Existing OHSAS clients and attendees on our OHSAS transition briefings have asked us these questions. We're posting them with our answers for your information. (If you have a question not listed here please contact your local office for advice.)
Q: Is the standard applicable to my organization?
Yes, BS OHSAS 18001 applies to all organizations large and small - commercial, charitable, international, governmental, etc.
Q: When will we be required to have BS OHSAS 18001:2007 implemented?
You can implement the new standard step by step over the next 24 months. It is important if you wish to continue to be OHSAS certified without interruption, that all the new requirements are implemented so that evidence of their use can be assessed in time for the 1 July 2009 deadline.
Q: For those of us just starting the process can we use this new standard now even though we have already begun with implementing OHSAS 18001:1999?
Unless you have already had your Stage 1 assessment or are a couple of months away from certification to the 1999 version - we recommend you use the new standard. The new standard is more logically written and the requirements are best incorporated as early as possible. Should you wish to change to BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and have already had a Stage 1 assessment we would need to carry out a limited re-assessment of Stage 1 to ensure that all of the requirements of BS OHSAS 18001:2007 have been incorporated. This may add some additional time and therefore cost to the certification process. The alternative is to proceed with OHSAS 18001:1999 and then make the transition as part of your ongoing assessment visit program.
Q: Can we do the transition in 6 months?
Yes, if you have sufficient evidence of meeting the requirements of the new standard, and that they have been fed into the management review (which might mean the timing of the review needs to be brought forward). However, to get the best out of the transition, the improvements will need to percolate throughout the organization.
Q: Where can I purchase an electronic copy of the BS OHSAS 18001:2007 standard?
The Standard can be bought from your local BSI office or website. The standard is available online here.
Q: When organizations implement OHSAS 18001, do they typically integrate it with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 or treat it as a stand-alone system?
It usually depends on whether they already have ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. If the organization has either ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 or both and wants to add OHSAS 18001 it makes very good sense to integrate the management systems to minimize the duplication of procedures. A standard like PAS 99 explains how to do this effectively. BS OHSAS 18001 is now written to be closer in structure and style to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and summarizes how they correspond to assist integration (Annex A).
Q: Do you feel OHSAS 18001 is suitable for registering a corporation's Public Safety Management System?
Yes, as it represents best practice it requires consideration of external parties and compliance with relevant legislation as a minimum.
Q: What are the implications of the new definition of "Interested parties"?
Organizations need to consider, communicate and encourage participation with a wider range of individuals and groups. e.g: contractors, visitors, employees, trespassers, suppliers (couriers, delivery drivers, technicians), neighbors and more, depending on the nature of their activities.
Q: How do we measure the effectiveness of training?
Some suggestions are: soon after the training (and at regular intervals) check people?s understanding in a number of varied ways e.g. as part of a mentoring program; a staged evaluation test; internal audits.
Q: How do we document the effectiveness of training?
Compile a competency matrix (not just whether the skills have been taught but whether they have been assimilated into day-to-day activities by individuals).
Q: How do we involve persons working on behalf of the organization in training and risk assessments?
Some suggestions are:
- Ask suppliers to provide a method statement;
- Provide a checklist for contractors.
Q: How do we keep up with legislation changes (and document that we are doing so)?
Subscribe to alerts from national services such as the UK's www.cedrec.com (which has a section on Health and Safety law) and keep up with the national government?s relevant websites, such as Health Canada. The key thing then is to help interpret the new legislation for your organization and hold workshops with key persons to train and check their understanding of it. This can then be fed back into the competency matrix suggested above to provide evidence.
Q: When will the implementation guideline, OHSAS 18002 be revised?
It is expected to be published in 2008, although no target date is available yet.
Q: If an organization is currently implementing the OHSAS 18001:1999 specification, how long does that organization have until they must comply with the 2007 standard?
The organization has until 1 July 2009 at which point they will have to comply with the new standard or no longer be certified.
Q: How big an issue is accreditation overall in OHSAS 18001 certification?
This varies with client expectations, competitive pressures and cultural norms in the different countries. For those organizations requiring an accredited certificate, BSI offers them for OHSAS under the Dutch Accreditation Body RvA and is actively seeking accreditation by UKAS and ANAB/SCC for BS OHSAS 18001:2007.
Q: What are some examples of audit evidence an auditor will likely be looking for during a BS OHSAS 18001:2007 certification audit?
Some suggestions are:
- Documentation of system establishment, e.g. policy, description of processes, and procedures required by the Standards, etc.
- Records demonstrating system conformance, e.g. hazards/risk evaluations, OH&S objectives, results of incident investigations, results of corrective and preventive actions, results of audits, management reviews, etc.
- Staff interviews validating system implementation, e.g. awareness of organizational OH&S policy, objectives and individual responsibility, understanding of procedural. requirements, etc.
Q: How could we measure OH&S performance when targeting zero incident rates?
The standard defines OH&S objectives to be goals, in terms of measurable results of an organization?s management of its OH&S risks. There are a great number of measurable results that could be identified to demonstrate effective management of an organization?s OH&S risks as it targets zero incident rates. Some suggestions which are deemed proactive or leading indicators of an organization?s OH&S performance are those that demonstrate:
- effective hazard and risk identification and evaluation
- effective training results
- effective communication (internal and external)
- effective corrective and preventive actions as well as any incident investigation.
Q: My company is already certified to OHSAS 18001:1999 by BSI. Are any extra man-days required for BSI to do the transition assessment during my usual continuing assessment visit (CAV)?
Since the change from the new standard is not huge, in normal cases BSI will assess the differences during the normal CAV program. Therefore no additional time is required. However, if you find it difficult to update your management system to meet the requirements of the new standard within the timeframe of the transition you will need to book extra assessment days over and above your existing CAV program.
Q: Does a new three-year Strategic Review period commence from the date of issue of my new certificate to BS OHSAS 18001:2007, or does it remain as the original planned date?
Your next Strategic Review will take place as planned rather than starting again from the date of issue of your new BS OHSAS 18001 certificate. This is because the transition exercise is only looking at the changes to OHSAS and not the whole management system.
