MSST system checks: how to prepare

The cantons and Suva check that your MSST system exists and works. This article explains who checks, what happens when something is missing, the most common mistakes and how to prepare your proof.

Who checks?

Cantonal labour inspectorates are in charge by default. Suva is in charge for the industries listed in the ordinance (art. 49) and for occupational diseases in all companies. In 2025 there were more than 7,300 MSST system checks: 4,709 by the cantons, 2,598 by Suva and 17 by SECO.

What happens if something is missing?

The enforcement body sets the measures. The procedure in the ordinance runs from a written warning (art. 62) to a formal decision (art. 64), then a higher premium class (art. 66) and enforcement measures (art. 67).

Three common mistakes

• "Fewer than 10 people, so it does not apply." Wrong if you have particular hazards: proof is still required, by simple means.
• "We are in an industry solution, so we are covered." The solution gives a presumption of compliance. It must be put into practice, and responsibility stays with the employer.
• "No particular hazards, so nothing to prove." From 50 people, the safety organisation must be proven.

The real difficulty: proof

The principle is rarely the problem. The proof is: a dated risk assessment, measures with an owner and a deadline, up-to-date training, an emergency plan that has been drilled. When that proof lives in ten spreadsheets and three shared folders, pulling it together takes days.

How ENSURE fits

• Everything is linked: each risk leads to its measures, each measure to its owner and status, each training record to its expiry date.
• Internal audit before the inspection: build an audit checklist on the 10 elements and check yourself. When the audit closes, each finding creates an action, a CAPA or a nonconformity, depending on your settings.
• Proof from the field: inspections with photos, even offline; emergency drills recorded in the emergency plan.
• Reports: PDF exports, for example of incidents, job hazard analyses, training and the emergency plan.

Sources: OPA/VUV (SR 832.30), art. 47 to 50 and 62 to 67; EKAS/CFST annual report 2025 (French); MSST directive, CFST no. 6508 (French).

More in the MSST series

• The Swiss MSST directive: what it is and who it applies to
• The MSST directive: what changed in October 2025
• Industry, group, model or individual: which MSST solution?
• The 10 elements of the MSST system, and where they live in ENSURE