OHSAS : 2007 STANDARD AWARENESS OF KEY CHANGES AND TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Transcription

1 OHSAS : 2007 STANDARD AWARENESS OF KEY CHANGES AND TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

2 2 The Revised Standards OHSAS 18001: Occupational health and safety management systems - Requirements Published 1 July 2007 by British Standards Institution (BSI) Replace the OHSAS 18001: 1999 Standard is now available Expected that SAI Global will certify against this standard immediately OHSAS 18002:2000 Occupational health and safety management systems - Guidelines for the implementation of OHSAS This sister standard is still current and probably the revision work will start at the end of 2008

3 3 The Changes to OHSAS The main changes from OHSAS 18001: 1999 specification are: It is no longer a Specification it is now called a Standard Clarification, and addition of requirements Alignment with ISO and ISO9001 Text changes Strengthens the obligation on the organization Broadens employee to include persons working on behalf of the organization away from the organisation including home.

4 4 Revision of OHSAS Definitions 1999 version had 17 definitions and the 2007 version has 21 definitions which are closely aligned to the ISO 9001 or taken from ISO14001

5 5 Some of the definitions Acceptable risk Used to be the Tolerable risk Risk that has been reduced to a level that can be tolerated by the organization having regard to its legal obligations and its own OH&S policy (3.16) Continual improvement Recurring process of enhancing the OH&S management system (3.13) in order to achieve improvements in overall OH&S performance (3.15) consistent with the organization's (3.17) OH&S policy (3.16) Corrective action Action to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity (3.11) or other undesirable situation

6 6 Some of the definitions Document Information and its supporting medium The medium can be paper, magnetic, electronic or optical computer disc, photograph or master sample, or a combination thereof. Hazard Source, situation, or act with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health (3.8), or a combination of these Ill health Identifiable, adverse physical or mental condition arising from and/or made worse by a work activity and/or work-related situation

7 7 Some of the definitions Incident The term accident is now included in Incident (3.9). Work-related event's in which an injury or ill health (3.8) (regardless of severity) or fatality occurred, or could have occurred Some examples of Incidents; An accident is an incident which has given rise to injury, ill health or fatality. An incident where no injury, ill health, or fatality occurs may also be referred to as a near-miss, "near-hit", "close call" or "dangerous occurrence". An emergency situation (see 4.4.7) is a particular type of incident.

8 8 Some of the definitions Interested party Person or group, inside or outside the workplace (3.23), concerned with or affected by the OH&S performance (3.15) of an organization (3.17)

9 9 Some of the definitions Occupational health and safety (OH&S) Conditions and factors that affect, or could affect, the health and safety of employees or other workers (including temporary workers and contractor personnel), visitors, or any other person in the workplace (3.23) Organizations can be subject to legal requirements for the health and safety of persons beyond the immediate workplace, or who are exposed to the workplace activities

10 10 Some of the definitions OH&S performance Measurable results of an organization's (3.17) management of its OH&S risks (3.21) OH&S performance measurement includes measuring the effectiveness of the organization's controls. When assessing the risk controls, remember that it is also meant to protect the neighbours now.

11 11 Some of the definitions Risk Combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event or exposure's and the severity of injury or ill health (3.8) that can be caused by the event or exposure's. Bearing in mind that the organisations activity can also affect the neighbours We should be looking for the organisation to demonstrate why and how they are able to accept the risk.

12 12 Some of the definitions Risk assessment Process of evaluating the risk's (3.21) arising from a hazard's, taking into account the adequacy of any existing controls, and deciding whether or not the risk's is acceptable.

13 13 Some of the definitions Workplace Any physical location in which work related activities are performed under the control of the organization When giving consideration to what constitutes a workplace, the organization (3.17) should take into account the OH&S effects on personnel who are, for example, travelling or in transit (e.g. driving, flying, on boats or trains), working at the premises of a client or customer, or working at home.

14 14 Damage" is not directly related to occupational health and safety management It is now considered that such "damage" is not directly related to occupational health and safety management, which is the purpose of this OHSAS Standard, and that it is included in the field of asset management. Instead, the risk of such "damage" having an effect on occupational health and safety should be identified through the organization's risk assessment process, and be controlled through the application of appropriate risk controls.

15 15 Sub-clauses and have been merged, in line with ISO 14001:2004. More emphasis on the measurable objectives by changing the word from the objectives should be measurable to the objectives shall be measurable

16 16 A new requirement has been introduced for the consideration of the hierarchy of controls as part of OH&S planning (see 4.3.1). When determining controls, or considering changes to existing controls, consideration shall be given to reducing the risks according to the following hierarchy: a) elimination; - through design review/ changes b) substitution; - alternate methods/ products c) engineering controls; - interlock switch, Shields/Covers d) signage/warnings and/or administrative controls; - Procedures e) personal protective equipment. - Hard hats, face masks

17 17 Management of change is now more explicitly addressed (see and 4.4.6). My interpretation is although the standard has not specified the requirement for a procedure the intention is to look for demonstrated evidence to prove a consistent outcome. That leads to a documented instruction or procedure. Adds determining controls and implement New sub-requirement to consider the influence of human factors on hazard identification and risk assessment Adds identification, prioritization and documentation of risks and moves classification of risks and identification of those that are to be eliminated or controlled by measures as defined in and into the more prescriptive risk reduction measure hierarchy.

18 18 A new clause on the "Evaluation of compliance" (see 4.5.2) has been introduced. This is now in line with the ISO and requires a procedure for evaluation of compliance against the identified legal and other requirements. The evaluation must be periodic and the records must be kept as proof of evaluation. We should be looking for how the organisation communicate the results of the evaluation to all interested parties.

19 19 New requirements have been introduced for participation and consultation (see ). This was there in the old Specification under but has been clarified to increase the understanding through Small title change specifies participation Requires active internal communication with persons working for or on behalf of the organization Requires communication of participation arrangements Requires active stakeholder engagement, which could be a big change for an organization

20 20 New requirements have been introduced for the investigation of incidents (see ). This was there in the old Specification and some organisation did interpret it well and completed the investigations to find root causes. The new standard has clarified to increase the understanding and has now mandated that the investigation shall identify the Underlying causes (root causes) Requires communication of the results of investigations Requires that investigations be performed in a timely manner References for instruction on dealing with required corrective and preventive action New sub-section covering in greater detail that which was in the clause in the previous specification Specifies taking action to avoid recurrence of non-conformities Specifies the evaluation of need for and implementation of actions preventing non-conformities Explicitly states requirement for communication of results of actions taken

21 21 Adds clarity to Internal Audits See Adds in the word implemented Restructures paragraph from previous specification into two sub- elements and explicitly requires the organisation for the retention of associated records Modifies previous specification s note on independence of auditors

22 22 New structure and emphasis on management review - See 4.6 Input and out put to the Management Review is clearly defined now. The outputs from management reviews shall include any decisions and actions related to possible changes. a) to OH&S performance b) to OH&S policy and objectives c) to resources, and d) to other elements of the OH&S management system consistent with the commitment to continual improvement. Relevant outputs from management review shall be made available for communication and consultation (see 4.4.3)

23 23 The Transition Process - The Overall Requirements The Transition Plan is required to be complied with by all certification bodies Total Upgrade Period: almost 2years Start of Transition: 1 st July 2007 (publication date) End of Transition: 30 June 2009 All existing certifications require upgrading to the new standard before 30 June 2009 Any existing accredited certificates issued to OHSAS 18001: 1999 will no longer be valid after 30 June 2009