Management System Audits
What is an Occupational Health and Safety Management System?
An Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is a systematic approach to managing health and safety risks.
An occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) audit is wide scope, and although addresses hazards and risk controls, it also looks at the high level; the organisations’ structure, planning activities, responsibilities, implemented procedures, review cycles and measurement and evaluation issues.
An OHSMS helps organisations to continually improve their safety performance and to comply with health and safety legislation and standards, and thereby establish safer workplaces that protect people at work by eliminating, or better managing, health and safety hazards.
Benefits of having an OHSMS
An OHSMS can benefit any organisation, no matter how small, in the following ways:
- To create safer workplaces
- To reduce injuries and illnesses and other related costs by preventing injuries or illnesses occurring in the first instance.
- To improve business. This is because other reputable businesses would prefer to purchase products or services from organisations that have an established OHSMS
- By having systems that can track OHS performance and therefore opportunities for improvement
OHSMS Effectiveness
Irrespective of the size of your organisation, your OHSMS should have the following characteristics:
- Evidence of a health and safety policy that is endorsed by a senior manager with executive responsibility and is communicated to all employees and contractors
- Evidence of management commitment (managers / supervisors / team leaders)
- Accountability for health and safety matters and delegated responsibilities
- Implemented controls for suppliers, sub-contractors and for purchasing activities
- Evidence of health and safety consultation
- Hazard identification, evaluation and control
- Provision of information and training for workers
- Incident recording, investigation, analysis and review
- Safety performance measurement and an evaluation of the workplace
Many organisations undertake these audits on an annual basis by appropriately trained internal staff or by an independent external third party. This is where we can assist you in undertaking an audit as a third party.
Our principal auditor (Jim Pashalidis) who is certified by Exemplar Global has undertaken numerous management system audits in Australia and in the Asian Pacific Region dating back to 2004 as both a lead auditor and as part of a team, against the following audit tools:
- AS/NZS 4801: 2001 and (OHSAS 18001: 2007) – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
- AS/NZS 1SO 45001:2018 –Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
- OHSAS 18001: 2007 – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
- National Self Insurer OHS Audit Tool
- SafetyMap
- AS/NZS 14001 – Environmental Management Systems
- ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management Systems
At the completion of the audit a comprehensive report will be generated that details your organisation’s level of performance or compliance against the chosen standard. This is supported by detailed verifications to substantiate the findings with reference made to specific regulatory requirements and / or Australian / International Standards where necessary or appropriate to further substantiate the findings.
The report can be presented to your management or executive team by the auditor that had undertaken the audit to qualify each individual finding.