Safety Management System
The AS/NZS 4801:2001 standard describes the requirements you’ll need to meet for an effective & efficient Occupational health and safety management system. Based on established Health and Safety standards, they are designed to work for organizations of all sizes and from across all sectors.
Workplace Health and safety is a key issue for every organization. An Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) can help you protect yourself and your employees and/or all interested parties while on SITE – this is a framework that will allow you to identify and control your health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents and ensure you are complying with relevant Health & Safety legislation in Australia and New Zealand.
AS/NZS 4801:2001 focus on organizations committed to staff and workplace safety, whether you currently have no measures in place or want to improve your existing Occupational Health and Safety Systems.
Every year, millions of workers are injured or lose their lives all over the worls. In Australia, over the past 10 years, some 2,596 workers have been killed while working*. To reduce their risks, companies of all sizes and in all sectors need to put in place a robust safety management system.
AS/NZS 4801 and OHSAS 18001 are suitable for organizations that want to set up formal procedures to manage health and safety risks.
Benefits of AS NZS 4801:2001
- Workplace Safety – An OHSMS enables you to identify hazards, assess risks and put the necessary risk control measures in place to prevent accidents
- Interested Parties confidence – An independently assessed OHSMS tells your stakeholders that you have met a number of legal and regulatory requirements, giving interested parties a confidence in your organization. You also avoid the bad publicity that goes with workplace accidents
- Morale – Implementing AS/NZS 4801 shows a clear commitment to the safety of your staff and can contribute to a more motivated, efficient and productive workforce
- Cost Reduction – Fewer accidents means less expensive downtime for your organization. AS/NZS 4801, Safety MAP also improves your insurance liability rating
- Training & Awareness – An OHSMS also highlights whether or not your employees are competent for the task they are performing, which impacts on training and teamwork. The regular assessment process will help you continually monitor and improve your Health & Safety performance
- Confidence on Regulators – It enhance confidence on all regulatory bodies and hereby their inspection (if any) will come out with compliance
OHSAS 18001 was developed by some of leading certification bodies from an existing British standard, while AS/NZS 4801 was developed by the Australian and New Zealand standards associations. There are many similarities between the two, and an understanding of one gives a fair understanding of the other.
Conceptually, the difference between the two standards is that AS/NZS 4801:2001 refers to the elimination of work-related injury, while OHSAS 18001:2007 commits to the prevention of injury and ill health within the described scope of the management system. Health is a key focus in OHSAS 18001 and elimination of injury is pivotal in AS/NZS 4801, however in both cases, the goal is for an injury and illness free work environment. There are differing requirements in each standard for the areas of the standards which require documented procedures and records; however these areas
are clearly stated in each standard.
OHSAS 18001:2007 more clearly defines the roles of evaluation and compliance, incident investigation, nonconformity, and corrective and preventive action, and management review, however requirements in each of these areas is still stipulated within AS/NZS 4801:2001. AS/NZS 4801 has a more defined process for reporting, health assessment, and evaluation of the HIRAC (Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control) process, and while these are implied in OHSAS 18001, they are not specifically defined. OHSAS 18001:2007 has a strong demand on legal requirements, and while AS/NZS 4801:2001 does not appear to have as strong a demand, many of the requirements in OHSAS 18001 are required regardless of certification due to Federal and State legislative requirements.
Typically, companies which are operating solely within Australia and New Zealand are adopt AS/NZS 4801:2001, while companies which are operating internationally aim to implement OHSAS 18001:2007.
The choice between the two is completely up to the company, and both are recognized equally within Australia. Many organizations just go for both – they are that similar.