OHS18 -- Setting the Standard in Health & Safety Management

The OHSAS 18000 series of standards grew out of the global success of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series of Standards and the increasing demand by companies for a standard that addressed the management of managing safety in the workplace. Originally created from the British Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems BS 8800:1996, OHSAS 18001 was developed by a group of certification bodies (BSI, BVQI, SGS and others) to provide a common standard from which their clients could build and manage a standardized Occupational Health and Safety Management System.

The OHSAS 18000 series comprises two parts:

OHSAS 18001: Occupational Health and Safety Management Specifications. This part of the series is an assessment specification for health and safety management systems. It was developed in response to widespread demand for a recognized standard against which a company could be certified and assessed and could meet their health and safety obligations in an efficient manner.

OHSAS 18002:2000: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Guidelines for the Implementation of OHSAS 18001. OHSAS 18002 explains the requirements of the specification and shows a company how to work towards implementation and registration.

There are six primary sections that classify the requirements in OHSAS 18001. Within these six sections of the Standard are the specific requirements that an organization must apply to implement an Occupational Health and Safety Management System. The OHSAS 18001 series has been designed integrate with both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management systems with many sections and sub-clauses of each standard being very similar, such as management review, document control, and corrective and preventive action.