DETAILEDGUIDEOHSAS18001OccupationalHealthandSafetyManagement2MD-19-02Rev4OHSAS18001BackgroundOHSAS18001:2007andaccompanyingOHSAS18002,GuidelinesfortheimplementationofOHSAS18001,havebeendevelopedinresponsetocustomerdemandforarecognizableoccupationalhealthandsafetymanagementsystemstandardagainstwhichtheirmanagementsystemcanbeassessedandverified.OrganizationswhichhaveattainedregistrationthroughNSAImaintainthatitleadstoimprovedinternalandexternalcommunicationsandamoredisciplinedattitudeamongemployeestohealthandsafetymattersthroughcontinuousimprovement.OHSASensuresaconsistencyofapproach,whichassurescomplianceasaminimum.OHSAS18001hasbeendevelopedtobecompatiblewithISO9001:2008(Quality)andISO14001:2004(Environmental)managementsystemsstandards,inordertofacilitatetheintegrationofquality,environmentalandoccupationalhealthandsafetymanagementsystemsbyorganisations,shouldtheywishtodoso.Organisationsofallkindsareincreasinglyconcernedwithachievinganddemonstratingsoundoccupationalhealthandsafety(OH&S)performancebycontrollingtheirOH&Srisks,consistentwiththeirpolicyandobjectives.Theydosointhecontextofincreasinglystringentlegislation,thedevelopmentofpoliciesandothermeasuresthatfostergoodOH&Spractices.TheadvantagesofaneffectiveOHSASmanagementsystem:>•ProvidesastructuredapproachformanagingOH&S>•Establishesandmaintainsacommitmenttooccupationalhealthandsafety>•Demonstratesstrongcommitmenttosafetyexcellence>•Organisationalstructuresinplacewithclearrolesandresponsibilities>•Existenceofacontinuousimprovementculture>•Stronglevelsoftrustandcommunication>•Reductioninincidentlevelswithincreasedmeasuresofperformance.>•Contributestobusinessperformancebyreducingcostandliabilities.3MD-19-02Rev4FundamentalElementsofOHSAS18001OHSAS18001OccupationalHealthandSafetyStandardusesamanagementapproachtoolcalledthePDCAcycle.PDCAisanongoingprocessthatenablesanorganisationtoestablish,implementandmaintainitshealthandsafetypolicybasedontopmanagementleadershipandcommitmenttothesafetymanagementsystem.Itconsistsofthefollowing:Plan–establishtheobjectivesandprocessesnecessarytodeliverresultsinaccordancewiththeorganisation’sOH&SpolicyDo–implementtheprocessCheck–monitorandmeasureperformanceagainstOH&Spolicy,objectives,legalandotherrequirements,andreportresultsAct–takeactionstocontinuallyimproveOH&SperformanceThestandardcanbeimplementedtoyourwholeorganizationortojustapartofit.ThebestresultsthoughcomewhenthewholeorganizationisworkingonthesamesystemandOH&Spolicyisintegratedintoothermanagementsystemsandintothecultureoftheorganization.OccupationalHealthandSafetyisbasedon:>Hazardidentification–Theprocessofrecognizingthatahazardexists(sourceorsituationwiththepotentialtocauseharmintermsofhumaninjuryorill-health)>Riskassessment–Theprocessofevaluatingtheriskarisingfromthehazard(combinationofthelikelihoodofahazardouseventorexposureandtheseverityofinjuryorillhealththatcanbecausedbytheeventofexposure)>Determinationofapplicablecontrols–Measuresrelevanttoelminateorreducerisktoanacceptablelevel.Measuresarebasedonthehierarchyofcontrolmeasures.Inordertoachieveaneffectivehealthandsafetysystemitisvitalfororganizationstohandlethesewithgreatersignificance.ThethreeaspectsaboveprovidetheeverimportantfoundationforimplementingOHSAS18001andwithoutthem,theoverallsystemwouldsurelyfail.Theyare,theoreticaly,consideredapartofthe‘PLAN’step(...
