In brief
The annual evaluation report is the record of the OHS work carried out last year and its results. The OHS specialist prepares the report containing the results of workplace monitoring in line with Annex 2 of the OHS Specialists Regulation, and the workplace physician prepares the report containing the results of health surveillance in line with Annex 3 of the Physicians Regulation, in cooperation with each other. A good report compares what was planned with what was done, writes down the reasons for deviations and feeds directly into the following year's work plan.
What is the annual evaluation report, and who prepares it?
The annual work plan looks forward; the annual evaluation report looks back. The plan answers the question "what will we do this year?"; the report answers "what did we do, what results did we get, what could we not do, and why?". The two documents feed each other: last year's report is the most important input to next year's plan.
The duty to prepare the report is set out in two regulations, as two separate reports:
| Prepared by | Legal basis | Scope of the report | Template form |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHS specialist | OHS Specialists Regulation Art. 9 | OHS work relating to the working environment and the results of workplace monitoring | Annex 2 |
| Workplace physician | Regulation on Workplace Physicians and DSP Art. 9 | OHS work and the results of health surveillance | Annex 3 |
Both regulations require the report to be prepared in cooperation with the other professional. In practice this means the specialist and the physician evaluating the same year on the basis of the same data and linking workplace measurements with health surveillance results. Unless a department with high noise readings and workers with a shift in their hearing test are placed side by side in the same reporting period, both remain incomplete.
Contents of the annual OHS evaluation report
The specialist's report is prepared in line with the template in Annex 2 and the physician's report in line with the template in Annex 3. The template forms are based on activity-based record keeping. For the annual OHS evaluation report to genuinely evaluate, we recommend that it covers the following headings:
In the specialist's report:
- The activities in the annual plan and the completion status of each
- Training given: topic, date, number of participants, workers needing a make-up session
- Workplace measurements: parameter, department, result and comparison with the limit value
- Periodic inspections: equipment, date, non-conformity and whether it has been remedied
- Updates to the risk assessment and emergency plan, the drill and its outcome
- Work accidents, near misses and measures arising from root cause analyses
- Close-out status of findings written in the approved logbook
In the workplace physician's annual report:
- Numbers of pre-employment and periodic examinations, tests carried out
- Cases where restricted fitness was given or job placement was changed
- Preliminary diagnoses of occupational disease and notifications made
- Follow-up for groups requiring special policies
- First aid organisation and health training given
When preparing the workplace physician's annual report, the physician does not carry personal health information into the report; they write aggregate results and trends. The confidentiality of health information is guaranteed under Art. 15 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety.
Do not forget that the report will be read. The employer, committee members and department managers may not read detailed tables, so we recommend adding a one-page summary to the report. The summary should include the workplace's name, hazard class, reporting period and average headcount, together with the year's five most important findings and the measures recommended for them. For example, one-sentence items with a named owner, such as "dust result in the welding department close to the limit value; investment in local exhaust ventilation recommended", lead to more decisions than a long list of activities.
Comparing with the plan: the completion table
What turns the report from a list of activities into an evaluation is placing what was planned side by side with what was done. The example below is an extract from the year-end evaluation of the 60-worker, hazardous-class metalworking workshop in our article on the annual work plan:
| Planned | Done | Deviation and reason | Effect on next year |
|---|---|---|---|
| March: refresher training group 1 (30 people) | 26 people attended | 4 people were on leave | Make-up session in January |
| April: forklift, compressor tank and crane inspections | Completed | Non-conformity in the compressor tank; remedied | Follow-up of the non-conformity recorded |
| May: fire drill | Held | One escape door was found locked | Emergency plan and door checklist to be updated |
| June: periodic examinations (18 people) | 18 people examined | Shift in hearing test in 2 workers | Repeat noise measurement and review of hearing protection selection |
| August: entering measurement results | Completed | Dust result in the welding department close to the limit value | Local exhaust ventilation investment and re-measurement |
| November: tabletop exercise with an earthquake scenario | Not held | Production workload | Moved to February |
The last column is the real value of the report: every deviation becomes a row in the following year's plan. The reasons for deviations should be written honestly; if "production workload" recurs often, the problem lies in the calendar itself and the plan needs to be rebuilt around maintenance shutdowns.
