By Robin O’Connell
www.ISHN.com, May 01, 2004
For further information on the
occupational health and safety
management systems addressed
in this article, visit:
OHSAS 18001 and BS 8800:
http://www.bsiamericas.
com/OHS/index.xalter
VPP:
http://tis.eh.doe.
gov/vpp/index.html
ILO-OSH 2001:
http://www.ilo.
org/public/english/protection/s
afework/health/index.htm
ANSI’s Z10 committee:
http://www.aiha.
org/ansicommittees/html/z10co
mmittee.htm
An occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) provides a
framework for managing your occupational health and safety
responsibilities so they become more efficient and more integrated into
overall business operations. With no clear international choice, a race to
produce a primary occupational health and safety management system has
developed in recent years. This has led to confusion. Many potential
OHSMS implementers ask: What are the options and how do they differ?
Others wonder if ISO, the International Organization for Standardization,
will choose a standard as the framework for a generic ISO OHSMS.
Waiting on ISO
Following the success of ISO 9001:2000 (quality) and ISO 14001:1996
(environmental management) systems, many companies have been waiting
on ISO to name an international OHSMS of choice. Two previous votes to
develop British Standard’s BS 8800:1996 Guide to Occupational Health and
Safety Management Systems into an ISO guideline standard failed. This non-
auditable standard is a guide to placing and integrating an OHSMS within
an organization.
At the most recent vote in 2000, ISO members voted 29 in favor and 20
against making BS 8800 an ISO standard. Requiring two-thirds of members
in favor to pass, the attempt fell four votes short. Another vote is not
currently scheduled, but industry predictions see a third attempt
successfully passing.
Critics of an international OHS standard contend that a sufficient number
of OHSMSs have already been developed. They add that the process of
meeting ISO 14001’s environmental requirements sufficiently forces
organizations to address health and safety.
But supporters think that the ISO members voting against an international
OHSMS are trying to avoid the work required to implement a publicly
recognized system. Many organizations have already written and
implemented company-specific OHSMSs.
OHSAS 18001:1999
By 1999, British Standard’s sister company, BSI Management Systems,
decided to stop waiting for ISO to make the next move. The world’s
largest management systems registrar, BSI Management Systems
collaborated with other international registrars and global occupational
health and safety experts to develop a standard that met the needs of the
global community in favor of an ISO OHSMS. With a goal of providing an
expert management system to smoothly integrate with ISO 9001 and ISO
14001, OHSAS 18001:1999 was released. The first certifiable “specification”
OHSMS, it features “shall statements” that require interested parties to
meet certain objectives. OHSAS 18002:2000 was later published as
“Guidelines for the implementation of OHSAS 18001.”
As a certification standard, OHSAS 18001 emphasizes continual
improvement through continuing assessments. Certification is proof to
customers and potential customers that an OHSMS meeting all of a
standard’s “shall statements” is in place and has been audited by an
accredited, independent, third-party registrar.
All OHSMS standards, including certification standards, are currently
voluntary. Certification includes oversight of how top management
operates its OHSMS, and that an organization can control risk while
improving performance. After certification is achieved, continuing
assessments are held every six months to ensure a working OHSMS is still in
place. Measurements set at the initial audit are reassessed during each
visit and recommendations for improvement are offered. OHSAS 18001
requires impartial and objective auditors.
Due to the similar number format, OHSAS 18001:1999 is occasionally
referred to as ISO 18001. This is incorrect. OHSAS 18001 is an international
management system, but ISO was not involved in its development.
ILO-OSH 2001
Based on the 2000 vote against a standard from the BS 8800 guidelines, ISO
agreed not to pursue developing an international OHSMS with the
International Labor Organization (ILO).
The ILO continued the development work and published its Guidelines on
Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems in 2001. ILO-OSH is
intended for use as a template for developing OHSMSs.
The two prime objectives of the ILO-OSH Guidelines are to:
assist countries in the establishment of a national framework for
occupational health and safety management systems;
provide guidance to individual organizations regarding the integration of
OH&S elements into their overall policy and management arrangements.
Developed at the same time, with ISO 14001 as a base point, ILO-OSH 2001
and OHSAS 18001 have no significant differences in their individual
organization OHSMS guidelines. They are so similar that if an organization’s
management system fully complies with OHSAS 18001, it will also be
compatible with ILO’s Guidelines.
The significant divide between OHSAS 18001 and ILO-OSH 2001 is that the
ILO does not support certification auditing. In line with its labor emphasis,
ILO-OSH 2001 is focused on workers. OHSAS 18001 is directed toward a
broader group, defined in the standard as all “interested parties.” The ILO-
OSH 2001 Guidelines recommend an impartial and objective auditor review
the implementing organization’s OHSMS, but do not require it.
OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program
OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) has been designating work
sites as “Star,” “Merit,” or “Demonstration” status since 1982. The Star
Program is for work sites that have successfully implemented their
occupational safety and health management system and achieved injury
and illness rates below the industry average. Merit is designated for sites
that have a goal to achieve their industry Star requirements within three
years. Demonstration recognizes work sites that address unique safety and
health issues. Sites that pass their initial review must submit annual self-
evaluations and undergo periodic onsite reevaluations to remain in the
VPP program.
Created to promote effective work site-based safety and health, VPP has
rapidly grown in recent years. VPP status is not achieved by implementing
a particular standard. OSHA’s VPP is recognition of outstanding
occupational health and safety performance over an extended period of
time. The average VPP member is 52 percent below industry benchmarks
for illness and injury. The benchmarks are set according to Bureau of Labor
Statistics industry averages.
VPP representatives consider any OHSMS to be complementary to the
designation process. OSHA supports all activity that aims to improve
workforce occupational health and safety. Recognition as a VPP member
impresses customers, provides shortcuts around extensive government
OHS paperwork, and results in lower insurance premiums. As a federal
government program, VPP is not available outside the United States.
The ANSI Z10 committee
Getting in the race late, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
has been hard at work in the “Z10” committee to produce a national
OHSMS for the United States. Using the ILO-OSH 2001 template, ANSI and
approximately 50 committee representatives have been meeting since
February 2001 to design an OHSMS. This year a Z10 draft will circulate for
review, with an expected final published in early to mid-2005.
The Z10 committee includes power players from industry (GE, Alcoa), labor
(AFL-CIO), government (OSHA), and associations (National Association of
Manufacturers, Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association).
The committee’s stated objective is to “develop a standard of
management principles and systems to help organizations design and
implement deliberate and documented approaches to continuously
improve their occupational health and safety performance.” If OHSAS 18001
and ILO-OSH 2001’s individual organization guidelines already accomplish
this objective, why go to the trouble of writing another? The answer is
heavily political.
With the likely development of an ISO standard, the OHSMSs at the
international forefront will have the most influence over the final version.
The Z10 committee is an opportunity for U.S. organizations to offer
guidelines that are best for American industry. An ANSI OHSMS also could
be used as a model for future OSHA regulations requiring complete or
partial OHSMS implementation.
Decision time
An organization’s OHSMS choices include to certify or not to certify, to
attempt to obtain VPP status or not (U.S. only), to follow a single country’
s national OHSMS or an international standard, and to integrate an OHSMS
with other in-company management systems or to have their occupational
health and safety system stand alone. These preferences are up to great
debate and individual preference, but the clear choice is to select a
recognized management system that will best support business needs and
worker safety.
