OHSAS 18001:2007 – UPDATE

OHSAS 18001:2007 revision more results-oriented

The OHSAS 18001:2007 standard, which published in July 2007, is more results-oriented than the earlier version.

The OHSAS 18001:2007 standard, published on 1 July 2007, is more results-oriented than the earlier version. It is better aligned with ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004. This will further encourage Management Systems integration and possibly increase the interest in OHSAS standard. Organizations already certified to OHSAS 18001 will have a two-year transition period, to end on 1 July 2009.

OHSAS 18001:1999 vs. OHSAS 18001:2007: Detailed comparison (PDF 46 KB)

About OHSAS 18001
Changes on the OHSAS standard 2007 version
How to get started with OHSAS 18001?

About OHSAS 18001

Many organizations are implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) as part of their risk management strategy to address changing legislation and protect their workforce.

An OHSMS promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing a framework that allows organizations to consistently identify and control its health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance and improve overall performance.

OHSAS 18001 is the internationally recognized assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies to address a gap where no third-party certifiable international standard exists.
The following key areas are addressed by OHSAS 18001
Hazard identification, risk assessment and determining controls
Legal and other requirements
Objectives and OHS program(s)
Resources, roles, responsibility, accountability and authority
Competence, training and awareness
Communication, participation and consultation
Operational control
Emergency preparedness and response
Performance measuring, monitoring and improvement
In 2005, the OHSAS Working Group started the process for revising OHSAS 18001:1999, Occupational health and safety management systems – specification. OHSAS 18001 is a specification document developed in 1999 by an independent group of national standards organizations and certification bodies.

An initial working draft of the revised OHSAS 18001 standard was circulated in January 2006 for public comment. Following a review of the 500 comments received on Working Draft 1 at a meeting of the OHSAS Working Group in Madrid, Spain in October of 2006, a second draft was circulated for comment in November of 2006.

The OHSAS Working Group met again in Shanghai, China in March of 2007. The 500+ comments on Working Draft 2 were reviewed and consensus was reached on the language of the revised standard.

Work on the companion document, OHSAS 18002, Occupational health and safety management systems – Guidelines for the implementation of OHSAS 18001 is initiated in July of 2007 and is expected to be officially published soon.

The recent meeting of the OHSAS Project Group in Shanghai was very successful, and led to an agreed text to take forward for publication. It was made during the meeting limited, but critical changes to the text when compared to WD2 of OHSAS 18001 (e.g. to clarify the issues around the "place of work", "consultation" etc.).

The draft still needs to go through re-formatting, final editing and typesetting before it is ready for publication.

How to get started with OHSAS 18001?
Inquire via email about our OHSAS 18001 certification Services