Occupational Health & Safety

Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems

An Occupational Health & Safety Management System is a way for an organisation to manage occupational health & safety at the workplace. It can be integrated as part of the organisation’s existing management systems and includes:

Organisation and work guidelines for health and safety in an organisation.
Planning the process for preventing accidents and illnesses.
Exercises, routines and resources for development and implementation, review and maintenance of health and safety policies in the workplace.

The occupational health & safety management system can be successfully implemented in an organisation with the 15 steps detailed on this page.

ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety)

This standard was published in 2018 and describes the essential contents of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System based on the established Plan/Do/Check/Act principle which is also implemented in the Quality ISO 9001 and Environmental ISO 14001 standards.

If your organisation is certified to one or more of these management systems, then it also provides the opportunity to integrate / merge the systems.

15 steps to ISO 45001 Certification

Step 1 Prepare an Occupational Health and Safety Policy Statement

We can provide guidance and give examples for this.

Step 2 - Conduct an Occupational Health and Safety review of the company

its activities and related hazards and risks to establish the current position of the company.

The review should cover:

• Defining the boundaries of the organisational scope.
• Identification of hazards and risks including routine and non-routine activities. Include all the activities of all personnel having access to the workplace and hazards that can occur outside the workplace.

We have Occupational Health and Safety experts on hand to guide you through this process.

Step 3 - Risk Assessment Review and Development

Review current risk assessments in light of the review in step 2 and highlight any areas of weakness. Train staff in the preparation of Risk Assessments if required.

Step 4 - Identification of any legal obligations

relating to the organisational scope, its risks and necessary controls.

Step 5 - Establish 3 or 4 Occupational Health and Safety Objectives

consistent with the OH & S policy and the industry risks

These should be simple targets against which performance can be easily measured for example:

• Zero Accidents
• Deliver First Aid Training to all staff
• Deliver COSHH training to all staff
• Introduce a safe knife policy in the warehouse to reduce hand injuries
• Introduction of advanced driver training to reduce road accidents

Develop a process to measure and monitor the company’s Health and Safety performance on a regular basis.

Step 6 - Establish and maintain processes to cover:

• Identification of Health and Safety hazard and risk assessment
• Identification of applicable legal and other requirements
• Control of documented information to demonstrate conformity to the requirements of the Health and Safety management system
• Communication of its Health and Safety hazards and safety management system
• Operational Controls
• Emergency Preparedness
• Evaluation of Compliance
• Internal Audit
• Incident Investigation
• Control of Non-Conformance, Correction and Corrective Action

We can help you develop these processes.

In addition to the above processes, you may choose to develop processes for:
• Control of Sub-contractors
• Training and Competency
• Others you may consider necessary

You may also wish to develop “task” instructions for unique tasks carried out in your organisation e.g., inspection of ladders and control of lifting equipment, safe operation of forklifts etc?

Step 7 - Develop roles, responsibilities and authorities for all personnel

We will advise on critical content with respect to defining Health and Safety competencies. We will also advise on Induction Training, On-the-Job Training, a Competency & Training Matrix and an appraisal system.

Step 8 - Give awareness training to all employees on Occupational Health and Safety policies

Explain the requirements for Occupational Health and Safety systems and procedures. Develop a consultation process for the workers involvement in incident investigation, involvement in hazard identification and risk assessments.

Step 9 - Conduct Internal Audits

You will need to do these yourselves or, if required, we can do them for you. If you choose to conduct them inhouse we can provide the necessary accredited Internal Auditor Training.

Step 10 - Conduct an evaluation of Legal and Other Compliance.

This can be a simple or an onerous task dependent on the size of company and the amount Occupational Health and Safety aspects related to legislation and other requirements the company subscribes to. Records of all evaluations need to be detailed and maintained.

Step 11 - Establish a Corrective Action System

To enable you to demonstrate that you are acting on any problems identified through your audits or non-conformance to systems and putting in place controls to prevent recurrence of any issues.

Step 12 - Test the company’s procedure for Emergency Preparedness.

Train personnel in how to respond to actual emergency situations and carry out drills to reinforce positive responses.

