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Basic methods and steps for establishing an OSHMS (Part 1) When establishing or improving an Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS), different companies can adopt various steps and methods based on their own characteristics and specific circumstances. Generally speaking, establishing an OSHMS involves four basic steps: (1) System planning. System planning includes four main tasks: training, plan formulation, initial review (status assessment), and system design. Training and education: Providing training on OSHMS standards to the management, key personnel, and employees of the employer by external experts or technical consulting firms is a very important step when establishing an OSHMS. Training should be carried out in a hierarchical and phased manner. First and foremost, the leaders and management of employers must grasp the basic contents and principles of OSHMS standards and understand their essence. Generally, training work is divided into two phases: the first is the promotion and implementation of OSHMS standards, with basic knowledge of OSHMS as the main content ； The second is auditor training, which focuses on topics such as the preparation of system establishment documents and internal audits. Formulating a plan: Generally, it takes about a year to establish an OSHMS. Once the overall plan is approved, sub-plans for each specific task can be developed. In addition to developing a master plan for establishing an OSHMS and separate plans for each specific task, another important aspect of planning is identifying the resource requirements, which must then be submitted to the top management of the organization for approval. Initial review (status survey): The initial review primarily involves investigating and assessing the current state of occupational safety and health management in the employer’s organization. It mainly includes the following aspects: First, a survey of the current situation (such as occupational safety and health management organizations, the allocation of responsibilities and suitability of personnel, the employer’s policies and objectives regarding occupational safety and health management and their implementation status, as well as accident records and cause analyses of the employer over recent years) ； Second, analyze the survey results to identify existing problems and determine the gaps compared to mandatory regulations ； Third is for the top management to assess the current situation, the gaps, and the causes of the existing problems. The results of the survey and assessment on the current status of occupational safety and health management will serve as the basis for designing the occupational safety and health management system. OSHMS design: The design of a occupational safety and health management system mainly involves four steps. The first is to establish an occupational safety and health policy. The process of formulating policies should reflect the principle of full employee participation. The second is functional analysis and the identification of institutions. The determination of the employer’s management structure forms the basis for assigning functions and establishing management procedures. Before assigning functions and drafting procedural documents, it is necessary to conduct a function analysis and determine the structure. When determining the structure, the principle of efficiency and simplicity should be adhered to, in order to avoid and minimize overlapping functions among departments. Third is functional allocation. When assigning functions, it is required to fully develop each element of the standards and convert them into functions to be allocated to various departments of the employer, ensuring that through this function allocation all elements of the standards are covered and no omissions occur. When assigning functions, it is necessary to adhere to the principle that one function should be under the responsibility of one department. When a task must be handled by two or more departments, it is essential to identify the main department responsible or to merge the relevant departments. Fourth, the key to determining the hierarchy of system documents is to define the scope of the procedural documents and prepare a list of system documents. (2) The preparation of system documents can adopt a simple and practical document structure based on the specific circumstances of the employer. Generally, OSHMS documents are divided into three levels: management manuals (Level A), procedure documents (Level B), and work instructions (Level C). The management manual is a document that comprehensively describes the organization’s OSHMS in accordance with OSHMS standards as well as the organization’s own policies and objectives regarding occupational safety and health; it serves to outline the organization’s OSHMS in detail and to demonstrate its capacity to ensure occupational safety and health. The contents of an OSH management manual typically include the following: policies, objectives, and management plans ； Job responsibilities, authorities, and interrelationships regarding OSH management, operation, auditing, or review tasks ； Instructions and inquiry methods for procedure documents ； Provisions regarding the review, modification, and control of manuals, etc. Procedure documents are documents that describe the activities of various functional departments involved in implementing the elements of an OSHMS, in order to meet the established occupational safety and health policies and objectives, as required by the organization’s OSH management manual; they are intended for use by those functional departments. Work instructions are documents that, based on the requirements of manuals and procedure documents, describe in detail how specific tasks are to be carried out at particular work positions and work sites. They are detailed working documents intended primarily for use by individuals or teams. Some of these files are generated continuously as needed during the system’s operation.