What is OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety?

“Occupational Health & Safety” (OH&S) is defined within the International Standard OHSAS 18001:2007 as “including the conditions and factors that can affect the well being of any persons within the workplace”. This not only includes the employees engaged in the operation, but also all visitors, contractors and any person on the premises of the organization.

The term “well –being” can mean a condition of happiness or prosperity or general welfare. In summary therefore, OH&S relates to ensuring that all persons on an organizations property can continue to undertake their work or other business in an environment that is free from risks and hazards that could inflict injury or pain.

Information obtained from the UK OH&S regulator, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) suggests that at least one person is killed and over 6000 are injured at work every day throughout the country. In addition to this, a further three quarter of a million people take time off work because of what they regard as work related illness. This all amounts to approximately 30 million work days lost as a result of accidents and ill health adding costs to the business, the workers and their families through loss of pay, cost of temporary staff, damage to property or equipment, and lost production.

Although businesses will have insurance that will cover costs of injuries / ill health of their employees, accident involving vehicles and possibly third-party and buildings it will often only cover a small proportion of the costs involved. It will certainly not cover – sick pay, damage or loss of product and raw materials, repairs to plant and equipment, overtime working and temporary labour, product delays, investigation time, fines.

There is therefore a need for businesses to manage these issues and they should be addressed as risks to the business unit in much the same way that other risks are managed such as financial and corporate government risks.

Effective management of OH&S risks will help:

• Maximise the well –being and productivity of all people working for an organization.
• Stop people getting injured, ill or killed through work activities
• Improve the organization’s reputation in the eyes of customers, competitors, suppliers, and other stakeholders and the wider community
• Avoid damaging effects on turnover and profitability.
• Encourage better relationships with contractors and more effective contracted activities
• Minimise the likelihood of prosecution and consequent penalties.

Thus there is a need for businesses to identify all the potential risks of the business that could result in any person on the site could be injured or hurt in any way. OH&S management therefore needs to be integrated into very part of the business – it cannot remain as an item sitting in isolation of the main business process, but needs to be fully integrated into every role and activity.

The key to successful OH&S Management is the establishment of a “Safe Working Environment” and the proactive intervention to prevent accidents, incidents and near misses”.

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