ILO-OSH 2001 Elements

ILO-OSH 2001 elements are a clear summary of the occupational health and safety management systems that you must take into account when implementing the occupational health and safety management system in your organization. In this blog, we will see the health and management system effectiveness – ILO-OSH 2001 VS ISO 45001 and details of seven ILO-OSH 2001 Elements.

Safety and health in the workplace is a shared responsibility and in companies, occupational safety and health management systems help employers to control and manage risks through programs that provide workers with information, instruction and training about workplace hazards and control measures.

Safety and Health at Work to make sure that they understand the risks that may exist and the relevance of the safety measures adopted, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Muniriyathse (safety zone) will cover 7 elements of health and safety management systems in this blog.  

What is the purpose of ILO-OSH 2001 elements?

It is estimated that each year over 1.2 million workers die due to accidents and work-related diseases and there are 250 million occupational accidents and 160 million work-related diseases. The economic loss related to these accidents and illnesses is estimated at an amount of 4% of the world’s GDP, according to the Health and Safety Management System NEBOSH book ig1.

According to the International Labor Organization, every day more than 7,600 people die from accidents or occupational diseases. So a committee of ISO occupational health and safety experts set to work to develop an international standard with the potential to save almost three million lives each year. 

Similar in structure to other ISO management systems, the approach will be familiar to users of standards such as ISO 14001 or ISO 9001. There are two common OHSMs used by organizations internationally. These are usually identified by reference to their publication code numbers: ILO-OHSMs 2001 and ISO 45001. ILO-OHS-2001 is the ILO’s SMS. We will discuss the ILO-OHS-2001 in detail in this blog. 

Occupational health and safety management system ISO 45001

ISO 45001:2018 specifies the requirements for occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMSMs) and guides their use, to enable organizations to provide safe and healthy workplaces through the prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses, as well as the proactive improvement of their OHSMs’ performance.

After the successful introduction of Management “Systems” by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) through its series on Quality Management (ISO 9000 series) and Environmental Management (14000 series) In the early 1990s, there was a vision that the same approach could be used to manage occupational health and safety at the organizational level. 

ISO 45001 is based on the PDCA management cycle and is fully compatible with other ISO management standards such as ISO 9001 (an internationally recognized quality management standard) and ISO 14001 (an internationally recognized environmental management standard). 

Health and safety management system plans do check the act

Lately, there is a lot of talk about HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS which seems to be one of the “fashionable topics”. However, it is not just another issue, it is a provision of law that has clear objectives and brings great benefits to the companies that implement it. 

Plan: you must plan in a way that improves the safety and health of employees, you must locate the things that are done wrong or that can be improved, and determine ideas to solve these problems. 

Do: the planned measures must be implemented.

Check: a review of the procedures and actions implemented must be carried out to achieve the desired results.

Act: improvement actions must be carried out to obtain the greatest benefits for the safety and health of employees.

ILO-OSH 2001 safety and health management system

ILO-OHS-2001 is the ILO’s own SMS. We will discuss the seven elements of ILO-OHS-2001 in detail in this blog. The final draft of the ILO document was submitted for comments to the ILO constituents in January 2001. The ILO Guidelines on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (ILO-OHS-2001) were adopted at a tripartite meeting of experts in April 2001. 

The guidelines were published in December 2001. ILO-OHS-2001 provides a unique international model, compatible with other management system standards and guidelines. It is not legally binding and does not propose to replace national laws, regulations and accepted standards. 

What is the 5 importance of Osh?

Now the priority is to know how to implement the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS and start this new model. Bearing in mind that the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT system is an integral structure, which encompasses the organization as a whole. The system not only covers the company’s employees but also the contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. 

1. Participation and consultation

The participation of workers is an essential element of an effective Occupational Health and Safety management system in the organization. The employer should ensure that workers and their representatives in matters of Occupational Safety and Health are consulted, informed and trained in all aspects of Occupational Safety and Health, including provisions relating to emergencies. 

The employer should adopt measures so that the workers, and their representatives in matters of Safety and Health at Work, have time and resources to actively participate in the processes of the organization, planning and application, evaluation and action to improve the management system of Safety and Health at Work.

