The Model and its Sections

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. General Requirements Policy Planning Implementation and Operation Checking and Corrective Action Management Review

OHSAS: General Requirements

The organization shall establish, document, implement, maintain and continually improve an OH&S management system in accordance with the requirements of this OHSAS Standard and determine how it will fulfill these requirements The organization shall define and document the scope of its OH&S management system
Establish implies a level of permanency and the system should not be considered established until all its elements have been demonstrably implemented Maintain implies that, once established, the system continues to operate. This requires active effort on the part of organization. Many of the elements of OHSAS 18000 (such as checking and corrective action and management review) are designed to ensure active maintenance of the system

INITIAL REVIEW

OHSAS: General OHSAS: General Requirements Requirements

An organization seeking to establish an OHS management system that conforms to OHSAS 18000 should determine its current position with regards to OHS risks by means of an INITIAL REVIEW

Compare the organizations current management of OH&S against the OHSAS 18001 requirements
Determine the extent to which these requirements are being met or whether improvements can be made Identify gaps in the OH&S management system Guide the organization in formulating plans for implementing and prioritizing improvements to the OH&S management system

The AIM of the Initial Review should be to consider all OH&S risks faced by the organization as a basis for establishing the OH&S Management system The following items are considered in the Initial Review: Legislative and Regulatory and other requirements Identification of the OH&S Hazards Evaluation of risks faced by the organization Occupational Health and Safety Assessments An examination of the existing OH&S management practices, processes and procedures An evaluation of feedback from the investigation of previous incidents, work related ill health, accidents and emergencies Relevant management systems and available resources

OHSAS: Policy
An OH&S policy:
i) Establishes an overall sense of direction ii) The driver for implementing and improving an organizations OH&S management system iii) Maintain and potentially improve its OH&S performance

Should enable persons to understand the overall commitment of the organization and how this may affect their individual responsibilities Be consistent with a vision of the organizations future Be realistic, neither overstating the nature of the risks the organization faces, nor trivializing them The ongoing, proactive involvement of top management in developing and implementing an OH&S policy is crucial

OHSAS: Policy
Top management shall define and authorize the organizations OH&S policy and ensure that within the defined scope of its OH&S management system it: i. ii. Is appropriate to the nature and scale of the organizations OH&S risks Includes a commitment to prevention of injury and ill health and continual improvement in OH&S management and performance

iii.

Includes a commitment to at least comply with applicable legal requirements and with other requirements to which the organization subscribes that relate to its OH&S hazards
Provides the framework for setting and reviewing OH&S objectives

iv.

OHSAS: Policy
Top management shall define and authorize the organizations OH&S policy and ensure that within the defined scope of its OH&S management system it: v. Is documented, implemented and maintained

vi. Is communicated to all persons working under the control of the organization with the intent that they are made aware of their OH&S obligations vii. Is available to interested parties
viii. Is reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains relevant and appropriate to the organization

In developing its OH&S policy, an organization should consider:

Its mission, vision, core values and beliefs Coordination with other (corporate or integrated) policies The needs of persons working under the control of the organization The OH&S hazards of the organization Legal and other requirements to which the organization subscribes that relate to its OH&S hazards Historical and current OH&S performance by the organization Opportunities and needs for the continual improvement and the prevention of injury and ill health The views of interested parties What is needed to establish realistic and achievable objectives

The policy is as a minimum to include statements about the commitment of an organization to:

The prevention of injury and ill health Continual improvement in OH&S management

Continual improvement in OH&S performance

Compliance with applicable legal requirements And compliance with other requirements to which the organization subscribes

Importance of Management Commitment

A successful health and safety programme requires strong management commitment and worker participation. Strong management commitment and strong worker involvement are necessary elements for a successful workplace health and safety programme. An effective management addresses all work-related hazards, not only those covered by government standards, and communicates with workers. All levels of management must make health and safety a priority. They must communicate this by going out into the worksite to talk with workers about their concerns and to observe work procedures and equipment. In each workplace, the lines of responsibility from top to bottom need to be clear, and workers should know who is responsible for different health and safety issues.