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OHSAS has three definitions: (1) Occupational Health and Safety Management Services, (2) Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series, and (3) Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Scheme.
It is a management system for health and safety in the workplace. It was created in 2001 to bring into focus the confusion on the policies and procedures regarding occupational health and safety as well as produce a standardized system for these guidelines.
OHSAS was developed to act in accordance with the health and safe obligations of companies to their employees. OHSAS is a management strategy to enable the company to regulate and address its industrial risks and improve corporate performance.
The OHSAS management system is divided into two parts: 18001 and 18002. OHSAS 18001 is a specifications evaluation. It’s a review of the safety guidelines in place to help the managers come up with better policies for the betterment of the company and the employees. Meanwhile, OHSAS 18002 give details of the requirements of the standards as well as guide the company through the implementation.
How will a company, or any other organization for that matter, benefit from applying the OHSAS standards in the workplace?
Here are just some of the benefits:
1. Set up an occupational healthy and safety management system to eliminate or reduce potential hazards to employees and other interested parties who may be exposed to these risks.
2. Identification of elements of your business that have an impact on health and safety.
3. Formulation of objectives for improvement and a management program to achieve these work safety goals, with regular reviews for continual progress.
4. Positive organizational change as a result of the company’s commitment to improved safety advancements in the workplace.
5. Improved awareness as well as employee commitment to the work safety policies the company has in place.
6. Reduced compensation claims and worker’s compensation as a result of lesser incidents of injury and illness.
7. Increased control of regulatory issues and a continuing path to improvement.
OHSAS is developed to be compatible with other standards, namely the ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and the ISO 14002 (Environmental Management System). Therefore, an integrated management system can be achieved if the company wishes to do so.
As with other standards, OHSAS does not provide specific criteria or detailed requirements of the design and protocols for the formulation of a management system.
There are no specific criteria but rather the company will have to come up with their own policies as they see fit their company. Here are some terms and phrases to facilitate your understanding of these seemingly hard to understand terminologies. Comprehension of the terms and definitions will be a great help for you to formulate your company’s occupational safety and health policies and guidelines.
1. Audit - this is the evidence gathering manner wherein the criteria are evaluated as well as the level to which they are met, possible nonconformity as well as areas for improvement are recognized during the audits.
2. Nonconformity - it is the non-fulfillment of a specification or a variation from the given standards; when nonconformity is identified, corrective action must be immediately put into place to prevent future occurrence of such deviation.
3. Corrective action - the action or the series of steps taken to address the cause or causes of the identified conformity or the recognition of a potential hazard.
4. Hazard - it is any activity, event, situation, or substance which has the possibility of bringing about an injury or illness. It can further be divided into: hazardous activity or tasks, unnatural movements and postures, bullying, and intimidation; hazardous events such as fires, explosions, electric shocks, equipment malfunctions; hazardous situations such as noisy working environments, poor-lit working stations, and badly ventilated areas; and hazardous substances including toxic chemicals, flammable materials, and microorganisms.
5. Workplace - the physical setting where the company’s work is performed.
Now that you know the benefits as well as some terms and phrases of setting up a sound occupational health and safety policy, it would be easier to formulate your company’s safety strategies. |
