April's helpdesk examines the changes to OHSAS 18000. Do you think there should be an ISO standard for health and safety?

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I for one, don't think any more management system standards are necessary. Organizations only have one management system but the standards bodies seem to think they have as many systems as they have objectives. If we work on the premise that the goal of any organization is to satisfy the needs of all its stakeholders the management system should enable it do to this and one standard that permits this system to be assessed for its capability to achieve differing objectives would suffice.

 

All it needs is for ISO 9000 to be modified so as to consider all stakeholders and hence all objectives and all the other management system standards would become obsolete.

 

However, this does not mean there might not be a need for other standards, say in stakeholder analysis, impact assessment, hazard analysis etc thus using standards for codifying specific methods and techniques for which they are better suited.

 

 

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Best Regards

David Hoyle Hon.FCQI

David Hoyle Hon.FCQI

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Price not quality drives certification. As customers cannot judge quality before they pay and they have no incentive to demand better quality certification as long as the product (the certficate) has equal currency in all markets. Only if certificate quality was a discriminator would price become secondary.

 

No, the answer is a Government Agency like the DVLC or Police doing all certifications and having an allegiance to the Crown. They would then come under the National Audit Office and be accountable to us "the people" and not their shareholders.

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Best Regards

David Hoyle Hon.FCQI

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is heard by the elected politicians. David Cameron seems to think it might but like all processes we start using them before we know their capability and then retrospectively install controls that create more problems than they solve.

 

Can I get my neighbour to do anything about his tree that will eventually fall and demolish my summerhouse? No, I have to wait until it has demolished my summerhouse then I can claim on my insurance. We have the same warped logic for breaches in the speed limit and more seriously, death threats in family honour cases. We need laws that make it a crime not to take reasonable measures to prevent loss to property and people.

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Best Regards

David Hoyle Hon.FCQI

Chaps,

I'm amazed that a simple question about OHSAS 18001 can degenerate into a political mudslinging with talk of demolishing summer houses!

So......... "Should there be an ISO standard for health and safety?"

I would say it wouldn't harm. If a business wanted to use a framework against which to base a health and safety management system, ISO 18001 would probably suit them. If they then wanted to extend it to quality and the environment, the systems would relate fine.

What would be better is for ISO to produce a coherent integrated management systems standard which supersedes the existing ISO 9001 / 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. This wiould provide 'one stop shopping' and potentially go further to include financial management, marketing management, human resources management (systems) - perhaps it's time to consider the "Business Management System" which encompasses everything?

CD

 

You appear to agree with the thrust of our argument that instead of multiplying the number of management system standards, standards bodies should be aiming fro their reduction.

 

I tend to agree that a standard addressing "Business Management Systems" would be more appropriate but as we have hinted previously there are too many vested interests for this to be taken seriously. We did try to get a debate going on the "Future of Standands" but it appears to have dried up.

 

 

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Best Regards

David Hoyle Hon.FCQI