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OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
Health, Safety and Environment
2014-06-10
Introduction
Healthy employees are one of the most critical key factors for business success. For this purpose, businesses should ensure a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. A workplace that does not frequently check on its work setting can lead to serious accidents resulting in illnesses, injuries, damages or loss of lives. According to the International Labor Organization estimations, over two million work-related deaths occur annually and hundreds of millions of workers suffer from workplace accidents and occupational exposure to hazardous substances worldwide.
Occupational health and safety is a cross-disciplinary area that deals with conditions and factors that affect, or could affect, the health and safety of employees, visitors, or any other person in the workplace. It involves interactions among many subjects, including medicine, hygiene, public health, safety engineering, toxicology, ergonomics, etc.
Organizations of all kinds are increasingly concerned with achieving and demonstrating sound OH&S performance by controlling their OH&S risks. An effective way to foster a safe and healthy work environment is to integrate OH&S risk management into an organization’s daily business operations. The success of the system depends on the commitment from all levels and functions of the organization, especially from the top management.
OHSAS 18001 is an International Standard intended to provide organizations with the elements of an effective OH&S management system. It was created by world’s leading national standard bodies, certification bodies, and specialist consultancies.
An overview of OHSAS 18001:2007
OHSAS 18001 specifies requirements for an OH&S management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives, which take into account legal requirements and information about OH&S risks.
OHSAS 18001 is intended to provide organizations with the elements of an effective OH&S management system that can be integrated with other management requirements and help organizations achieve OH&S and economic objectives.
OH&S management is improved with OHSAS 18001 by incorporating:
- Greater emphasis on setting the objectives, monitoring performance and metrics;
- Clearer expectations on management; and
- More careful planning for and preparing the resources needed for ensuring occupational health and safety
OHSAS 18001 applies to all types and sizes of organizations that wish to:
- Establish an OH&S management system to eliminate or minimize risks to personnel and other interested parties who could be exposed to OH&S hazards associated with its activities;
- Implement, maintain and continually improve an OH&S management system;
- Assure itself of its conformity with its stated OH&S policy;
- Demonstrate conformity with this OHSAS Standard by:
- Making a self-determination and self-declaration,
- Seeking confirmation of its conformance by parties having an interest in the organization, such as customers,
- Seeking confirmation of its self-declaration by a party external to the organization, and
- Seeking certification/registration of its OH&S management system by an external organization.
OHSAS 18001 has been drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2. This means OHSAS 18001 is totally aligned with all other management system standards developed by ISO.
How to ensure occupational health and safety?
Organizations should comply with the following requirements included in the main clauses of this International Standard to help ensure health and safety within the work environment.
Key clauses of OHSAS 18001:2007
OHSAS 18001 is organized into the following main clauses:
Clause 4.1: General requirements
Clause 4.2: OH&S policy
Clause 4.3: Planning
Clause 4.4: Implementation and operation
Clause 4.5: Checking
Clause 4.6: Management review
Each of these key activities is overviewed below.
Clause 4.1: General requirements
Organizations shall establish and maintain an OH&S management system which meets the requirements of this International Standard.
Clause 4.2: OH&S policy
An OH&S policy has to be authorized to state the organization’s OH&S objectives and its commitment to continual improvement
Clause 4.3: Planning
The planning phase of the OH&S management system is critical since the organization’s continuous improvement and performance depends on carrying out the following requirements:
- Analyzing OH&S hazards and selecting controls,
- Respecting legal and other requirements,
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Establishing OH&S objectives and programs
Clause 4.4: Implementation and operation
Top management of the organization shall carry out the following requirements and actions to ensure the effective implementation and operation of the OHSMS.
- Establish responsibility and accountability,
- Ensure competence and provide training,
- Establish communication and participation,
- Document the organization’s OHSMS,
- Control the organization’s OH&S documents,
- Implement operational OH&S control measures, and
- Establish an OH&S emergency management process.
Clause 4.5: Checking
Once the OHSMS is implemented, OHSAS 18001 requires monitoring of the system and measuring the OH&S performance on a regular basis. These activities include:
- qualitative and quantitative measures, appropriate to the needs of the organization;
- monitoring of the extent to which the organization’s OH&S objectives are met;
- monitoring the effectiveness of OH&S controls;
- proactive measures of performance that monitor conformance with the OH&S programms, controls and operational criteria;
- reactive measures of performance that monitor historical evidence of deficient OH&S performance;
- recording of data and results of monitoring and measurement sufficient to facilitate subsequent corrective action and preventive action.
