BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety

What is OHSAS 18001?

OHSAS 18001 is the bench-mark for occupational health and safety recognised around the globe. It is intended to help an organisation control health and safety risks. It was developed in response to widespread demand for a recognised standard against which to be certified and assessed.

OHSAS 18001 sets out the requirements for planning and managing a health and safety system that takes into account inputs from regulatory requirements, stakeholders and members of the public. It sends out a strong message that your organisation operates your business in a safe and healthy manner. It provides a framework for improvement in health and safety performance and will communicate credibility and confidence to your customers and employees.

A Health and Safety Management system provides a structure for managing safety responsibilities so that they become more efficient and more integrated into overall operations. This framework allows an organisation to understand, describe and control its significant health and safety impacts, ensure compliance with health and safety legislation and continually improve its business operations.

Who is it relevant to?

OHSAS 18001 may be adopted by any organisation of any size in any industry or sector. It is especially relevant to those organisations that operate in heavily regulated sectors or where safety is a critical factor.

What are the benefits?

Benefits include:-

• Help to improve health and safety performance within available budgets
• Reduce accidents and subsequent lost time
• Present opportunities for more efficient planning
• Reduce costs to the business, insurance costs, cost of claims and costs of compliance
• Improve social impacts and impacts upon the general public and community
• Provide peace of mind and improve risk management in the business

OHSAS 18001 certification can be used as an effective sales and marketing tool, giving your company the competitive edge. By demonstrating an innovative and forward thinking approach to health and safety issues, you will not only improve morale within your company but will also lead to a better public perception of your company.

Publicising your commitment to health and safety will raise your company’s profile and also lead to better community awareness of health and safety matters. It will also demonstrate your commitment to health and safety and provide confidence and credibility to your customers, trade partners, stakeholders, regulators and local authorities.

Why choose Blackmores?

Blackmores is a unique Management Systems consultancy that specialises in implementing management systems.  We make the transition to successful accreditation painless, cost effective and timely allowing you time to focus on what you do best – running events. Blackmores will help you to successfully achieve OHSAS 18001 certification and as a result will see significant reductions in health and safety impacts and costs, improve safety performance and provide opportunities to become ‘preferred suppliers’, giving you the edge over your competitors. Through Health and Safety Management System certification, commercial gain as well as safety benefits can be realised. Blackmores also provide a unique ‘Q-Care’ service that provides you with ongoing support and management assistance.

Do you already have ISO 9001 or ISO 14001?

If you already have ISO 9001 and/or ISO 14001 you are half way there to attaining OHSAS 18001.
The fundamental procedures within ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are mirrored in OHSAS 18001; therefore Blackmores can help you to seamlessly integrate the standards into an integrated management system. 

To find out how your business could improve its health and safety management and reduce its operating costs by implementing a Health and Safety Management System, contact Blackmores on 01462 731242 or e-mail enquiries@bqms.co.uk

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