OHSAS 18001 Certification Requirements

 OHSAS 18001 Assessment Checklist

4.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS - SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION

What is the scope of the Occupational Health and Safety management system and what scope is being assessed for certification?

Does it include those hazards and risks which you can control or over which you could be expected to have an influence upon?

Is the scope of the OHS management system defined and formally documented within your organisation’s OHS management system (OHSMS) documentation?

Are there activities that are excluded from the scope of the OHS management system and are the reasons for exclusion acceptable?

4.2 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

Has top management defined and authorised your organisation’s OH&S policy?

. Is the policy consistent with the scope of the OH&S

management system?

. Is the policy appropriate to the nature, scale and

OH&S risks in your activities, products or services?

. What commitment does your policy make to continual improvement?

. What commitment does your policy make to the prevention of injury and ill heath in the workplace?

. Does the OH&S policy include a commitment to comply with applicable OH&S legislation and regulations, and with other requirements to which you subscribe that relate to your OH&S hazards (e.g. Industry sector guidelines)?

. Does the policy provide the framework for setting and reviewing OH&S objectives?
. Is the OH&S policy documented, implemented and maintained?

. How is the policy communicated to all persons working under the control of the organization?

. How is the policy made available to the interested parties?

. Is the policy reviewed at regular intervals and what triggers will result in the review to be undertaken by the organisation?

4.3 PLANNING

4.3.1 Hazard Identification, risk assessment and determining controls.

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure for the ongoing identification of hazards, assessment of their risk and determining the necessary controls?

How do the procedures for hazard identification and risk assessment:-

a) Take into account the routine and non- routine activities of the organisation?

b) Take into account the activities of all persons accessing the workplace including contractors and visitors?

c) Take into account the human behaviour, capabilities and other human factors?

d) Take into account the identified hazards including those that may originate from outside the workplace that are capable of adversely affecting the health and safety of persons under the control of the organisation within the workplace?

e) Take into account the hazards created in the vicinity of the workplace by work-related activities under the control of the organisation

(Note that these hazards may need to be

assessed as an environmental aspect– refer to the ISO14001 checklist section 4.3.1)?

f) Take into account how the infrastructure, equipment and materials at the workplace from all sources affect the organisation?

g) Take into account the changes or proposed changes to the organization, its activities or materials?

h) Take into account how modifications to the OH&S system, whether they be temporary or not, impact on the operations, processes and activities of the organisation?

i) Take into account any applicable legal obligations relating to risk assessment and the implementation of controls?

j) Take into account the effects of the design of

work areas, processes, installations, machinery/equipment, operating procedures and work organisations, including their adaptation to human capabilities?

How is your organisation’s methodology for hazard identification and risk assessment defined with respect to its scope, nature and timing to ensure it is proactive rather than reactive?

How does the methodology provide for the identification, prioritisation and documentation of the risks and the application of the controls to be used?

How does your organisation identify, for the management of change, the OH&S hazards and OH&S risks associated with the changes in the organisation, the OH&S management system, or its activities, prior to introducing the changes?

How does your organisation ensure that the results of these assessments are taken into account when determining the controls to be used?

How do the controls determined, or when considering changes to existing controls, also taken into account the reduction of the risks using the hierarchy of controls in the order of

a) elimination;

b) substitution;

c) engineering controls;

d) signage/warnings and/or administrative controls;

e) personal protective equipment?

How does your organisation document and keep the results of the identification of hazards, risk assessment and determination of controls up-to- date?

How does your organisation ensure that the OH&S risks and determined controls are taken into account when establishing, implementing and maintaining its OH&S management system?

4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirements

Has a procedure been established and implemented to identify and access legal and other OH&S requirements (e.g. State and Federal Acts and regulations, codes of practice, guidance notes, Australian/New Zealand and industry standards) that are applicable to it?

How are these identified applicable legal and other requirements which your organisation subscribes to, taken into account when establishing and implementing your OH&S management system (e.g. objectives, monitoring and measuring, training, auditing etc)?

How are the above procedure(s) maintained? How does your organisation ensure the legal and

other requirements are kept up-to-date?

How does your organisation communicate the relevant information on legal and other requirements to persons working under their control and any other relevant interested parties? (i.e. to employees,

contractors, visitors and any other interested person).

Note: it does not imply that these people are required to have a legal qualification but a fundamental understanding of their duty with respect to the areas communicated to them by the organisation.

4.3.3 Objectives & Programme(s)

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained documented OH&S objectives?

Have these been established at relevant functions and levels within the organisation?

Has your organisation established, implemented & maintained a programme(s) for achieving its objectives?

Are the objectives measurable (where practical) and consistent with the OH&S policy including the commitments to:

􁪽 prevention of injury and ill health?

􁪽 compliance with legal and other requirements including those it subscribes to?

􁪽 continual improvement ?

When setting your objectives how do you take into account:

􁪽 legal and other requirements including those it subscribes to?

􁪽 its OH&S risks?

􁪽 its technological options?

􁪽 its financial, operational and business

requirements?

􁪽 the views of relevant interested parties?

Who is responsible and authorised at the different levels of your organisation for implementing the programme(s)?

