Certification of occupational health and safety management systems

Growing interest in the development of guidance and standards in the field of occupational health and safety (OHS) has been accompanied by an increasing demand for independent third party assessment and certification of OHS management systems. This has led to the development of certification schemes based on BS 8800, and, more recently, to the development of OHSAS 18001. This paper describes the current status of these initiatives, and the prospects for further development towards an international standard. It goes on to discuss the similarities and differences between OHSAS 18001 and the familiar ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 standards for quality and environmental management. It describes some of the aspects of OHS management that appear to present organisations with the greatest challenge, based on the experience of LRQA's OHS assessment programme initiated in 1997. Finally it discusses ways in which the value of formal OHS management systems, and their independent assessment, may be judged.