The employer should ensure, as appropriate, the establishment and efficient operation of an Occupational Safety and Health Committee and the recognition of workers’ representatives in matters of Occupational Safety and Health by national and international law and practice. 

Fire and Explosion

2. Risk control measures in a health and safety management system

Hazard identification, risk assessment, and change management processes are a proactive approach to addressing concerns and issues that have the potential for unexpected, or unintended consequences. Greater awareness and understanding of risk are essential to making more effective business decisions and having fewer incidents and are also a key component of due diligence. 

3. Communication

Define appropriate and efficient channels of communication, make the entire organization aware of the decisions that are made regarding the Occupational Health and Safety System and allow these channels to be two-way, in this way, you will receive new Feedback from part of the collaborators. 

4. Selection of contractors

Many organizations employ contractor personnel to perform a wide range of activities. It is important to ensure effective management systems to ensure the safety and health of all workers. A healthy work environment is important for an organization. Every person back home is safe and sound every day. 

Health and safety performance is a primary consideration in selecting a contracting company. All contracting companies are required to provide and maintain a safe and healthy work environment and have a responsibility to perform their work in compliance with, at a minimum, Company standards. 

5. Emergency Preparedness

An organization must implement safety systems to prevent all incidents. However, the Company and the workers must be prepared for potential emergencies. Good practices such as Drills must be taken into account and more seriously by companies and workers. It is about being prepared for emergencies in which EVERYONE’s life is at stake.

Key elements of the health and safety management system

The OHSMSMs management systems in the organization have seven main sections of which the internationally accepted cycle follows the Circle Plan-Do-Check-Act, which is the basis of the “systems” approach to management. These sections are called Policy, Organization, Planning and implementation, Evaluation and Improvement actions.

1. Policy (Plan)
2. Organizing (Plan)
3. Planning and implementation (Do)
4. Evaluation (Check)
5. Audit (Check)
6. Action for improvement (Act)
7. Continual improvement (Act)

1. Health and safety management system policy

First of all, it must include the Management’s commitment to ensure the implementation of these health and safety management systems and must be adapted to the specific hazards and size of each organization. It must be written clearly and communicated to all parts of the organization. The organization sets out the goals/aims and objectives to be achieved.

The Occupational Health and Safety policy should include, at a minimum, the following fundamental principles and objectives to which the organization expresses its commitment:

• The protection of the safety and health of all members of the organization by preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, diseases and incidents.
• Identification and evaluation of risks and definition of controls for prevention.
• Compliance with the pertinent legal requirements in matters of Safety and Health at Work and other prescriptions subscribed by the organization;
• The guarantee is that workers and their representatives are consulted and encouraged to actively participate in all elements of the Occupational Health and Safety management system.
• Continuous improvement of the performance of the Occupational Health and Safety management system.
• Be specific to the organization and appropriate to its size and the nature of its activities.
• Be concise, clearly worded, dated and made effective by the signature or endorsement of the employer or the most senior person with responsibility in the organization.
• Be publicized and easily accessible to all people in the workplace.
• Be reviewed for continued appropriateness.

There are three sections of health and safety policy

1. General statement of intent
2. Organization section
3. Arrangement section

2. Organization (Plan)

Involve all the work teams of the Organization. Establish clear roles and responsibilities. Appoint leaders who achieve the objective of the policy of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System at all levels. 

There is also an acceptance that leaders must take action in creating and promoting a safe work environment. This can be achieved through visible leadership, being active and visible in the field, and positively interacting with employees to coach and encourage good safety behaviour. ILO-OSH 2001 Elements

• Define the obligations of both employers and workers.
• Detail the OHSMs training program.
• Have a series of specific documentation as the OHSMs Policy itself should be, including the responsibilities assigned in this area, occupational risk identification reports and health reports. It will also be required documentation, work plans, annual training programs, as well as procedures to ensure OHSMs are at work.
• Establish communication mechanisms to receive and transmit all aspects of interest about the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

Employer and employee responsibilities

The employer is obliged to protect the safety and health of his employees, by the provisions of current regulations. Provide safe work location, safe plant, safe equipment, free of cost PPE etc. 

