Management Indicators for Occupational Health and Safety

The Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) are often used as aggregators of the effective treatment of the needs of organizations in the theme of OHS and its implementation "avoids resource loss, as well as documents and responsibilities dispersion"(Vieira, 2004). In the last decade, several Portuguese companies have chosen to demonstrate the commitment of systematic compliance with applicable law and promoting continuous improvement of OHS through the implementation and certification of OHSMS according with the international references. The monitoring and selection of robust performance indicators and that accomplish of the company goals are key aspects in management and also in OHSMS, which allows to obtain the involvement and motivation of top and middle management, to prioritizing actions and decisions making in a timely way and encourages the delegation of authority and accountability (Hugues, Snow, & Roberts, 2002). This study aimed to make a reflection and critical analysis of the performance indicators implemented in a large Portuguese water company, which as a OHSMS implemented for over a decade and certified since 2003.