Implementing an Occupational Health and Safety System - Essay Example

Implementation of a Safety Management System In the present day and age, many countries have accorded a greater importance to occupational health and safety for the workforce through legislation. Businesses, large and small, have a responsibility to ensure that they are able to provide a safe working environment for their employees. Investments in safety can be of benefit to an organization in terms of greater employee satisfaction, loyalty, business respectability and act as an insurance against much larger financial outlays in the event of an accident as well as assisting in the prevention of human suffering. Hence, it is important that all business, large, medium as well as small have an occupational health and safety system in place within the organization. The most prevalent occupational health and safety standard which is in existence today is the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series OHSAS 18001standard, which is suited to many organizations large and small. It has been implemented in many countries including the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan etc with the support of the local standards institutes. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Chrysler have all thrown their lot with this standard which is also supported by the British Standards Institute. In the absence of an International Standards Organization or ISO standard, the OHSAS standard is the one widely accepted standard recognized all across the world. In this brief essay, an attempt has been made to investigate how a newly started small business may be able to set itself on the path to incorporating the OHSAS 18001 based occupational health and safety management system within its broader system of corporate management. Introduction Implementing an occupational health and safety system is important in a business because the business has legal responsibilities to provide for the safety and welfare of its employees. Unsafe working environment is in the long run counter productive for those who have interests in a business organization, including the stakeholders, employees and perhaps even those with business dealings with the company. An occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) provides a framework for managing the occupational health and safety responsibilities of a business so that they become more efficient and more integrated into overall business operations. Faced with such responsibilities, it is important for a company to try and follow an established standard related to safety and occupational health in its business operations. Many countries have been waiting for the International Standards Organization, the ISO to announce an international standard related to safety, but in its absence, the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series OHSAS 18001 is the most prevalent occupational health and safety system in the world, recommended by many national standards bodies and accepted by a large number of small, medium and large manufacturing organizations including Toyota, Honda, Chrysler etc. The OHSAS standard is applicable to any organization that wants to eliminate or minimize risk to employees and other interested parties who may be exposed to such risks. The organization which wants to follow the safety doctrine of OHSAS 18001 can also continually improve an OH&S management system, demonstrate such conformance to others and seek certification / registration of its OH&S management system by an external organization as well as make a declaration of conformance with this OHSAS specification, which can be good for business. The OHSAS 18001 standard can be downloaded from the British Standards Institute website (UNESCO), (British Standards Institute) and (Robson). Just as when trying to implement a quality system in an organization, implementation of an occupational health and safety system requires that there should be a commitment from senior organizational management towards safety at work. Thus a senior business manager will be delegated the task of managing the corporate occupational health and safety system. The top management will then delegate responsibilities related to identification of risks and hazards, identification of unsafe work practices, maintenance of accident records, safety training of employees and handling of communications related to safety within the organization to other employees at different levels within the organization. The most important consideration in the implementation of an occupational health and safety system is to try and identify unsafe areas and work practices within the organization. Perhaps there is an area in the workshop which needs proper lighting, perhaps there is a dangerous staircase or perhaps there are toxic chemical contaminants present in certain areas which can prove to be a danger to human health. After these hazards have been identified, steps can be taken to reduce such hazards to acceptable limits by corrective work such as installation of adequate lighting, exhaust or ventilation or strengthening the railing of the staircase. Safety risks can develop at any time and hence formal as well as informal safety audits need to be conducted on a continuous basis. Workers also need to be educated about safety at work and to refrain from unsafe work practices such as carrying heavy weights without mechanical assistance and bending their backs for prolonged periods of time. Workers on the shop floors have to be empowered to deal with safety related issues and record accidents by giving them a formal status of safety supervisors for their area of work. Recording of workplace accidents is important because these accidents can have legal consequences and cause financial losses as well as human suffering. Recording of accidents is also necessary in order to investigate the causes of such accidents so that their causes can be removed and safety improved on a continual basis. Spending a little on safety today can mean employee loyalty as well as savings on much larger accident bills in the future along with a good impression amongst those who interact with the business. Larger business can also attempt to cultivate a safety culture in the industry at large by preferring to do business with those who have occupational health and safety systems implemented in their organizations (UNESCO) and (Nisipeanu). In this brief essay, an attempt has been made to