Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

Abstract

Occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) are a powerful risk management tool. They provide IH and EHS professionals with a robust and structured management approach. OHS management systems have significant roots in the quality management systems developed in United Sates in the early 20th century. ISO and other NGO standards have been developed with an eye toward the value of conformity assessment to ensure a common application of specific objectives identified in applicable standards. The pyramid model has been used as a powerful tool to help OHS professionals and their organizations to develop and implement OHS management systems. Besides this, numerous implementation steps for OHS management systems have been discussed. Keywords: industrial hygiene (IH); environmental health and safety (EHS) management; International Organization for Standardization (ISO); internal audit; risk management; performance improvement