Employees must fulfil some responsibilities regarding safety and health at work, such as: seeking comprehensive health care, participating in and contributing to the fulfilment of the objectives of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, wearing PPE, and reporting unsafe acts and conditions, among others.

3. Planning and implementation (Do)

Everything good starts with a PLAN. Of course, the Occupational Health and Safety system is no exception. This is the third of the components of the Occupational Health and Safety System, which includes four items: 

This planning will cover:

• Identification of the risks and dangers that affect Safety and Health at Work.
• Actions to eliminate or minimize risks.
• Initial evaluation of the situation of HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

Planning of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, which must include the implementation and operation of all the components of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. The annual work plan must contain objectives, goals, activities, responsibilities, an implementation schedule and required resources.

• Information, training and participation of employees.
• Activities to control risks.
• Actions in the face of foreseeable changes.
• Actions against foreseeable events.

Hydrogen sulfide safety training

4. Evaluation (Check)

If a HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT system is not measured, analyzed and reviewed periodically, it is not possible to know if it is effective and is contributing enough to achieve the objectives. An adequate measurement system allows us to take improvement actions against the possible deviations presented.

Finally, the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS indicators must be formulated in such a way that it allows us to demonstrate not only the system’s compliance but also how effective it is. 

Implementing a Health and Safety at Work Management System brings multiple benefits to organizations, among which are compliance with legal requirements, avoidance of sanctions and fines by State entities, improvement of corporate image, competitiveness in the market, cost reduction, a reflection of a socially responsible company that promotes sustainable human development and improvement of the quality of life of workers.

• Hazard and risk management: it is required to adopt a series of methods for the identification, prevention, evaluation and control of such risks.
• Prevention and control measures: here we must define the hierarchy in the application of such measures that guarantee the control of occupational risks.
• It requires having the necessary preparation to be able to respond to possible emergencies. 
• Change management: the employer must implement a procedure that allows the evaluation of the impact on OHSMs that may lead to both internal and external changes.
• Define procedures to ensure that OHSM conditions are also ensured in the acquisitions and contracts made.

5. Health and safety management system audit

This demonstrates how well the OHSMS management system works and identifies any weaknesses that need improvement. This includes the very important element of auditing that must be undertaken for each stage. Persons independent of those involved in the auditable activity must conduct audits. This does not necessarily mean third-party auditors.

This process must include the definition of the suitability of the auditor, the scope of the audit, regularity, methodology and presentation of reports. Need to carry out a minimum compliance audit per year.

For its part, Senior Management is also required to review the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS to see the degree of compliance with the defined policy and objectives. Said review must be both reactive and proactive to evaluate the structure and procedures of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

• Compliance with the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS policy
• Result of indicators
• Participation by workers
• HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS communication mechanisms
• Supervision and measurement of results
• Planning, development and application of the system

6. Action for improvement (Act)

Improvement actions include preventive, corrective and continuous improvement action elements. This adds the need for necessary preventive and corrective actions identified by the evaluation and audits carried out. It also stresses the need for continual improvement of OHSMS implementation with the constant development of policies, systems, and techniques to prevent and control work-related injuries, ill health, illnesses, and incidents.

The second last Component of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System establishes the need to have:

• Preventive and corrective actions: Senior Management must ensure that they are properly defined and implemented according to the review carried out. Any deficiency found in the review process must be corrected as soon as possible.
• Continual improvement: The management must define the parameters to follow and allocate the necessary resources to be able to ensure the continuous improvement of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, by managing to improve the effectiveness of all the activities and the fulfilment of the objectives of health and safety.

7. Continual improvement (Act)

Keep in mind that for the implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety System, a continual improvement cycle is used, which allows incidents to be prevented and the system itself to be perfected during its development

The process of implementing a HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT system is always dynamic and is constantly changing due to various factors, this is how continuous improvement has no end.

Conclusion

When this principle is applied in each of the activities of the processes, the benefits as a result of the implementation of corrective and preventive actions allow a systematic, progressive and innovative development of Safety and Health at Work that leads to well-being. And improvement of the quality of life of the workers is an essential objective of the HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.