investigate how an occupational health and safety system can be implemented, maintained and managed in a small or medium sized organization. Implementing, Maintaining and Managing a OHSAS 18001 based Occupational Health and Safety System In order to maintain and emphasize on the importance of health and safety in an organization, there must be documentation related to a description of the management system and archiving as well as control of all documents, records and data related to such a safety system. Emergency response plans and procedures must also be considered, prepared and be ready for implementation in the event of an emergency. Have the fire extinguishers been placed at the appropriate locations? Are first aid kits available? Have the telephone numbers of emergency services such as ambulance, medical centre, fire services and police been recorded and prominently displayed at suitable locations? In organizations where there is a danger of hazardous chemical leaks or injury as a result of mechanical machinery, has a contingency plan been developed to deal with an emergency and rehearsed or communicated to the employees through the safety supervisor? Is there a well defined and established supervisory cadre which has been empowered and can take charge in an emergency to deal with the situation? These are just some of the important considerations that are involved when trying to implement a formal occupational health and safety system in an organization. Those who are responsible for the occupational health and safety system will have to maintain documents related to emergency plans, reporting of accidents and safety incidents, reporting of safety related communications from all parties concerned with the involvement of employees and inward communications related to safety as well as hazard related alerts. A register of hazards in a work area will have to be provided and maintained by the designated safety supervisor in a work area or site. Formal and informal meetings on a periodic basis as well as continuous corporate communications related to safety can keep those who are involved in maintaining the occupational health and safety system informed, on the alert as well as capable of providing a continuous improvement of the system (Robson). The essential ingredients of a management system which can cater to the occupational health and safety needs of an organization consist of a policy statement of commitment, planning for hazard identification, organizing for safety by delegating responsibilities, encouraging worker representation, encouraging two-way communication about safety issues and consulting with others including trade regulators, other industry partners and trade unions about safety. Implementation of management processes and audits of the system are required to derive practical benefits and performance of these implementations can be measured from the data and feedback which is accumulated as a result of the reporting of safety incidents or hazards in a systematic manner. Corrective and preventive action in the form of systematic efforts to identify opportunities and practices to prevent ill health are possible as a result of the data generated by the health and safety system. Management review of safety reports and setting of objectives to do better gives the safety team goals to achieve and results in a process of continual improvement. Introduction of new working arrangements, new products or services, business growth and change as well as business reorganization, induction of new employees and mergers or takeovers will demand that changes be made to the existing occupational health and safety system. Such changes are a part of life and will have to be catered to by those who are responsible for maintaining the safety systems in an organization. The management system is in fact a manual which describes what is done in practice, the policy commitment, the structure of the occupational health and safety management team, delegation and responsibility, reporting forms, accident report forms, emergency plans, statistics related to health and safety in the organization, training requirements, actual training that is conducted etc. Internal or external audits can be conducted periodically to see how effectively the system is performing. The auditors will be looking for signs of compliance with reporting procedures, safety statistics, safety related communications, emergency plans which have been developed and designation of personnel with training to assess that the system is adequately catering to the safety requirements in the organization. Applicable laws, standards, prescriptive laws and management goals may also be included in the occupational health and safety manual. The process of preparing such a manual will by itself be an instructive exercise and can teach a lot to the management of a small company which has just started in business about health and safety management. Larger companies with multi site operations will require complex management systems with many activities and site safety manuals to have an adequate occupational health and safety system. For the relatively small firms, calling in external safety auditors may not be desirable or mandatory, however, for the larger firms or those who are so inclined externally conducted safety audits may be required by law or may be desirable by the firm in order to ensure that the safety and occupational health management system is working adequately. Such audits can also provide opportunities for continual improvement to the system, especially if the auditors are specially trained auditors (IOSH). The OHSAS 18001 Process for Safety Enhancement Occupational health and safety audits should not be allowed to degenerate into a contest between those who are trying to hide things and those who are trying to expose these weaknesses. Transparent performance standards or published standards such as the OHSAS 18001 provide a basis for measurement of performance related to occupational health and safety. Small organizations with nothing very hazardous being undertaken can be audited relatively quickly, however, larger organizations such as large chemical plants manufacturing toxic chemicals, automobile manufacturing plants and other heavy industries can require exhaustive auditing involving visits to many areas in order to ensure that the health and safety of all is protected adequately. It is important to be safe then to be sorry as may be observed from some of