10 Tips for Implementing OHSAS 18001

Last week, British Standards Institute (BSI) hosted a webinar on Tricks to Implementing OHSAS 18001. Presenter Denise Wecker Seipke, an EHS manager at BSI, discussed ten things safety professionals should consider when implementing OHSAS 18001, many of which can also be applied to implementation of other occupational safety and health management standards, such as the ANSI/AIHA/ASSE Z10 standard.

1. Get commitment and support from senior management.
2. Engage the entire business using good internal communication.
3. Compare existing safety and health practices to those required by OHSAS 18001.
4. Get staff and supplier feedback on current safety and health management.
5. Establish an implementation team in order to get the best results.
6. Map out and share roles and responsibilities, and maintain well-defined timescales.
7. Adapt OHSAS 18001 requirements to best suit your business rather than starting from scratch.
8. Get staff involved using training and incentives.
9. Share OHSAS 18001 knowledge, and encourage staff to train as internal auditors.
10. Regularly review your OHSAS 18001 system to ensure that you are continually improving it.

Find out about future BSI webinars here.