Testing and Findings

A Control Tester works from the scoped assessment and relevant control. Each test records when it was performed, the sample size, exception count, result and evidence reference. Pending, Pass, Fail and Inconclusive allow the team to distinguish a completed successful check from a failed or unresolved one. The control code gives a compact identifier while the reference ties the test to the actual control.

Consider a sample of access checks at a busy site. If the tester finds exceptions, the record should show both the sample and the exceptions. A Fail result directs attention to the control and assessment; the finding describes the gap in words a remediation owner can act on. A numerical exception count alone cannot explain the cause or the required response.

• Test record. Sample size, exceptions, result and evidence stay with the assessment.
• Finding. Severity, opened date and description identify the control gap.
• Next state. Open, action planned, Retest and Closed show the finding’s progress.

Findings connect to an assessment and a control. The severity options are Low, Medium, High and Critical. The Safety Manager can compare those values with the operating context when assigning action. The finding should remain open until a response is planned; moving it to Retest signals that the correction is ready for independent checking.

Define how the team selects a sample and records an exception. Decide what supporting evidence belongs in the test reference and what belongs in an attachment to the parent assessment. Agree when an inconclusive test is repeated, and set the threshold for opening a finding. Document who assigns severity and who may move a finding toward retest.

Select a control with an owner and add a failed test to a scoped assessment. Open a finding that identifies the exact gap, severity and control. Assign corrective work with a due date. The Independent Reviewer should be able to follow the test into the finding and inspect the recorded evidence before a retest. If the result is Inconclusive, keep that uncertainty visible in the testing record. Ask the Safety Manager to resolve the sample question before treating it as a completed control check.

• Failed tests — Failed sample checks with their control and assessment.
• Open findings — Gaps awaiting action or retest.
• Findings for retest — Corrected gaps ready for independent checking.

Use assessment and testing to prepare the sample and finding to action to assign the response.