How to organise a Plan - Do - Check - Act reviews
Blog post description.
8/5/20262 min read
A company should organise it like any other business management system. The key is assigning ownership, deciding what data to collect, setting a review schedule, and making sure the information leads to actions. Here's a simple framework you could recommend to clients.
1. Assign Roles and Responsibilities
Every part of the system should have an owner.
Role & Responsibilities
Managing Director
Sets annual objectives, reviews performance, allocates resources.
Health & Safety Manager/Advisor
Maintains the management system, analyses trends, reports performance.
Department Managers
Complete inspections, close actions, review department performance.
Supervisors
Carry out weekly inspections, toolbox talks, report hazards and near misses.
Employees
Report hazards, near misses and unsafe conditions.
Everyone should understand what they're responsible for and when.
2. Decide What Information Will Be Collected
Create standard forms or digital systems for recording:
Hazard observations
Near misses
Accidents and incidents
Workplace inspections
Audits
Corrective actions
Training records
Equipment inspections
Risk assessments
Safety conversations
Contractor monitoring
The simpler the reporting process, the more likely people are to use it.
3. Store Everything in One Place
Avoid multiple spreadsheets and email chains.
Instead create a central management system.
For many businesses Microsoft 365 works perfectly:
SharePoint
Policies
Procedures
Risk assessments
Audit reports
Microsoft Lists
Corrective action register
Hazard register
Incident register
Training matrix
Power BI (optional)
Live KPI dashboards
Trend analysis
Department comparisons
Small businesses can start with Excel and gradually migrate to more advanced systems.
4. Create an Annual Safety Calendar
Planning the year in advance ensures nothing is missed.
Frequency
Activity
Weekly
Workplace inspections, hazard reporting, near misses, toolbox talks
Monthly
KPI dashboard, management meeting, action review
Quarterly
Internal audits, management safety tours, department reviews
Six-monthly
Risk assessment review, procedure review, competence review
Annually
Policy review, legal compliance audit, management review, objectives
Once the calendar is agreed, put every activity into Outlook or your project management software with reminders and assigned owners.
5. Hold Regular Review Meetings
Don't wait until the end of the year.
A monthly safety meeting should answer questions like:
What happened this month?
Why did it happen?
Are we seeing any trends?
Which actions remain outstanding?
What support do managers need?
Keep meetings focused on actions, not just statistics.
6. Use Dashboards
Managers don't want to read a 50-page report.
Create a one-page dashboard showing:
Accidents
Near misses
Hazards reported
Audit scores
Outstanding actions
Training compliance
Inspection completion
Top five risks
Traffic-light (RAG) ratings make it easy to see where attention is needed.
7. Analyse Trends
Every quarter, step back and ask:
Which departments are improving?
What hazards keep appearing?
Which actions are repeatedly overdue?
Are we fixing root causes or symptoms?
Where should we focus next?
Trend analysis is what turns data into useful management information.
8. Complete an Annual Management Review
At the end of the year, senior management should review the entire system.
Consider:
Were objectives achieved?
Did incident rates improve?
Which controls were effective?
What resources were lacking?
What legal changes occurred?
What are the biggest risks for next year?
This review should produce the business's Health & Safety Improvement Plan for the following year.
A Simple PDCA Workflow
Employees & Supervisors
▼
Report Hazards, Near Misses, Inspections & Incidents
▼
Central Management System (SharePoint / Excel / H&S Software)
▼
Monthly KPI Dashboard
▼
Management Review Meeting
▼
Corrective & Preventive Actions
▼
Quarterly Trend Analysis
▼
Annual Management Review
▼
SMART Objectives for the Next Year
The biggest mistake businesses make is collecting lots of data but never using it. A well-organised PDCA system should answer three simple questions at every review:
What is happening? (Data and KPIs)
Why is it happening? (Trend and root cause analysis)
What are we going to do about it? (Corrective actions and SMART objectives)
