Occupational Health Management Systems (OHMS)

Question 1

What is a OHMS?

Answer 1

1. To ensure that you are not missing something
2. Assist by providing with tool to monitor own work at ongoing basis without the hassle to start from the beginning to monitor work
3. Provides you with prompts if there is something that you have missed
4. Integrate into the business processes
5. Systems will differ according to environment but will have similarities

Question 2

OHMS

Answer 2

• OHS should be performed systematically and continuously
• Systematic approach linking and sequencing of processes to manage occupational health and safety
• Corrective actions and system improvements flow from the cycle of monitoring, audit and review.
• Framework for managing and continually improving an organization’s occupational health processes.
• It describes the business processes, sets standards, monitors progress (performance), and has internal checking mechanisms that assure compliance with the standards

Question 3

Why have an OHMS?

Answer 3

To convert a fragmented (disparate) OHP performance profile into an integrated and organized system

Question 4

Features of an effective OHMS

Answer 4

• Must be integrated into the overall business management system
• Must be compatible with other Mx systems in the organization
• Up to date policy
• Inform about activities
• Contain information of everyone involved, including health and safety representatives
• Amount of employees, including amount working in risk based areas and prompt to say when they should follow up for medical surveillance

Question 5

Examples of OHMS

Answer 5

1. International Standards Organisation
   
   • ISO 9 000 (Quality Management)
   • ISO 14 000 (Environmental Management)
   • OHSAS (Occupational Health & Safety Standard) 18 000 (Health and Safety Management)
2. South African National Standards equivalent
   
   • Use OHSAS 18 000 (NOSA, other private entities)
3. Other:
   
   • USA: ANSI (American National Standards Institute)-2005
   • New Zealand/Austra1ia: AS/NZS 4801 (Int): 1999

Question 6

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Answer 6

• Network of the national standards bodies
• 149 countries
• Central office in Geneva, Switzerland
• Publish finished standards — 19 500 standards

Question 7

OHSAS 18001

Answer 7

• World’s first series of internationally accepted standards for OHS management.
• OHSAS 18001 elevates OHS management to a strategic level that can be applied to any organization, from any industry, anywhere in the world.

Question 8

Policy

Answer 8

• Defined by top management
• Consistent with organisation’s scale and nature of operations
• Documented, implemented and maintained
• Periodically reviewed to ensure relevancy
• Communicated throughout the organisation
• Available to the public

Question 9

Planning

Hazard Identification

Answer 9

• Identify workplace hazards and their corresponding risks
• Determine methods to control identified hazards and associated risks
• Hierarchy of control to be used as guide

Question 10

Planning

Legal / other requirements

Answer 10

• Identify the legal and other requirements that apply to the organisation
• Provide access to these requirements

Question 11

Planning

Objectives

Answer 11

• Legal and other requirements
• Financial, business and operational requirements
• Views of interested parties

Question 12

Planning

OHS Management Programs

Answer 12

• Develop a program that suits the organisation
• Management programs = action plans
• Must identify
  
  • Who is responsible to achieve objectives and targets
  • Time frame for activities
• Must be reviewed

Question 13

Implementation and operation

Resources, roles, responsibility and authority

Answer 13

• Defined
• Documented
• Communicated

Question 14

Implementation and operation

Training, competence and awareness

Answer 14

Awareness and training should include:

• Compliance with policies, procedures and requirements of OHMS
• Health and safety benefits of improved personal performance
• OH&S risk associated with work activities
• Individual roles and responsibilities including emergency preparedness and response
• Potential consequences of failing to follow specified operating procedures

Question 15

Implementation and operation

Consultation and communications

Answer 15

Employees must be:

• Involved in development and review of policies and procedures to manage risks
• Consulted when there are changes that affect workplace health and safety
• Knowledgeable of who their OHS representatives and who the management appointee(s) are
• Represented on health and safety matters

Question 16

Implemetation and operation

Documentation

Answer 16

• Format
• Archiving

Question 17

Implementation and operation

Control of documents

Answer 17

• Review and approval of documents by authorised personnel
• Revising documents when needed
• Locating and making documents available where they are needed by users
• Removing obsolete documents and safeguard it to prevent unintentional use

Question 18

Implementation and operation

Operational control

Answer 18

• Establish and maintaining documented procedures
• Establish and maintaining procedures for the design of facilities, equipment, processes, installations and work organisation to eliminate or reduce health and safety risks
• Stipulating operating criteria
• Communicate relevant procedures and requirements to suppliers and contractors to control the identified risks associated with procured products, services and equipment

Question 19

Implementation and operation

Emergency preparedness

Answer 19

• Develop appropriate procedures
• Review plans after incidents and accidents

Question 20

Checking and corrective action

Monitoring and measurement

Answer 20

• Qualitative and quantitative
• Methods to ensure monitoring of performance in achieving health and safety objectives
• Proactive measures of performance for conformance
• Reactive measure of performance to monitor accidents, ill health, incidents and other indictors of weakness in HSMS performance

Question 21

Checking and corrective actions

Accidents, incidents, nonconformance and corrective and preventitive action

Answer 21

Process must provide for:

• Investigation of handling accidents, incidents and non-conformances
• Appropriate action to mitigate the consequences that result from incidents
• Initiation and completion of corrective and preventative action to eliminate the cause
• Verification of the effectiveness of these actions

Question 22

Checking and Corrective Action

Records and record managment

Answer 22

Process must address:

• Identification and traceability of records
• Records maintenance and storage
• Protection of records against damage, deterioration and loss
• Record retrieval
• Record retention and disposal

Question 23

Checking and corrective action

Audit

Answer 23

Process must address:

• Auditor competencies
• Responsibilities and requirements for planning and conducting audits and reporting results
• Determination of audit criteria, scope, frequency and methods

Question 24

Management review

Answer 24

Top management must perform periodic management reviews of the HSMS to ensure its continuing:

• Suitability
• Adequacy
• Effectiveness