What is an OHS management system and what should it include?
An OHS management system is a combination of commitments from company management in the form of policies, organisation arrangement, assigning of responsibilities to internal company management and specific details and methods in the form of procedures and administrative documentation on how these commitments will be realised.
A typical contents page from an OHS Safety Management Plan can be seen below:
Document Control
Organisational Structure
Project Details and Introduction
Sub-Contractor Management
Company Policies
- Health & Safety Policy
- Environmental Policy
- Industrial Relations Policy
- Harassment Policy
- Anti-Discrimination Policy
- Rehabilitation Policy
- Alcohol & Drugs Policy
Roles & Responsibilities
- Managing Director
- Works Supervisor
Risk Management
- Risk Rating
- Safe Work Method Statements
- Hazard Reporting
Safe Work Procedures
- Company Induction
- Incident & Accident
- First Aid
- Emergency Procedure
- Hazardous Substances
- Electrical Equipment
- Manual Handling
- Permits to Work
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Environmental Impacts
- Worker Health Issues
- Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
- Young Workers
OHS Training
- Training & Toolbox Talks
- Employee Consultation
- Health and Safety Representatives
Performance Monitoring
- Statistics
- Performance Evaluation
Corrective & Preventive Actions
- Corrective action
- Preventive Action
Forms & Registers
- SWMS01 Template
- FOR-01 Worksite Accident/Incident Report Form
- REG-01 Incident/Accident Register of Injuries
- REG-02 Chemicals Register
- REG-03 Plant Register
- REG-04 Electrical Test & Tag Register
- REG-05 PPE Register
- FOR-02 Toolbox Talk
An effective OHS management System will:
- Identify and minimize hazards associated with your organisation's business.
- Reduce incidents, accidents and injuries in the workplace.
- Reduce risks of legal action for worker's compensation and liability claims.
- Provide due diligence evidence should an incident or accident occur.
- Boost staff morale.
- Allow staff to concentrate on core business activities.
- Improve performance and productivity.
We hope that you found this blog enlightening. If so, please don’t be afraid to comment below. Thanks for reading.
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Principal OHS Consultant at Custodian Safety Services
I graduated with an Honours B.Sc in Health and Safety Systems from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2007. I have been employed as an Occupational Health and Safety Manager in the civil engineering and commercial construction sectors on a wide range of projects for both government and private bodies. In my career to date I have worked in Ireland, USA, UK and Australia. I am a chartered professional member of the Safety Institute of Australia and a Registered Safety Professional.
Ling Lee at Digital Marketing and Personal Branding
Great article! That's a really long list of OHS :D