, water main strike causing flooding, vehicle incident, fire, medical emergency, environmental release — and maintains a planned response for each." The response to each is held at APP_16. First aid provision is separately governed by SOP 8.3 and the equipment is held and inspected under APP_18 | Conforms | |
| 8.2 b) Respond to actual emergency situations | Tested against a real event rather than a plan. The testing log records a review of an actual customer escalation incident on 22/01/2026, with lessons documented, and a vehicle breakdown response on the M1 on 04/06/2025. Both were handled under the planned arrangements and both produced a recorded outcome | Conforms | |
| 8.2 c) Take action to prevent or mitigate consequences, appropriate to the magnitude of the emergency | The procedures carry thresholds rather than general instructions. SOP 8.15 Issue 3 sets the hot work controls: combustible material "removed or covered with fire-retardant blanket within a 10 m radius" and a "fire watch maintained throughout work and for 60 minutes after work completion". It also sets the limit of intervention plainly: if the fire is bigger than a small bin, do not fight it — evacuate, call 999, account for people. SOP 8.1 Issue 3 fixes the statutory clock: "The statutory clock starts at the moment of injury or the moment of confirmed diagnosis, not the moment AMWS hears about it." | Conforms | |
| 8.2 d) Periodically test the planned response, where practicable | SOP 5.4 Issue 3 sets a frequency rather than an aspiration: "Plans are tested through periodic exercises (annual desktop minimum, plus practical drills where role-specific competence is required); outputs from each test feed back into plan revision." The testing log evidences a continuous programme across the twelve months to the audit date, including: fire alarm test with timed evacuation 14/01/2026, "Pass — evacuated in 2.8 mins"; fuel spill response drill at the depot 24/04/2026 with Jason May and two operatives, "Pass"; major water main burst contingency desktop for the framework area 18/03/2026 with Aaron Mason and Jason May, emergency stock locations confirmed and tanker contacts current; communication cascade test 17/02/2026, "100% response within 1 hr"; van pack inspection of first aid and spill kits 03/03/2026; environmental incident exercise, silt in watercourse, 21/08/2025, with regulator notification procedures confirmed; intruder response 22/11/2025; emergency contact list review 18/10/2025; emergency lighting check 10/10/2025 | Conforms | |
| 8.2 e) Periodically review and revise the planned response, in particular after testing and after the occurrence of emergency situations | SOP 5.4 Issue 3 makes revision mandatory rather than discretionary: "Evaluate performance and revise planned response — mandatory after testing identifies a gap and after any actual emergency event." Evidenced in the log, where tests produce a change rather than only a result: the January fire alarm test led to a sensor being replaced after the test, the April spill drill led to absorbent stocks being topped up, and the annual emergency preparedness review of 05/12/2025 is recorded as a distinct entry | Conforms | |
| 8.2 f) Communicate and provide relevant information and training to workers, and to contractors, visitors, emergency services and authorities as appropriate | SOP 5.4 Issue 3 requires it directly: "Communicate relevant information to contractors, visitors, emergency response services and government authorities as appropriate." Worker awareness was tested at interview: both operatives described the water main strike and the trench collapse responses without prompting, including the escalation route to the Site Supervisor. Refresher delivery is evidenced in the log — lone working 04/02/2026, manual handling 02/04/2026, winter driving and cold weather working 07/01/2026 | Conforms | |
| 8.2 Emergency equipment is provided and maintained | Equipment is registered at APP_18 with a maintenance interval and a next-due date against each item, and the inspection history was examined. Spill kits are carried on every vehicle, which POL_HSQE_10 Revision 3 states as policy: "We maintain spill kits on all vehicles and ensure our teams understand how to respond quickly to environmental incidents." The van pack inspection of 03/03/2026 records first aid kits and spill kit absorbent refreshed where due | Conforms |
4. Findings¶
4.1 Non-conformities¶
None.
4.2 Observations¶
None.
4.3 Status of the previous audit of this area¶
IA202512 closed with no findings. The scenario framework introduced at APP_17 following that audit was examined and is in use.
4.4 Actions open against this area from elsewhere in the cycle¶
Two corrective actions raised by other audits in this cycle bear on emergency preparedness and were confirmed open and within target at this audit: CAR-2026-005, raised by IA202604 on the currency of the continuity desktop exercise, and CAR-2026-008, raised by IA202607 on a scenario-based environmental drill calendar. Neither is re-raised here.
5. Conclusion¶
Emergency preparedness and response conform to clause 8.2 of ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. The emergency situations are identified by name and are the ones AMWS's work actually produces. Each has a planned response. The response is tested on a continuous rather than an annual basis, and the tests are recorded with an outcome and a consequence.
The evidence here is stronger than in most areas of the system, for a specific reason: the testing log records what each test changed, not only that it happened. A fire alarm test that ends in a sensor being replaced and a spill drill that ends in absorbent stocks being topped up are evidence of clause 8.2 e) operating, which is the sub-clause most often left unevidenced. Worker awareness was tested at the workface and held up without prompting.
No findings were raised.
6. Recommendations¶
- Keep recording the consequence of each test alongside the outcome. It is what distinguishes a testing log from an attendance list.
- When the environmental drill calendar under CAR-2026-008 is set, fold it into the same log rather than running a second one.
- Review the currency of the fire risk assessment held for the premises at the next annual cycle, so its review date is recorded against this assessment rather than held only in the office filing.
7. Sign-off¶
| Role | Name | Position | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditor | Sean Ashton | HSQE Consultant, Onyx Operations Ltd | S. Ashton | 19/05/2026 |
| Reviewed and accepted | Aaron Mason | Director | A. Mason | 19/05/2026 |