OHSAS 18001:2007
Occupational Health and Safety Management System

OHSAS 1800:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management Certification is an international standard that provides a framework to identify, control, and decrease the risks associated with health and safety within the workplace. Implementing the standard will send a clear signal to your stakeholders that you view employee’s health and safety as a priority within your organization.

An increasing number of organizations are completing OHSAS 18001 certification as employers are under increasing pressure to ensure that a rigorous health and safety policy is in place which protects employees against possible occupational risks and reduces the likelihood of accidents in the workplace. By planning ahead an organization can also identify health and safety risks and conform to health and safety legislation.

Benefits of OHSAS 18001:2007

1. Improves corporate image and credibility among stakeholders, regulators, customers, prospective clients, and the public.
2. Adoption of international best practice in relation to risk management Ensures the health and well-being of employees, sub-contractors, and the public.
3. Minimization of liability of employers through the adoption of proactive rather than reactive controls.
4. Ensures legislative awareness and compliance.
5. Reduces accident and incident rates by reducing or eliminating workplace hazards.
6. Improves the incident investigation process.
7. Increases employee motivation through the provision of a safer workplace and participation process.

ISO Certification Process 

The ISO certification process is comprised of a few main steps involving the filling of the application form, review of documents, and detailed auditing procedures. Below, we will look at the general outline of how to apply for and register an ISO for a business or product:

1. Applying: After having selected an appropriate ISO certification for a product or business, the applicant needs to fill in an application form for the registrar that can be submitted in form of a letter or email. The application will need to contain essential details, such as the scope of the certification, general details of the organization including its features and general information, and sought certification standards.
2. Review of Documents: After the submission of the application form, the auditor will review the various documents regarding quality control and various policies and procedures of the organization.
3. Pre-assessment: The pre-assessment stage is where the entrepreneur needs to or have a review conducted of the pre-existing quality control standards in his/her organization to identify any omissions or faults in the policies related to quality management.
4. Action Plan: After the initial review by the auditor and identification of the faults in the existing quality control standards of the organization, he/she will need to review these comments and eliminate the existing deficiencies. This accounts for the action plan.
5. First Audit: The first or initial audit stage involves a thorough inspection by the auditor regarding existing and revised quality controls and the findings of the non-conformities are categorized either as minor non-conformances or major non-conformances. Minor non-conformances constitute minor procedural faults or gaps in the system in compliance with ISO standards. Major non-conformances include the faults in the existing quality standards system that can lead to the potential collapse of the system.
6. Final Audit: By the final audit stage, all major non-conformities will need to be removed and if all the quality gaps have been addressed and rectified, the ISO auditor will prepare the final audit report and forward the ISO certification application to the ISO registrar.
7. Get ISO Certificate: After all the non-conformities are addressed, the registrar will provide the ISO Certificate.
8. Surveillance Audit: These are the periodic audits that will be conducted to ensure that the organization is maintaining ISO quality standards or not.