the potential accidents that can occur and which have occurred, in industries. Obviously those who conduct safety audits are specially trained or experienced personnel and can provide great insights as well as benefits to an organization. A small company may hire a safety consultant to conduct an audit and provide input on how to improve the system which will have been put into place by the managers of the company responsible for occupational health and safety systems (IOSH). The risks and hazards that may be required to be monitored or controlled can vary from one organization to the other. Some examples of such risks affecting safety can include those arising out of noise, ventilation, air contamination involving chemicals or particles, fire, plant and equipment risks, manual handling risks related to ergonomics, risks associated with vehicle movement within a plant, risks associated with parts and the handling of parts, risk related to electrical safety, work practices, vision, hygiene, food being presented to workers and much more (Honda). In many organizations, it is possible to integrate the occupational health and management system, the environmental management system and the quality system into an integrated management system. Integration can refer to commonality of structure and management or having a single top level “core” with optional modular standards covering specific requirements. Full integration can mean that individual systems can loose their identity, resulting in a single, multi-purpose integrated management system. Partial integration can result in attempts to use available resources and having similar objectives and processes. Such harmonization is possible because the links between quality, environment and safety are so numerous as well as important that sometimes it is difficult to make a distinction. The OHSAS 18001 has been developed to be compatible with the ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 14001 management systems. In integrated management systems, standards and internal systems are brought together. Hence, duplication of reporting, forms, documents and archiving may be eliminated. Safety related elements may be integrated into environmental related elements quite easily and quality can be integrated rather broadly (Nisipeanu) and (Stamou). An Integrated Management System Providing Cross-Functional Expertise, Shared Information and Coordinated Practices Even small and medium-sized companies can attempt to integrate the various management systems in their organizations and the rewards of such integration can include improvement in the internal efficiency and quality of management as well as prevention of duplicating of efforts, procedures and resources. Such savings in duplication will invariably result in financial rewards for the company. However, efforts to have an integrated management system will require managerial expertise on the part of those who implement management systems and also effort. Attitudes and perceptions are also a drawback in attempts to develop an integrated management system for small organizations because most managers consider them to be too revolutionary for a small business. Considerable effort and analysis are required for such implementations (Nisipeanu) and (Stamou). The Integrated Quality, Environment and Safety Management System A Six Sigma approach to occupational health and safety system involving statistical measurement, business strategy, philosophy, linking values with systems and having a team based approach has proven to be of value in enhancing the effectiveness of the system. Sigma can be calculated by using the defect or accident rate from charts and yields a measure for capability. The Six Sigma is more of a quantitative approach along with themes related to genuine focus, data and fact-driven management, concentrating on processes, using tools, a drive for perfection and attempts towards collaboration without boundaries. Such an approach cannot be justified in the very small firms and is suited to the larger ones seeking to have an excellent safety and management system with performance measures (Kaliher). Conclusion Occupational health and safety systems have assumed an importance because of the desire of governments as well as labor unions to provide workers with compensation for safety related accidents and a safe working environment. Time and effort directed towards the implementation of an occupational health and safety system for the workplace is an investment that pays off really well in terms of employee happiness, loyalty and productivity as well as savings in worker’s compensation. The OHSAS 18001 is a system which is well accepted and widely used for companies of any size and its adoption is of real benefit because this standard has been designed to work with other international standards related to the environment and quality. References / Bibliography 1. British Standards Institute. “OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety”. British Standards Institute. 2004. June 28, 2005. http://www.bsi-global.com/Global/OHSAS18001.xalter 2. Honda. “Safety and Environment Report 2001”. Honda. 2002. June 29, 2005. http://www.mfg.honda.co.uk/InterNet/humpolicy.nsf/Attachments/SAEPolicy/$file/Safety+and+Environment+Report+2001.pdf 3. IOSH. “Systems in Focus”. IOSH. 2003. June 29, 2005. http://www.iosh.co.uk/files/technical/TIGSystemsinFocus0302wv.pdf 4. Kaliher, Thomas L. “IMPROVE SAFETY, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF SIX SIGMA “. University of Wisconsin – Stout. May, 2003. June 29, 2005. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2003/2003kalihert.pdf 5. Nisipeanu, Steluta and Raluca Stepa. “Implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System”. LIBRA. 2003. June 28, 2005. http://www.protectiamuncii.ro/publications/implementarea_mssm_en.shtml 6. Robson, Lynda et al. “The Effectiveness of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems: A Systematic Review”. Institute for Work and Health. 2005. June 28, 2005. http://www.iwh.on.ca/products/images/IWH_OHSMS.pdf 7. Stamou, Thofanis. “Integrated Management Systems in Small Medium-Sized Enterprises: Theory and Practice”. MSc Dissertation, University of East Anglia. 2003. 8. UNESCO. “Occupational Health and Safety: An Annotated Bibliography of Research and Related Literature (1998 - 2003). UNESCO. 2004. June 29, 2005. http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/publications/pdf/AB5_HealthSafety.pdf Read More