They are organizational arrangements that:
provide a deliberate and documented approach to occupational health and safety management;
are fully integrated with company goals, activities, programs, structures and culture;
rely on the systematic measurement of performance with objective and quantifiable parameters; and,
use feedback and continuous improvement as essential components.
In other words, "say it, do it, document it,"…. and continuously improve it, too.
Health and safety systems work because they rely on the basic tenets of modern scientific management. These principles are routinely and successfully applied to production, quality, environmental protection and many other facets of business. They are equally applicable to health and safety.
A crucial aspect of OHSMS is that they integrate health and safety into the "business of business," in the same way that quality and environmental protection are being integrated into the core function of management. When OHSMS are properly implemented, occupational health and safety activities cease to be an after-thought within overall business management. This integration addresses the most serious obstacle to the success of health and safety efforts.
Practically everybody. I will cite only three examples:
"Experience tells us that companies with a safety and health program that has been integrated into their business operation are successful in containing and reducing workers' compensation claims and other related indirect expenses. ASSE supports the development of a stand alone safety and health program management standard (author's italics)."
ASSE Position Statement on Comprehensive Safety and Health Management Programs. 1996.
"ORC believes firmly that safety and health management systems are essential to achieving and maintaining the highest level of safety and health protection for employees in the workplace."
ORC statement at ANSI Workshop on international standardization, Rosemont, Illinois, 1996
Safety and health management programs "add value to economic enterprises of which they are a part. They minimize many wasteful transaction costs, increase productivity, improve employee morale, and enhance business reputation. They are such a good idea that everyone should have one and, in California, everyone by law must have one."
John Howard, Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health California Department of Industrial Relations, Speech to ANSI workshop, May of 1996
The list of experts who support health and safety management systems is practically endless. There is widespread agreement among professionals that OHSMS work.
Good health and safety systems can reduce workers' compensation, reduce hazardous exposures and illnesses, improve working conditions and thus increase employee morale and productivity, and enhance business reputation. Good OHSMS provide businesses with a competitive advantage.
