Preparing for a RISQS or client audit

What an auditor asks for, what usually can't be found, and how to keep audit-ready all year rather than for one week.

A RISQS audit, or a Network Rail or Tier 1 client audit, mostly asks for evidence that already exists somewhere in your business: competence records, briefing packs, fatigue records, inspection and close-out evidence, training certificates, insurance, policies and the trail that shows you follow them.

What usually can't be found

• Signed TBS packs from a specific shift six months ago.
• Proof that a lapsed competence was spotted before the person worked, not after.
• Fatigue records that reconcile with the timesheets and the swipes.
• Close-out evidence (photos, forms) for jobs that were finished in a hurry.

Audit-ready all year

The fix is not a tidy-up the week before. It is filing every pack, timesheet and record in a predictable place the day it is produced, naming it consistently, and checking weekly that nothing is missing. That is a rule-based job and it can be automated. An internal audit, half a day to two days depending on the size of the firm, finds the gaps first and sets up the filing so they don't come back.

Want this done for you? That is what the free half-day audit is for.