OHSAS 18001

OHSAS 18001 is the International Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard. OHSAS 18001 provides a framework to the effective management of OH&S including compliance with the legislation Organizations worldwide recognize the need to control and improve health and safety performance, and do so with occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS).
The standard is applicable to any organization that wishes to eliminate or minimize risk to employees and other stakeholders who may be exposed to Occupational Health &Safety risks associated with its activities. Many organizations will have elements required by OHSAS 18001 already in place which can be supplemented to provide a more cohesive management system to meet the requirements of the standard.

Its proponents claim that an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing a framework that helps organizations to consistently identify and control health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance, and improve overall performance. The standards provide organizations with the elements of an effective OHSMS that can be integrated with other management requirements and help organizations achieve better occupational health and safety performance and economic objectives.

BS OHSAS 18001 specifies requirements for an OH&S management system to help an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives, which take into account legal requirements and information about OH&S risks. It applies to all types and sizes of organizations and accommodates diverse geographical, cultural and social conditions.

BENEFITS

Certifying your Business OHSAS 18001 management system enables your organization to prove that it conforms to the specification and provides the following benefits:

  • Establish improved safety and health management-health and safety could be ensured to improve operations and productivity.
  • Customer satisfaction – through delivery of products that consistently meet customer requirements whilst safeguarding their health and property
  • Reduced operating costs – by decreasing down-time through incidents and ill health and reducing costs associated with legal fees and compensation
  • Improved stakeholder relationships – by safeguarding the health and property of staff, customers and suppliers
  • Legal compliance – by understanding how statutory and regulatory requirements impact the organization and its customers
  • Improved risk management – through clear identification of potential incidents and implementation of controls and measures
  • Proven business credentials – through independent verification against recognized standards
  • Ability to win more business – particularly where procurement specifications require certification as a condition to supply