What are the means and timeframes for achieving the different objectives?

How does your organisation ensure that programme(s) are amended as a result of new developments, new or modified activities, products and services?

Has your organisation set planned intervals to review and adjust the objectives so that they are achieved?

4.4 IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION

4.4.1 Resources, roles, responsibility, accountability & authority

How does your organisation demonstrate that the ultimate responsibility for OH&S and the OH&S management system lies with the Top Management?

Does the Top Management demonstrate its commitment by:

a) ensuring that resources essential to establishing, maintaining and improving the OH&S Management system are available? Do these resources include:

§ human resources?

§ specialised skills?

§ organisational infrastructure?

§ technology?

§ financial resources

b) How are the roles, responsibility, accountabilities and authorities defined, documented and communicated in order to achieve effective OH&S management?

Has your organisation appointed a member(s) from Top Management with specific responsibilities and defined roles and authority for :

a) ensuring that the OH&S management system is established, implemented and maintained in accordance with the OHSAS18001 standard?

b) ensuring that reporting on the performance of the OH&S management system is presented to Top Management for review and used as the basis to identify improvements to the OH&S management system.

How is the identity of the Top Management appointee made available to all persons working under the control of your organisation?

How do all those with management responsibility demonstrate their commitment to continual improvement of the OH&S performance?

How does your organisation ensure that persons in the workplace take responsibility for the aspects of OH&S over which they have control, including adhering to the organisation’s applicable OH&S requirements?

4.4.2 Competence, training and awareness

How does your organisation ensure that all persons working for them, or under their control (e.g. staff, contractors, shift workers, casual staff, labour hire etc), are competent to undertake the tasks that can impact on OH&S?

Note: Assessment of competence can be on the basis of appropriate education, training and/or experience.

Has your organisation retained competency associated records?

How does your organisation identify training needs associated with its OH&S risks and its OH&S management system?

Has training, or other actions required to meet these needs been delivered, the effectiveness of the training evaluated and associated records retained?

Has a procedure(s) been established, implemented and maintained to ensure that the people working for, or under the control of your organisation are aware

of:

a) the OH&S consequences, actual or potential, of their work activities, their behaviour and

the OH&S benefits of improved personal performance?

b) their roles and responsibilities and importance of conforming to the OH&S policy, procedures and to the requirements of their OH&S management system including emergency preparedness and response requirements?

c) do they understand the potential consequences if they deviate from the specified procedures?

Do the training procedures take into account different levels of:

i. responsibility?

ii. ability?

 

iii. language skills?

iv. literacy?

v. risk?

4.4.3 Communication, Participation and

Consultation

4.4.3.1 Communication

As relevant to its OH&S risks and OH&S Management System, has your organisation established, implemented and maintained procedure(s) for:

a) internal communication between the various levels and functions of your organisation?

b) communication with contractors and other visitors to the workplace?

c) receiving, documenting and responding to relevant communication from external interested parties?

4.4.3.2 Participation and Consultation

Are workers informed about the arrangement of their participation and who is their representative(s) on OH&S matters?

Note: In Australia and New Zealand the various states and territories have specific legislative requirements for the election, training and

representation of members on the consultative

OH&S process.

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained procedure(s) for:

a) the participation of workers and has this taken into account -

i. their involvement in hazard identification, risk assessments and determining controls?

ii. their involvement in incident investigations?

iii. their involvement in the development and review of the OH&S Policies and objectives?

iv. that they be consulted where there are changes that effect their OH&S?

v. that they have representation on OH&S

matters?

b) the consultation with contractors where there are changes that affect their OH&S?

How does your organisation ensure that, when appropriate, the relevant external interested parties are consulted about pertinent OH&S matters?

4.4.4 Documentation System

Does your organisation’s OH&S management system documentation include:

􁪽 the OH&S policy, objectives?

􁪽 a description of the scope of the OH&S

management system?

􁪽 a description of the main elements of the OH&S management system, their interaction and reference to related documents?

􁪽 documents and records required by the

Standard?

􁪽 Documents, including records, necessary for the effective planning, operation and control of processes related to its OH&S risks?

4.4.5 Control of documents

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s) for controlling all documents required by this OHSAS 18001 standard?

Does the procedure address:

(a) Who approves the documents for adequacy before they are issued?

(b) how they are periodically reviewed, updated and re-approved as necessary?

(c) how changes and the current revision status are identified?

(d) How current versions of relevant documents are made available at points of use?

(e) How the legibility and identification of the documents is ensured?

(f) How external documents, as determined by the organisation to be necessary for the planning and operation of the safety management system are identified and their distribution controlled?

(g) How to prevent obsolete documents against unintended use, and apply suitable identification to them if they are retained for any purpose?

4.4.6 Operational Control

How has your organisation determined the operations and activities that are associated with the identified hazard(s) and implementation of controls is necessary to manage the OH&S risk(s).

Has the management of change been included (4.3.1)?