Step 13 - Conduct Management Reviews

We can help establish a programme and list of inputs for review by management on a planned basis as well as the requisite outputs.

Step 14 - We can conduct a full “Mock Assessment”

Assist in the identification any weaknesses or gaps in your system before you undergo assessment by your chosen Certification Body

FINAL STEP - Assessment by your Certification Body and award of ISO 45001 certification!

ISO 45001 Training Packages

Our sister company QHSE Scotland offers three ISO 9001 training courses in relation to this standard which complement the development of your ISO 9001 management systems or can assist in the ongoing management and maintenance of an existing system.

The first is the ISO 45001 Foundation training course which explains the standard and how it relates to business. It is an excellent introduction to the standard and allows the participants to determine the standards specific relevance to their own business and how they will apply the standard successfully.

The second is the ISO 45001 Internal Auditor course for those organisations who are implementing the standard for their business. To achieve this aim there will be the requirement to set up and maintain their system and to undertake their own Internal Audits. This course will provide the knowledge and competence to conduct effective internal audit programmes.

The third is the ISO 45001 Lead Auditor course for those organisations who require to implement, manage and maintain the standard for their business. To achieve this aim there will be the requirement to set up, maintain and improve their system and to undertake and lead their own Internal Audits. In addition, a Lead Auditor will be qualified to conduct external supplier audits when they achieve IRCA Lead Auditor status (note: a Lead Auditor will require to observe and lead a number of External Audits prior to achieving Lead Auditor status in addition to the IRCA certified ISO 9001 Lead Auditor course completion). This course will provide the knowledge and competence to conduct, lead and develop an effective internal audit programme.

Other Health & Safety Courses provided by QHSE Scotland

Risk Assessment

Employers must provide suitable and sufficient risk assessments within the workplace.

This half day session provides attendees with:

an introduction of legal requirements,
awareness of responsibilities related to risk assessment and
knowledge & understanding of the risk assessment process.

This session can be extended to a full day which incorporates the skills required to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. Under the guidance of our trained instructors, practical exercises within the workplace are then completed and reviewed by participants.

Manual Handling Risk Assessment

It is recognised that manual handling related injury costs millions of pounds to employers cumulatively. In 2019/2020, an estimated 1.6 million working days were lost due to handling related injuries. The estimated average number of days lost for each handling injury was 10.8 days (Labour Force Survey).

To reduce the risk of injury from manual handling, this half day course gives attendees an introduction to the legal and practical elements for safe manual handling within the workplace. The full day course will also focus on the manual handling risk assessment process with practical exercises included.’

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

It is imperative that employers not only consider safety as a serious issue but also that the health of the workforce should be assured. For example, around 13 000 deaths each year from occupational lung disease and cancer are estimated to have been caused by past exposure, primarily to chemicals and dusts, at work (Labour Force Survey).

This course introduces the health issues in which the COSHH Regulations describe the duties imposed on both the employer and the employee; detailing and how these requirements can be implemented within the workplace. Extended to a full day, the course will also allow a practical element in completing a COSHH risk assessment using relevant information such as Safety Data Sheets and related legislation.

Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

This course has been designed to allow attendees to gain practical assessments skills of workstation hazards and risks related to display screen equipment. It is often underestimated the potential harm caused by the continuous use of display screen equipment.

Symptoms may include:

neck, shoulder, arm/back pain,
fatigue or even stress.

The causes of these common complaints are not always fully addressed during the risk assessment process.

The content of this course covers the legislative requirements along with practical assessment incorporated into the theory. On completion of the course, attendees will have increased awareness and the knowledge to complete an individual DSE assessment. The length of the course will depend on the number of attendees and the amount of assessment support required.

Experience & Approval

Our auditors and trainers offering ISO 45001 training are registered with the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA), which is administered by the Chartered Quality Institute. We have specialists in the Health & Safety field who have many years’ experience in the audit and assessment of Health & Safety management systems across a broad spectrum of industry and commerce.

“

Safety isn’t expensive, its priceless.

Jerry Smith

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