Workplace Conditions Assessment (WCA)

What is a Workplace Conditions Assessment?

Workplace Conditions Assessment (WCA) program provides a powerful, web-based solution for companies and facilities seeking to improve workplace conditions efficiently, and in accordance with widely accepted industry standards and best practices.
Workplace Conditions Assessment (WCA) is an industry-agnostic and widely accepted risk-based solution in our Supply Chain Assurance suite of services. It provides on-the-ground support and expertise to help companies manage Supply Chain Due Diligence specific to social and labour conditions, health & safety, environment, and business practices.

Benefits to workplace conditions for your organisation:

Risk based approach and program implementation guidance from Intertek SAI Global experts, coupled with technology platform, where needed;
Better decision-making support based on comparable benchmarks and detailed Data Analytics and Insights across the entire supply chain displayed via interactive Risk Dashboards;
Good corporate governance and ‘preferred supplier’ status for implementing a program that is in full accordance with social and environmental industry best practices;
Supply chain visibility and transparency beyond tier 1 and 2 with tools to identify high risk suppliers and focus your resources effectively where it matters;
Community based sharing model to reduce audit duplication and support in Mutual Recognition Acceptance.

The programme consists of five modules covering:

Labour (Child/Forced Labour, Discrimination, Discipline, Harassment, Freedom of Association, Contracts);
Wages and Hours (Wages and Benefits; Working Hours);
Health and Safety (Work Facility, Emergency Preparedness, Occupational Injury, Machine Safety, Safety Hazards, Chemical and Hazardous Material, Dormitory, Canteen);
Management Systems (Documentation, Records, Participation, Audits and Corrective Action Process)
Environment (Legal Compliance, Management Systems, Waste and Air Emissions);

Social audits enable businesses to assess their suppliers, monitor health and safety for workers, and signal zero tolerance of human rights abuses such as child and forced labour.
Once an audit is complete, buyer and supplier businesses can work together to address any issues, based on a Corrective Action Plan (CAPR).
Using WCA to conduct social compliance Audits enables insights into the performance of your suppliers with clear scoring, heat mapping of area’s of improvement, best practice and enables your organisation to access data driven trend insights across your supply chain and across all WCA Audits conducted globally.

As one of the founding members of APSCA (Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors), Intertek SAI Global Auditors are both Certified CPI CSR Lead Auditors and Certified Social Compliance Auditors.
APSCA (Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors) is an industry association, whose members represent a substantial majority of the Social Compliance audit industry. APSCA’s Certification Program of CSCA auditors is managed and issued by APSCA. Certification is only available to enrolled and eligible Member Auditors of APSCA.
Intertek SAI Global ensure the quality, professionalism and integrity of our Auditing team through world-leading recruitment practices, training and competency assessment and an ingrained commitment to integrity.

Explore some of the most frequently asked questions relating to Workplace Conditions Assessment Audits.

How can Workplace Conditions Assessments (WCA) reduce audit fatigue, yet still provide you valuable benchmarking of your suppliers?

Intertek SAI Global has the technical expertise to guide you in the establishment of an industry audit program re-grading and conversion framework. Report conversions allow you to recognise an Audit Report from suppliers who meet Intertek SAI Global’s Mutual Acceptance Criteria, avoiding the need to repeat audits and, in doing so, reduce audit fatigue. You will also benefit through integrating past audit results into the Inlight/WCA scoring methodologies.

Will WCA Audits be widely accepted?

Yes, Intertek SAI Global’s WCA Audits cover all aspects of social compliance Audits benchmarked against the requirements of similar programmes like SMETA and BSCI.

Why would my organisation consider WCA over other industry based social compliance Audit programmes?

The Intertek SAI Global WCA Audit programme is perfect for organisations that wish to manage social risks within their supply chain and go beyond a check-box exercise and derive actionable insights from Audits at the supplier site level and identify key trends across your whole supply chain.
WCA enables you to save time and effort by making key decision making easier through scoring, heat mapping and benchmarking metrics available visually within your report and provide the detail required when identifying area’s of concern from your Audits.
WCA provides a clear visual and insightful way for your suppliers and for your organisation to communicate with key stakeholders on the key risks and opportunities within your supply chain.

Are there any membership fees involved for our organisation and our suppliers when joining the WCA community?

No, unlike many other Audit programmes, WCA does not require you or your suppliers to become members or pay membership fees.

Request a call back from one of our experts to have a no-obligation discussion about your Workplace Conditions Assessment.