Crash Course in OHSAS 18001

[Siblo]

Hi Guys,

This should probably be in Management Systems section, but as that area gets intermittent traffic I thought I'd drop it here.. Sorry...

As the title reads, I need a crash course presentation or sales pitch for the above. The MD has decided we need to move on this as its something we have never (or briefly) looked into and its been dumped on my desk.

Basically, as the company (family business) has grown, we should have worked towards gaining certain standards, bringing new sites up to speed when they were acquired, but it didn't happen.

So now I need to put a plan in place and sell the idea to the individual managers. (also letting the MD know what it actually means, don't think he has any idea of the work involved)

Thanks in advance for any advice, pointers, donations, job offers & a sofa's to sleep on.

Siblo

PS. He also wants 9001 & 14001 so yeah

[quality_somerset]

Hi Siblo

I recently introduced 18001 so may be able to give you a hand/advice if you so wish. I did an 18001 awareness power-point which i am more than happy to beam over to you. If you PM me your email i will beam it over to you. I also have various 18001 guides which should help.

Regards

QS

[Siblo]

You have mail QS..

[EagleBeagle]

Hi Siblo,

I have a number of presentations for the integrated management system (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001) if these would be of assistance to you?

[WillPool]

Eaglebeagle & QS

Is there any possibility you could 'donate' your presentations for the downloads?

If there is not (as they are company specific etc) then do not worry, if you can then please PM Alexis or Jack with details etc

Will

[quality_somerset]

Not a problem WillPool, I did use the legal register as a template so i will only be returning the favour. Give me a few days and i will beam them over to Alexis and Jack.

Regards
QS

[WillPool]

Not a problem WillPool, I did use the legal register as a template so i will only be returning the favour. Give me a few days and i will beam them over to Alexis and Jack.

Regards
QS

Will

[Alexis]

Not a problem WillPool, I did use the legal register as a template so i will only be returning the favour. Give me a few days and i will beam them over to Alexis and Jack.

Regards
QS

Thank you for asking Will.
QS - Many thanks indeed.

[EagleBeagle]

Eaglebeagle & QS

Is there any possibility you could 'donate' your presentations for the downloads?

If there is not (as they are company specific etc) then do not worry, if you can then please PM Alexis or Jack with details etc

Will

Hi Will,

Unfortunately I can't give a copy of the presentations as they are company-specific and 'd be afraid of the copyright issues that could crop up if someone took offence, but from an purely educational point of view they should be of use to Siblo.

[WillPool]

Eaglebeagle & QS

Is there any possibility you could 'donate' your presentations for the downloads?

If there is not (as they are company specific etc) then do not worry, if you can then please PM Alexis or Jack with details etc

Will

Hi Will,

Unfortunately I can't give a copy of the presentations as they are company-specific and 'd be afraid of the copyright issues that could crop up if someone took offence, but from an purely educational point of view they should be of use to Siblo.

No problems

Will

[safetylady]

An important aspect to this, is the question 'why?' in terms of value. (I know the MD is keen, but still - why?). Always the first part of a plan!

If it is likely to give your company a heads up in competitive terms, or you struggle to get work without, then fair enough.
The company I am working for now got all three on that basis, but would happily drop 18001 and 14001 now if it was not for the initial investment cost, and that there is a growing expectation in the industry that contractors have these.

Getting standards is time-consuming (months at least - larger companies can take years) and has ongoing costs above the up-front registration / certifications, audit fees, training etc. Mainly time and effort, much of which is administrative with a low benefit.
18001 was supposed to open the door for clients H&S evaluations, but rarely makes that much difference to my company - almost all the questionnaire details are still demanded, regardless of having all three standards.
The expectations of auditors can be dogmatic and unnecessarily pedantic. Their recommendations can be way off-base, usually gold-plating legal standards to a significant degree, so you end up doing work for no good reason, just to keep the auditors happy.
Having these standards make no discernible difference to H&S performance (so say HSE). However, well-managed companies (certified or not) do better at H&S.
Improvements tend to come from the actual organisation and systemising needed as part of the quest, rather than the attainment itself.
So the value is in having any well-composed management system, certified or not.
ISO 45001 is on the horizon for H&S, so maybe there is a good reason to at least hesitate.

These points should all form part of your pitch.
Of the three, I would say 9001 is the most valuable, as this should add most to the business, in terms of competitiveness, cost and waste minimisation, and generally organising. Not specifically safety of course, and the external customer is the focus with this; 18001 is more inward-looking. 14001 on the fence! Once 9001 is under the belt, the others seem less daunting.

[EagleBeagle]

An important aspect to this, is the question 'why?' in terms of value. (I know the MD is keen, but still - why?). Always the first part of a plan!

If it is likely to give your company a heads up in competitive terms, or you struggle to get work without, then fair enough.
The company I am working for now got all three on that basis, but would happily drop 18001 and 14001 now if it was not for the initial investment cost, and that there is a growing expectation in the industry that contractors have these.

Getting standards is time-consuming (months at least - larger companies can take years) and has ongoing costs above the up-front registration / certifications, audit fees, training etc. Mainly time and effort, much of which is administrative with a low benefit.
18001 was supposed to open the door for clients H&S evaluations, but rarely makes that much difference to my company - almost all the questionnaire details are still demanded, regardless of having all three standards.
The expectations of auditors can be dogmatic and unnecessarily pedantic. Their recommendations can be way off-base, usually gold-plating legal standards to a significant degree, so you end up doing work for no good reason, just to keep the auditors happy.
Having these standards make no discernible difference to H&S performance (so say HSE). However, well-managed companies (certified or not) do better at H&S.
Improvements tend to come from the actual organisation and systemising needed as part of the quest, rather than the attainment itself.
So the value is in having any well-composed management system, certified or not.
ISO 45001 is on the horizon for H&S, so maybe there is a good reason to at least hesitate.

These points should all form part of your pitch.
Of the three, I would say 9001 is the most valuable, as this should add most to the business, in terms of competitiveness, cost and waste minimisation, and generally organising. Not specifically safety of course, and the external customer is the focus with this; 18001 is more inward-looking. 14001 on the fence! Once 9001 is under the belt, the others seem less daunting.

I would agree with SafetyLady on this as I implemented the integrated system in our company, having been a trained and registered Lead Auditor as unlike many I started in Quality and the role expanded to include Safety. If you can understand 9001 you can understand all the other standards very easily and I came from a legal background so (unfortunately) as SafetyLady says I'm one of those sticklers for legislative requirements as they are automatically a core part of the standards, but common sense must prevail and it's about doing everything as far as is reasonably practicable.

My own experience is that 9001 is the most valuable in terms of providing a "business management system" and is the most widely recognised of the standards. It's a huge advantage if you're involved in public procurement competitions, in 90% of our experience this is the only standard which customers and public procurement have been interested in. I cannot understate the edge it gives you in public procurement, but I would say in my experience less so in everyday B2B dealings.

OHSAS 18001 is, as SafetyLady excellently described, a standard primarily for inward benefit or peace of mind. It is primarily of external use if you're involved in perceived high hazard industries such as construction. That is not to say that it isn't an excellent system, but I suppose as a "safety head" I'm going to say that, but it is a good standard and it provides a solid, accredited safety management system for the workplace which, when properly implemented, ensures that things don't slip through the cracks.

For H&S, 45001 is waiting to blossom so it's worth being mindful of that, even though there will be substancial practical overlap with OHSAS 18001, it will be another certification, another audit, more costs, etc.

There can be a lot of work in putting it all together, but when you get there you will have a business that is in very good order.