OHSAS 18001: as easy as one, two, three

A recent study by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) revealed that among employees’ chief work-related concerns is the impact of the age of austerity on workplace safety – job cuts have increased the demand placed on those employees that remain and there is a perceived slacking-off of HSE inspections. The TUC surveyed 1,875 safety reps and 45 per cent claimed their company had never been checked by health & safety management authorities. One in ten claimed there had been no visit for more than three years.

These figures demonstrate that there is a real danger of complacency setting in, but firms would be making a terrible and potentially very costly mistake that they could easily avoid by investing in safety management software. Thousands every year are injured at work and 173 lives were lost last year alone meaning no company can assume that the HSE won’t catch up with them eventually.

In addition, happy employees perform better and work safer, that’s a fact, and the OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services) 18001 accreditation is one way that a company can reassure its workforce that it’s serious about safety. Employees can take further confidence from the standard based on the fact that their employer is prepared to invest in their well-being during straitened times.

OHSAS 18001 standard is an international occupational health and safety management system specification, collaboratively developed by some of the world’s leading national standards and certification bodies, and specialist consultancies.

The standard serves to involve employees in defining policies and safety management procedures in the workplace, motivating them and improving morale. It helps minimize safety risks and demonstrates diligence because the central tenet to the OHSAS’ requirements is strong policies and procedures. To assist in this respect, safety management software is almost essential to companies of mid to large size as the paper trail quickly becomes unwieldy. In fact, the right health and safety management software is almost a "standard in a box" as far as 18001 is concerned.

Having successfully implemented OHSAS 18001, companies and employees can take comfort from conformance with an officially endorsed safety policy and a framework for continual improvement to health and safety systems.

Customers we’ve worked with have quickly and efficiently brought their safety management systems in line with OHAS 18001 with our safety management software, and if (or more like when) there is an inspection, their audit trail and regulatory compliance is easily demonstrable.