The advice given for implementing OHSAS 18001 is not to write a safety management system that follows the Standard word for word, but to align or integrate elements of an existing management system. How often has this been ignored by consultants or internal safety managers? It is not their fault (we all of course operate in a no blame culture) but we are simply following the directions of the client, or management board. Too often this requires that, “the organisation is to achieve OHSAS 18001 certification.” The result is exactly what was demanded: a certificate on the CEO’s office wall or beside the reception desk.
What has this achieved for the organisation? A revised H&S Policy, non-SMART objectives, a bunch of new safety procedures that haven’t been successfully implemented (if they had been the discrepancies with established working methods would have been identified), training matrices that demand more time than is practically available (and therefore never completed); an employee suggestion or hazard observation programme (that is either under-utilised but still held as a primary source of employee engagement, or over-zealously inundated by a few well intentioned individuals but skewing any meaningful data and distracting resources); an internal audit plan, and a management board review (or about 20 minutes squeezed into alternate quarterly board meetings with an accident frequency rate graph showing continual improvement). Therefore the H&S Policy is deemed appropriate and no extra budgeting is necessary for the H&S Department. And so the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle repeats; good news as HSG 65 is about to follow the same route!
What has this really achieved for the organisation? There is a flawed belief that having a certified safety management system means the organisation is inherently safe. At the end of a three-year certification cycle, a few non-conformities will be closed out and a new certificate presented.
Robin Stowell (MSc CMIOSH) is managing director of Conversulting. A dual-chartered marine engineer and chartered member of IOSH, he provides consultancy services at corporate and strategic levels, specialising in the offshore wind and marine-energy sector.
Sounds as if Mr Stowell has had a bad experience with 18001 to me. Any system that is worth its salt, and is implemented by someone who understands systems well will appreciate that they should be designed to meet all applicable regulatory requirements and meet organisational needs. The organisation should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops to meet 18001 requirements but have the system designed around them. To state and do otherwise is a gross misunderstanding and misleading way of portraying 18001 that is in fact based purely on HSG 65. What is more, if safety management systems have… Read more »
As much as the writers comments are fair, how can you have an integrated management system that does not follow the standard, if every time that you are audited, you will be pulled up by the auditor for not following the standard? If you are to not follow the standard, then the value of that is that you do not have to spend out the money to achieve the standard and then the follow-up audits. The negative is that many major clients will not even consider you for tender because, in their eyes, you have no management system in place;… Read more »
We too have ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001 which i implemented in Jan 2012, along with my subsequent NEBOSH Gen Cert achieved in November last year i believe it has definately improved the businesses outlook on H&S which was always in place just not documented fully and the role of H&S being passed from pillar to post, i wholly endorse the implentation of a H&S Management System of some kind as it has focused ourselves on achieving a safe working environment and we have seen significant improvements in working practices and in the culture of the workforce which to be honest… Read more »
We have a 18001, 14001 & 9001 integrated management system that we’re very proud off. Yes there can be potential negatives (like any system), but providing for every single ‘con’ the ‘pro’s’ significantly outweigh, its a fine tool to have at your disposal.
I very much sympathise with Robin Stowell’s article and further post. I in 2009 got my company OHSAS 18001 certified and then in 2012 BS OHSAS 18001 (accreditation body on top of certifying company that meant going through the certification process as if it were the first time) and had to align it with our statutory management system that very much follows ILO-OSH 2001. The reason for the company to become certified was because a key stakeholder asked it. I would not say the 18001 did not bring in some positive contributions to our management system but it certainly was… Read more »
Implementing a management system that enhances safety performance is certainly the right thing to do. I am sure there are many companies who have successfully done so using a recognised standard or not. But, there are companies who have chosen to achieve 18001 for either meeting customers commercial requirements (as Mr Ward has indicated) or in the belief that a certificate makes them a safe organisation. I wouldn’t say I have had a bad experience (I enjoy designing management systems) but I have confirmed with others this is a common practice. It is in these circumstances that the negative aspects… Read more »