Clause 4.6: Management review
The suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness of the OH&S management system shall be reviewed by top management, which then shall be documented.
Link of OHSAS 18001 with other standards
OHSAS 18001 is developed in compatibility with the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System standard and the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System standard, in order to facilitate the integration of quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems by organizations.
In addition to the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard, several other related standards include:
- British Standards Institute: BS 8800:1996
- International Labour Organization: ILO-OSH:2001
- American National Standards Institute: ANSI Z10
- Spanish Association of Standardisation and Certification (AENOR): UNE 81900:1996
- Polish National Labour Inspection: Worker Protection Programme PL 9407, 1996
- Health and Safety Executive: HSG 65
OHSAS 18001 opposed to ISO 9001
This OH&S Standard does not include requirements that are similar to other management systems, such as those for quality, environmental, security, or financial management; though its elements can be aligned or integrated with other management systems.
It is possible for an organization to adapt its existing management system(s) in order to establish an OH&S management system that conforms to the requirements of this OHSAS Standard. It is pointed out, however, that the application of various elements of the management system might differ depending on the intended purpose and the interested parties involved.
What are the business benefits of an occupational health and safety management system?
As with all the major undertakings within an organization, it is essential to gain the backing and sponsorship of the executive management. By far, the best way to achieve this is to illustrate the positive gains of having an effective occupational health and safety management process in place, rather than highlight the negative aspects of the contrary.
Today an effective occupational health and safety management system is not about being forced into taking action to address external pressures, but its importance relies on recognizing the positive value of occupational health and safety management when good practice is embedded throughout your organization.
The adoption of an effective occupational health and safety management system within an organization will have benefits in a number of areas, examples of which include:
- Providing a safe and healthy workplace for employees;
- Effective and efficient management of resources;
- Demonstrable OH&S commitment to stakeholders;
- Lowering the risk of losing investors and customers;
- Increasing the reputation of the organization in the community and beyond;
- Increasing the opportunities for improvement;
- Reduction of costs related to OH&S accidents;
- Compliance to national, regional and international laws and regulations;
- Building trustful relationships with local and national authorities;
- Usage of the OHSAS 18001 as a marketing tool;
- Resource conservation; and
- Increasing worker participation in OH&S consultation.
Why is PECB a worthy choice?
Implementation of an OHSMS with IMS2 methodology
Considering the well documented benefits of implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System based on OHSAS 18001, makes the proposal easier to decide on.
Most companies now realize that it is not sufficient to implement a generic, “one size fits all” occupational health and safety plan. For an effective response, with respect to maintaining the occupational health and safety management system, such a plan must be customized to fit to a company. A more difficult task is the compilation of an implementation plan that balances the requirements of the standard, the business needs and the certification deadline.
There is no single blueprint for implementing OHSAS 18001 that will work for every company, but there are some common steps that will allow you to balance the frequent conflicting requirements and prepare you for a successful certification audit.
PECB has developed a methodology (please see example below) for implementing a management system; the “Integrated Implementation Methodology for Management Systems and Standards (IMS2)”, and it is based on applicable best practices. This methodology is based on the guidelines of ISO standards and also meets the requirements of OHSAS 18001.
IMS2 is based on the PDCA cycle which is divided into four phases: Plan, Do, Check and Act. Each phase has between 2 and 8 steps for a total of 21 steps. In turn, these steps are divided into 101 activities and tasks. This ‘Practical Guide’ considers the key phases of the implementation project from the starting point to the finishing point and suggests the appropriate ‘best practice’ for each one, while directing you to further helpful resources as you embark on your OHSAS 18001 journey.
The sequence of steps can be changed (inversion, merge). For example, the implementation of the management procedure or documented information can be done before the understanding of the organization. Many processes are iterative because of the need for progressive development throughout the implementation project; for example, communication and training.
By following a structured and effective methodology, an organization can be sure it covers all minimum requirements for the implementation of a management system. Whatever methodology used, the organization must adapt it to its particular context (requirements, size of the organization, scope, objectives, etc.) and not apply it like a cookbook.
Steps for obtaining a PECB certification
To ensure that organizations or individuals achieve planned and desired OH&S results, the following steps will serve as guidance on how to become PECB Certified on OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
For further information on Occupational Health and Safety Management System training course please click here.
Principal Author:
Eric LACHAPELLE, PECB
Narta VOCA, PECB