When is the annual evaluation report prepared?
The legislation gives no specific date in answer to when the annual evaluation report is prepared. The regulations set the report's content and template form but not a submission date. Nevertheless, the report should be prepared as soon as the year closes, for two reasons:
- The new year's work plan is built on the open items in last year's report; if the report is late, the plan will be incomplete.
- A report written while the records of the last months' activities are at their most complete is more accurate.
In practice, it is convenient to complete the report in the first weeks of January and for the plan and the report to be based on the same calendar year. For other tasks to be done in January, see our article on the new year OHS checklist.
The annual report, the approved logbook and the archive
The specialist and physician write their findings and recommendations at the workplace to which they are assigned, and their activities relating to the duties listed in Art. 9 of the regulations, in the approved logbook (OHS Specialists Regulation Art. 11/4, Regulation on Physicians and DSP Art. 11/4). Since preparing the annual evaluation report is one of these duties, it is good practice to record in the logbook that the report has been prepared and presented to the employer and to attach a signed copy to the logbook. For how the logbook works, see our article on the approved logbook.
In workplaces buying services from an OSGB, copies of the annual work plan and the annual evaluation report are also kept in the OSGB's archive and shown to officials authorised to inspect on request. When the contract ends, all records and files are handed over to the employer by the OSGB, even if not requested (Regulation on OHS Services Art. 13/2). The place for the original copy at the workplace is your OHS file; for its organisation, you can use our article on the contents of the OHS file.
Linking the report to next year's plan
When the report is finished, follow these five steps for the plan:
- Carry over open items. Every activity that could not be carried out is written into the plan with a new date and person responsible.
- Derive new activities from the results. A measurement close to the limit value, a shift in a hearing test or a recurring non-conformity gives rise to a new activity.
- Derive training topics from accidents. The common causes from accident and near miss analyses are added to the new year's training topics; for analysis methods, see our article on root cause analysis.
- Correct the calendar. Frequently postponed activities are moved to maintenance shutdowns or quieter production months.
- Obtain the committee's opinion. In workplaces with an OHS committee, the committee prepares an annual report on the workplace's OHS situation, evaluates the year's work and presents its recommendation for the following year's programme to the employer; this opinion is reflected in the plan. Details are in our article on how to set up an OHS committee.
To transfer the dates into the new year's calendar, you can use the OHS calendar tool.
Common mistakes
- Preparing the report every year using the same template with only the dates changed
- The specialist and physician writing their reports without knowledge of each other's
- Not writing in the report at all the activities that were planned but not carried out
- Transferring personal health information into the report
- Filing the report away without carrying a single row over to the new year's plan
In our OHS specialist and workplace physician services at workplaces in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, our specialist and physician prepare the annual report together using the same data set, and we link it to the new year's plan in January.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who prepares the annual evaluation report?
The OHS specialist prepares the report containing the results of workplace monitoring in line with Annex 2; the workplace physician prepares the report containing the results of health surveillance in line with Annex 3. Both regulations require the report to be prepared in cooperation with the other professional.
When should the annual evaluation report be prepared?
The legislation does not set a specific submission date. The report is prepared after the year has closed; because it is an input to the new year's plan, it is recommended to complete it in the first weeks of January.
Does the workplace physician prepare a separate annual report?
Yes. The physician prepares the report containing OHS work and health surveillance results in line with the template in Annex 3 of the Regulation on Physicians and DSP. The report contains aggregate results and trends, not personal health information.
If the OSGB changed during the year, who prepares the annual report?
When the contract ends, the previous OSGB hands all records and files over to the employer. The specialist and physician in post at the end of the year prepare the report covering the whole year, using these records as well; the source of activities from the earlier period is stated in the report. For the transition steps, see our article on the process of changing OSGB.
Is the annual report written in the approved logbook?
The specialist and physician write their activities relating to the duties in Art. 9 of the regulations in the approved logbook; the annual evaluation report is among these duties. It is recommended to record in the logbook that the report has been prepared and presented to the employer, and to attach a copy.
A certified specialist matched to your hazard class: site inspections, approved logbook, training plan, annual plan and report follow-up.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.