OHSAS 18001 Safety Management System

Development of the OHSAS 18001

The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) specification has been developed in response to the urgent customer demand for a recognizable occupational health and safety management system standard against which their management systems can be assessed and certified. The OHSAS 18001 gives requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, to enable an organization to control its OH&S risks and improve its performance. Similar in concept to the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards, this Safety Management standard emphasize continuous and proactive practical solutions. This facilitates the integration of Quality, Environmental and Safety Management Systems by organization, should they wish to do so. Accounting for legislation and forthcoming regulations, the aim of OHSAS 18001 is to operate a managed, safe and healthy working environment in any part of the world.

Who needs to implement OHSAS 18001?

Irrespective of whether you are in a manufacturing or service industry, you are required by law, to operate your business in a manner which is safe and healthy for your workforce. OHSAS 18001 is therefore applicable to any organization that wishes to establish an OH&S management system to eliminate or minimise risk to employees or other interested parties and to make a self-determination and declaration of conformance with this OHSAS specification.

Course Objectives

This course is specially designed to provide participants with comprehensive understanding of:

• What is OHSAS 18001? How can it be integrated with ISO 9001 or ISO 14001?
• How to prevent dangerous occurrences through the concept of causes/effects and useful tools like Task / Risk Analysis, safety inspections, emergency plans etc.
• How a safety management system can be implemented practically and objectively?

Course Content

• Interpretation of the OHSAS 18001 safety management system
• Principles of Accident and Risk Prevention
• Human aspects of safety management and their effects
• Hazard Identification and Risk Management
• Accident Investigation and reporting
• Safety rules and regulations
• Company Emergency Planning
• Safety Inspections
• Safety Procedures / instructions

Who should attend

• All personnel who are involved in the day-to- day operations and forms a critical element in managing and enforcing safety
• Designated management staff, supervisors, foreman, Engineers or officers who are involved in safety planning, inspections or improving safety in the workplace.
• Safety co-ordinator who are responsible for accident investigation and reporting, safety promotion and risk analysis in the company.

The need for Safety Management System

More and more companies are beginning to adopt a structural approach to occupational health and safety management system. Customer pressure, legislative / regulatory compliance, increasing work-related accidents are just some of the reasons why an effective SMS is needed. Regardless of the reasons, implementing a SMS will ensure the safety and protecting the health of all workers in the work premise. It also forms a basis for safety audit and review for continual improvement.

Course Objectives

This course is specially designed in a workshop manner to provide a step by step approach towards setting up a SMS to meet national / international requirements. Being an in-house course, participants from different departments are given the chance to interact among themselves, hence identifying risks and formulating procedures that would be useful for the company as a whole. Participants are also encouraged to share their existing system (if any) with the tutor, in the effort of integrating current practice with the standards requirements as far as possible.

As the training aims to provide the participants with a framework for developing the SMS, sample manuals, forms and records will be provided as a means of reference in future.

For in-house conducted courses, the full workshop can be conducted over 2 separate days in different weeks, to meet the tight schedule of individuals.

Who should attend

• All personnel who are involved in the day-to- day operations and form a critical element in managing and enforcing safety
• Designated management staff, supervisors, foremen, engineers or officers who are involved in safety planning, inspections or improving safety in the workplace.
• Safety co-ordinators who are responsible for accident investigation and reporting, safety promotion and risk analysis in the company.

Background of Internal Auditor Training

Most safety management system (SMS) require companies to establish a system for conducting a periodic occupational health and safety management system audit. Similarly to the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, suitably trained internal auditors are necessary to ensure that audits are effectively carried out and managed.
This course has been designed to equip new or existing quality/environmental auditors with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform an audit in compliance to the OHSAS 18001 SMS.

Course Objectives

This course is specially prepared to provide participants with comprehensive understanding of:

• familiarizing auditors with the requirements of a safety management system
• The importance of risk assessment and what to look out for during an internal audit
• The relevant auditing techniques and appreciating them through live audits on selected areas within the company premise.

Course Content

• Overview of SMS requirements
• Interpreting key elements of the OHSAS 18001
• Key stages involved in safety auditing
• Reporting and follow-up of audit performance

Who should attend

Auditors identified to carry out safety audits in organizations implementing or certified to OHSAS 18001. Any personnel involved in promoting safety awareness in the workplace or performing safety inspections are encouraged to attend.

Background of hazard identification, risk assessment & control

A comprehensive safety management system (SMS) usually requires the company's management to carry out an analysis of the entire operation and each workplace to identify hazards and associated risks. Depending on the size and complexity of the company's business process, appropriate hazard identification methods shall be selected to maximise effectiveness of this exercise.

A proper risk assessment, however, is not complete without the adequate knowledge of analysing and assessing the risks through accepted methodology.

This comprehensive course has been designed to meet the requirement of most SMS (including OHSAS 18001, CP79) in addressing risk management. It covers in detail the methodology involved in identifying hazards, analysing and assessing risks, planning for action and management review for continual improvement.

Course Objectives

This course is specially prepared to provide participants with comprehensive understanding of:

• identifying hazards with respect to tasks and to assess the risks involved for selected areas within the company through practical exercise
• fully understanding the methodology involved in hazard identification and risk management
• compiling action plan and follow-up on effectiveness

Course Content

• Overview of Risk Management and its importance in the OHSAS 18001and other safety standards
• Methodologies for conducting an effective risk assessment
• Development and implementation of a risk control plan
• Application of the relevant methodologies through practical review of selected areas within the company.

Who should attend

All safety related personnel who are involved in the day-to-day business activities. Members of safety committee or any personnel responsible for undertaking hazard identification and risk assessment are encouraged to attend.