Ground Control Audit Template (ISO 45001 Aligned)

Ground control in mining encompasses all engineering, operational, and administrative measures taken to ensure the stability of excavations—including open pits, underground stopes, ramps, and shafts—and to prevent injury or fatality from rock mass failure. An ISO 45001-aligned audit template elevates traditional technical inspections by embedding them within a broader occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), requiring explicit linkages between geotechnical hazard identification, worker consultation, competence validation, emergency preparedness, and top-management accountability. Key principles include risk-based thinking (e.g., applying ALARP—As Low As Reasonably Practicable—to rockfall likelihood and consequence), documented information control (e.g., maintaining up-to-date geological models and instrumentation records), and worker participation (e.g., involving miners in ground condition reporting and near-miss investigations). Applications span internal audits, contractor prequalification assessments, regulatory compliance reviews, and third-party certification readiness—where auditors systematically verify not only whether support systems (e.g., bolts, mesh, backfill) are installed, but whether their design, monitoring, and maintenance are governed by competent personnel, validated procedures, and measurable performance criteria. Crucially, the template mandates traceability from field observations (e.g., cracking or spalling) through root-cause analysis to systemic corrective actions—thereby transforming reactive incident response into proactive system resilience.