Knowledge / practical guidance

Internal control keeps your HSE work moving

In Norwegian HSE work, internal control means the business's systematic approach to knowing what needs attention, assigning responsibility, carrying out agreed work and checking whether it helps. A handbook can support that work. Stored documents alone do not show how the work operates in practice.

Reviewed 16 October 2026 · Kippersund Vaktmestertjenester AS

Fit the system to the business

Sections 4–5 of Norway's Internal Control Regulations place responsibility with the business and require worker participation. The scope must reflect its activities, risks and size. Written records include HSE objectives, responsibilities, risk assessment, procedures for nonconformities and system reviews.

Start by describing the jobs you actually accept. A cleaning business working at different customer sites needs different arrangements from a small workshop. Distinguish what you know, what needs checking and work you are not yet prepared to undertake.

Create an overview people can use

A useful first working session can produce a short overview and a few clear tasks. The following is a practical starting point, rather than a complete list of legal requirements.

Describe the business: common tasks, workplaces, equipment and people involved.
Identify situations that need assessment, such as workload, chemicals, access or coordination.
Agree who follows up each area and how workers can report a concern.
Write the procedures people need to carry out work and respond to problems.
Schedule follow-up for specific actions and decide when to review the system.

Make responsibility actionable

'Everyone keeps an eye on it' is difficult to use when a problem remains open. Record the task a named person will follow up, what they need to establish and when the outcome will be assessed. Give workers an easy way to explain when a procedure does not fit the job.

Keep a clear connection between the problem, the decision and the outcome. That helps people understand why a procedure exists and change the relevant part when the work changes.

Fictional example: cleaning at a new customer site

An imaginary cleaning business with four workers takes on a new site. Its existing procedures say little about access to the storeroom. Two workers and the person responsible walk through access, equipment and the division of work. They record questions for the customer, assign follow-up and try the revised procedure.

After starting, they ask whether the procedure reflects the real working day. New findings go back into the assessment. The example illustrates follow-up; it is not a complete HSE plan for a cleaning contract.

Common pitfalls

A large document library can be hard to use if nobody knows which version applies. Copied procedures may describe equipment the business does not own. Actions without a named owner can remain open, while published instructions become outdated as jobs change.

Find one current procedure with the people who use it. Can they explain what they do when its assumptions do not match the job? Their answers offer a more useful starting point than a document count.

The next step in RettHMS

See how RettHMS brings internal control work together. Begin with your business's facts and one relevant risk assessment, connect an action to the finding and keep follow-up alongside current procedures. Your business assesses and approves its own content.

Sources and further reading

Arbeidstilsynet: Internkontroll – systematisk arbeid med helse, miljø og sikkerhetChecked 2026-10-16
Internkontrollforskriften, særlig §§ 2, 4 og 5Checked 2026-10-16

Good to know

Questions, answered.

Are internal control and an HSE handbook the same?

The handbook collects information and procedures. Internal control also includes what you do: identifying hazards, assessing risks, involving workers, carrying out actions and checking that follow-up works.

How can we tell whether the overview is useful?

Choose a current task and find the applicable procedure with the people who do it. Can they find the right content, explain responsibilities and describe what happens if conditions are unexpected? Use what you learn to improve the overview.

Can we start with a template?

Yes. Read it against a real task, remove misleading content and add missing conditions. Involve the people who do the work before using the text as your business's procedure.