Internationally, there have been many attempts to identify the success factors for effective Health and Safety programmes and develop the relative management systems.
New Zealand business has primarily followed the AS/NZS 4801, 4804 and the OHSAS 18001 for measurement, application, and verification of management systems.
But with the withdrawal of the NZS 4801 programme and imminent removal of OHSAS 18001 programme, businesses face a systems verification dilemma.
Since the implementation of the HSW Act 2015, one national key audit process has been developed (the Safe Plus programme) and the internationally recognised ISO 45001 which was developed as an international standard by multiple business and trade unions.
With many common elements to the OHSAS 18001 and AS/NZS 4801 systems, organisations that retain either certification should be in a good position to transition to the ISO 45001 requirements.
Additionally, the base requirements for ISO 14001 (Environmental) and ISO 9001 (Quality) are shared in the system structure which allows business a head start to these additional standards if desired.
Many businesses will ask: what’s in it for me? (WiiFM)
Given the imminent withdrawal of the previous audit standards and subsequent certification, ISO 45001 is the natural heir apparent.
Clients, stakeholders and other PCBU will be looking for a recognised certification to enable the company into an application for tender process or simply as fulfilling their PCBU obligation to ensure engaged PCBU have a measure of competence to undertake works.
For PCBU contractors, they have long known of the labyrinth of pre-qualification requirements from individual clients – some require certification under a specific pre-qualification programme, other PCBU a differing one. This has been a waste of PCBU resourcing that has required duplication of work and productivity loss.
While it cannot be guaranteed that the existing pre-qualification processes will be entirely removed once ISO 45001 certification has been confirmed, initial indicators are that national and local government agencies will be looking for ISO 45001 certification as a pre-requisite for tendering purposes.
Companies that already have either AS/NZS 4801 or 18001 are well placed for ISO 45001 transition.
An integrated H&S, HS&E or HSEQ that is fit for purpose and proportional to the company size and activity is important. The audit standards have additional focus in the following areas:
At Intesafety, we’re proud of successfully producing integrated health and safety management systems specific to each business’ risks, that are compliant with the requirements of both AS/NZS 4801 and OHSAS 18001.
We are now developing our processes to include an HSE(Q) option for those companies that require ISO 14001 and 9001 compliant systems.
In association with our partner INX software, we can also provide an integrated HSEQ management software solution that has world leading HSEQ functionality, oversight and performance reporting capabilities.
Please call us to discuss your needs and how we can support your workplace HSEQ management systems development with ease.
Written by Aaron Neighbours.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending an ISO 45001 briefing regarding the transition from the terminal AS/NZS 4801 & 18001 Health and Safety Management Standards criteria.
What struck me during the presentation was the alignment to Intesafety’s existing approach of producing ISO standards compliant, risk based and integrated safety management systems.
We have previously based our management system development on the OHSAS 18001 format, then tailored these elements to suit each client’s organisation size, activities and associated risk profile.
By using this process, we have established a solid foundation for clients to migrate their existing systems into an ISO 45001 compliant system with minimum fuss, resourcing or cost.
Our plans and system documents clearly set out expectations for the management of health and safety. By working with a common system across all its operations, a standardised and consistent approach can be achieved between all Health and Safety, Environmental, and Quality operating activities.
System documentation links specific elements of the company HSMS to the Plan – Do – Check – Act (PDCA) continual improvement cycle. For each of these elements, a section is detailed within the main Health and Safety Management Plan to outline the objectives and key requirements as to how this will be achieved.
This diagram illustrates how each element relates to the key stages of the Plan (Stage 1), Do (Stage 2), Check (Stage 3) and Act (Stage 4) continual improvement cycle.
At Intesafety, we offer functional solutions to improve health and safety management by migrating to the Health and Safety software solution, INX InControl.
InControl HSEQ Management software has user-friendly and effective functionality for managing the majority of HSEQ management system requirements, as well as very advanced data analysis and reporting capabilities.
The system is heavily risk management focused. Along with its core event management and investigation capabilities, you can make your management system almost entirely paperless.
After it is implemented – you will wonder how you previously did without it!
With our clients maintaining compliance to their own specific management system requirements, we can now focus on the support required to transition them into the ISO 45001 audit requirements. This software solution means all the evidence required is at your fingertips if used correctly.
Reach out to us today if you are interested in achieving an integrated and ISO 45001 compliant system or migrating it to an effective HSEQ management software solution.
Written by Aaron Neighbours, Intesafety General Manager and Health & Safety Partner
