ABSTRACT
SIPM1 issued in 1989 specific guidelines on the management of occupational health to all Shell Companies outside North America. These ‘Occupational Health Management Guidelines’ highlight occupational health as a management responsibility, which should receive the same attention as other business objectives, including safety and the conservation of the environment. This requires the application of normal business control mechanisms, such as management review and appraisal. Occupational health auditing was developed and promoted as an essential tool to assist the management of Shell companies with this review and appraisal process.
Our experience with auditing has shown that all parts of a health management system can be audited, with the objective of defining areas for improvement. The development of a consistent standardised review/audit method is described and the need for clear definition of objectives, standards and a structured approach is highlighted. On the basis of an analysis of reviews and audits carried out since the publication of the Shell ‘Occupational Health Management Guidelines’ in 1989 it is concluded that the reviews/audits should in the first place address the main elements of a health management system, especially line responsibility and performance measurement, as well as the competency of the occupational health advisers. It is also concluded, that most of the earlier reviews/audits provided (detailed) technical/medical prescriptive advice rather than an assessment of the management controls of occupational health. Follow up audits have shown that such advice did not stick and could not be sustained if the key elements of a health management system are lacking.