From the identified hazard(s) and OH&S risk(s) has your organization implemented and maintained:

a) operational controls, as applicable to your organisation and its activities?

b) integrated operational controls into its

OH&S management system?

c) controls related to purchased goods, equipment and services?

d) controls related to contractors and other visitors to the workplace?

e) documented procedures, to cover situations where their absence could lead to deviations from the OH&S policy and the OH&S objectives?

f) stipulated operating criteria where their absence could lead to deviations from the OH&S policy and OH&S objectives?

4.4.7 Emergency Preparedness and Response

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s):

a) to identify the potential emergency situations?

b) and to response to such emergency situations?

Does the procedure(s) cover how your organisation will respond to actual emergency situations?

Does the procedure(s) cover how your organisation will prevent or mitigate the associated adverse OH&S consequences?

4.5 CHECKING

4.5.1 Performance Measurement and

Monitoring

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s) to monitor and measure OH&S performance, on a regular basis and does the procedure(s) provide for

(a) both qualitative and quantitative measures, as appropriate for your organisation needs?

(b) monitoring of the extent to which your organisation’s OH&S objectives are met?

(c) monitoring the effectiveness of controls for both health and safety?

(d) proactive measures of performance that monitor the conformance with your OH&S programme(s), controls and operational criteria?

(e) reactive measures of performance that monitor ill health, incidents, accidents, near misses, potential incidents, etc and other historical evidence of deficient OH&S performance?

(f) recording of data and results of monitoring and measurement sufficient to assist in the analysis of corrective and preventative action(s).

How is monitoring and measuring equipment calibrated or verified and maintained (procedure)?

Are calibration or verification records retained?

4.5.2 Evaluation of compliance

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s) for periodically evaluating its compliance with the applicable legal and other requirements identified in clause 4.3.2 of this standard?

Has your organisation evaluated its compliance with other requirements identified in clause 4.3.2 of this standard?

Are the records of the results of these periodic evaluations maintained?

4.5.3 Incident Investigation, Non-conformity, Corrective & Preventive Action

4.5.3.1 Incident Investigation

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s) to record, investigate and analyse incidents:

a) in order to determine any underlying OH&S deficiencies and other factors that might be causing or contributing to the occurrence of incidents?

b) in order to identify the need for corrective action

c) in order to identify opportunities for

preventative action and continual improvement

d) in order to communicate the results of the investigation.

4.5.3.2 Non-conformity, Corrective & Preventive

Action

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained a procedure(s) for :

(a) dealing with actual and potential non- conformities, and

(b) corrective and preventive action?

Do your procedures define requirements for:

(a) identifying and correcting non-conformities and taking action to mitigate the resulting OH&S consequences?

(b) Investigating the non-conformities, determining their causes and take action to avoid their recurrence?

(c) Evaluating the need for actions to be taken to prevent non-conformities, and implementing appropriate actions?

4.5.4 Control of Records

Has your organisation established, implemented and maintained procedures for the identification, storage, protection, retrieval, retention and disposal of OH&S records?

How are these updated?

Do these records include those that are necessary to demonstrate conformity to the requirements of the standard and include (for example), records of:

(a) competence, training & awareness? (b) communication?

(c) evaluation of compliance with legal and other requirements?

(d) monitoring and measurement? (e) corrective & preventive action? (f) Internal audits?

(g) Management review?

Are the records legible, identifiable and traceable? How do you store the OH&S records in order that

they are readily retrievable and protected against damage, deterioration or loss?

Do you have a backup procedure for electronic records?

4.5.5 Internal Audit

Has your organisation planned, established, implemented and maintained a programme and procedure(s) for periodic internal audits to be conducted?

Do these internal audits determine whether or not the OH&S management system:

(a) conforms to planned arrangements for OH&S management including the requirements of this standard, and

(b) has been properly implemented and maintained? (c) is effective in meeting your organisation’s policy

and objectives?

How does the audit programme take into account the OH&S risk assessments of your organisations concerns, and the results of previous audits?

How does your organisation provide information on the results of audits to management?

Does the audit procedure cover:

(a) the responsibilities, competencies, and requirements for planning and conducting audits, reporting results and retention of associated records?

(b) The determination of audit criteria, scope, frequency and methods?

How is the competency of the OH&S auditors used determined?

How does the selection of auditors and the conduct of audits ensure objectivity and impartiality of the audit process?

4.6 MANAGEMENT REVIEW

Has your organisation’s top management (at planned intervals) reviewed the OH&S management system, to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness?

Does the review include assessing opportunities for improvement and the need for changes to the OH&S Management System, including the OH&S policy an OH&S objectives?

Do the inputs to management review include:

(a) results from internal audits and evaluations of compliance with legal and other requirements?

(b) the results of participation and consultation? (c) relevant communication from external parties,

including complaints?

(d) the OH&S performance

(e) the extent to which the objectives have been

met?

(f) the status of incident investigations, corrective and preventive actions

(g) follow-up actions from previous management reviews

(h) changing circumstances, including developments in legal and other requirements related to OH&S, and

(i) recommendations for improvement?

 Do the outputs from the management review include decisions and actions related to possible changes to the OH&S policy, objectives, resources, OH&S performance and other elements of the OH&S management system, and consistent with the commitment to continual improvement?

Are therecords of the management reviews retained and made available for communicationand consultation?