Risks and Related Projects Not Covered in the Proposed Plan

New or elevated workplace health and safety project #1: Public Works

Risks Impacted by Proposed Project

• New or elevated workplace health and safety Incident response risks associated with increased use of remote working
• Transparency & Employee management Protect employees during uncertainty
• Risk Culture Consider impact on risk culture across the organisation
• Public Safety Providing essential services and protecting the public and personnel in a time of pandemic.
• Third Party Continuity of supply from third party service providers
• Regulatory/government enforced changes due to COVID-19 Maintain compliance and plan for potential interim changes

Internal Audit response

Enhanced workplace safety protocols - Public Works Focusing specifically on workplace health and safety practices and protocols which need to adapt to the current and medium (3-6 mos) realities of the pandemic response and return to normal. Emphasis will be focused on Public Works.

Perspective:

• When the curve begins to flatten, businesses and society must consider what 'returning to normal' may look like. Although organizations have settled into new ways of working and allowing public access to their premises, the implications of COVID-19 on businesses, especially as they relate to the workforce, will remain long lasting.
• The question of when and how to gradually bring employees back to the workplace and how to let the public access to municipal facilities represents one of the most critical challenges the City will need to solve.
• As it relates to Public Work, this is important as they currently continue to provide essential services and will continue to do so in the future.

Project Focus:

Consideration will be given to current operating practices supporting the Public Works workplace and safety protocols focused on mitigating personal health risks related to Covid-19 while considering the short-run timeframe of future work/requirements (3-6 months).

Approach:

We recognize that such operations are in a state of flux and our input may be best served in current state analysis and conversations with management to identify potential considerations as to how to proactively identify risks and mitigate risks. There will be limited to no testing as part of this project but more focus on working with management to proactively identify the risks and potential controls from our perspective for management consideration. This should enable management to have a more comprehensive solution.

Reporting:

Our report will differ from the traditional format and be a memo reporting a summary of what we did and key areas of focus we recommended to management for consideration. By the time the formal memo is issued management will have likely acted on our input.