Understanding OHSMS in One Article

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This post was last edited by slll611 on 2016-1-19 at 20:00. The Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is a systematic, procedural, and documented management system. It emphasizes prevention as a priority, stresses compliance with occupational safety and health laws, regulations, and other requirements, focuses on control throughout the entire process, and targets improvements in an organization’s occupational safety and health practices in order to achieve continuous improvement in occupational safety and health performance. 【I】Steps to establish an occupational safety and health management system Different organizations can adopt various steps and methods when establishing and improving their occupational safety and health management systems, depending on their own characteristics and specific circumstances. Generally speaking, establishing an occupational safety and health management system involves the following four basic steps: (1) Planning and preparation for the occupational safety and health management system; (2) Preparation of the documents related to the occupational safety and health management system; (3) Pilot implementation of the occupational safety and health management system; (4) Internal audits and management reviews of the occupational safety and health management system. 【II】Preparing OSHMS documents. An OSHMS is a set of documented management systems and methods; therefore, preparing the documents for such a system is an essential part of any organization’s effort to establish an OSHMS. It also serves as a basis for enabling the organization to achieve desired levels of occupational safety and health, to evaluate and improve its OSHMS, and to pursue continuous improvement and accident prevention. The process of an organization establishing a occupational safety and health management system mainly involves the development of occupational safety and health management documents, their implementation and evaluation, as well as continuous improvement. Therefore, if the documents of an organization’s occupational safety and health management system are incorrect, inaccurate, or incomplete, it may lead to the failure of that organization’s occupational safety and health management system, or increase the costs associated with its occupational safety and health management efforts, thereby affecting the implementation and effectiveness of such a system. Following the guidelines for preparing quality manuals outlined in ISO/DIS 10013, it is recommended that the documents of an occupational health and safety management system be divided into three levels: the management manual (Level A), procedure documents (Level B), and work instructions (Level C). 【III】Pilot operation of the occupational safety and health management system Once the system documents are prepared, the occupational safety and health management system will enter the pilot operation phase. The trial operation of a system is a period of testing it. The purpose of this trial operation is to assess, through practical use, the adequacy of the system and its ability to carry out all its functions; to identify problems promptly, determine their root causes, take corrective and improvement measures, address various non-conformities, and make adjustments to the system in order to further refine the occupational health and safety management system. 　　During the trial operation of the occupational safety and health management system, the following points should be given special attention: (1) The official release date of the documents and the start date of the trial operation should match the dates indicated in the first version of the documents. 　　(2) Implement the occupational safety and health management system documents in a targeted manner. The first thing to do after the trial run is training. That is, to provide training for all employees in accordance with the requirements of the training procedures. 　　(3) Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. After the system documents are put into trial operation, some problems will inevitably arise. All employees should truthfully report the problems that occur in practice as well as their suggestions for improvement to the relevant departments, so that corrective actions can be taken. The progress of goals, indicators, and plans must be monitored; if completion is not achieved on schedule, or if the time frames and investments set are unreasonable, a management review should be initiated for adjustments, and the corresponding documents must also be updated and revised. 　　(4) Coordinate and improve the issues identified during the trial operation, such as inadequate system design and incomplete projects. The operation of a occupational safety and health management system involves many organizational departments. During its implementation, it is common for various activities to deviate from the established standards. Therefore, the organization should, in accordance with the principles of rigor, coordination, efficiency, simplicity, and unity, use information feedback systems to address any abnormal situations and to monitor the system’s operation dynamically. By maintaining a solid operational mechanism, and under the leadership of organizational management, coordination efforts are carried out through the occupational safety and health management department, so that issues can be addressed promptly, thereby improving the system and ensuring its continuous and proper functioning. 　　(5) Strengthen information management. Information management is not only necessary for the operation of the occupational safety and health management system itself, but also a key factor in ensuring the success of the trial run. All personnel involved in the activities of the occupational safety and health management system shall, in accordance with the requirements of the system documents, carry out tasks such as the collection, analysis, transmission, processing, and archiving of occupational safety and health information. The records must be complete; once record forms are designed, they should be filled out carefully. If some forms are unnecessary, remove them. To save costs, old forms or notebooks can be used, but it is important to indicate which forms have been removed or are not needed. Do not tear up all previous records, especially when internal audits reveal issues – any errors should be corrected during the internal audit process, rather than by rewriting the records from scratch. 　　(6) In addition to controlled documents, files and manuals can also include uncontrolled documents; for example, documents intended for consulting agencies or certification bodies can be uncontrolled documents. There must be a registration system for the retrieval of such documents, and especially strict procedures are required for documents related to management personnel, the safety and health department, and the department responsible for advancing the occupational safety and health management system. Documents that are voided must be marked as such, and those that are retrieved need to be registered. 【IV】Internal audit of the occupational safety and health management system Internal audit is an assessment carried out by an organization on its own occupational safety and health management system; it represents a systematic and independent examination and evaluation to determine whether the system is functioning properly and whether it has achieved the set objectives. It serves as a means of self-assurance for the occupational safety and health management system. 　　Internal audits generally involve a comprehensive review of all elements of the system, and should be carried out by personnel who have no direct responsibility for the entity being audited. Corrective actions for non-conformities must be followed up to ensure their effectiveness. 　　1. Preparation for review. Preparation for the audit is an important phase in internal audit work; the more thorough the preparation, the more in-depth the on-site audit can be. The preparation work mainly includes the following: (1) formulating a plan; (2) assembling an audit team; (3) collecting relevant documents; (4) preparing checklists. 　　2. Implementation of the review. After completing all the preparation work for the audit, the audit team can carry out the audit on the pre-agreed date and time. The steps for carrying out the audit and the tasks at this stage mainly include the following: holding a brief initial meeting; conducting an on-site audit; identifying non-conformities and preparing a non-conformity report; summarizing and analyzing the audit results; and holding a final meeting to announce the audit results. 　　3. Preparation of the audit report. An audit report is a formal document that describes the results of an audit. It should include the following elements: the purpose and scope of the audit; the names of the audit team members and the departments being audited along with their responsible persons; the date of the audit; the documents on which the audit was based; observations regarding non-conformities; concluding opinions on the effectiveness of the occupational health and safety management system; and a list of those to whom the audit report is distributed. 　　The internal occupational safety and health management system audit report shall be approved by the management representative or the person designated by them before being distributed to the relevant managers and departments. 　　4. Correct errors. The main purpose of internal audits of the occupational safety and health management system is to identify problems within this system, determine their causes, and take corrective actions to eliminate them, thereby preventing similar non-compliances from occurring again. 【V】Management Review Management review is a systematic evaluation of the current state of occupational safety and health carried out by the organization’s top management, in order to determine whether the occupational safety and health policy, as well as the occupational safety and health management system and procedures, are still appropriate for achieving occupational safety and health objectives, complying with relevant regulations, and adapting to changing internal and external conditions. 　　Therefore, it is also a form of audit for the internal occupational safety and health management system; it represents a comprehensive review of such a system at a higher level, and serves as an important internal management tool. Management review is conducted by the top management at prescribed (appropriate) intervals; the so-called \"appropriate interval\" can be every six months, once a year, or even more frequently, and management reviews can be carried out promptly in response to changes in internal and external conditions.