Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Figure 18.6
Sugar factory, Poland moving to 18001 
accreditation.
Figure 18.5
Key elements of HSG 65.
Information link
Policy
O
rganizing
Planning and
implementing
Measuring
performance
Reviewing
performance
Policy
development
O
rganizational
development
D
eveloping
techniques
of planning,
measuring
and reviewing
Feedback loop to
improve performance
Control link
Auditing

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International aspects of health and safety
409
and investigated by a competent person. The con-
clusions of such investigations should be monitored 
to ensure that any recommended remedial actions 
have been completed. The following actions should 
also be included during the review:
➤
an evaluation of the effectiveness of the manage-
ment system in achieving the results required by the 
senior management of the organization
➤
the 
identifi cation of any changes required in the pro-
cedures or arrangements
➤
an evaluation of the progress made with the policy 
objectives
➤
a review of progress made with recommendations 
from earlier reviews
➤
a report to the health and safety committee for com-
munication to the workforce.
The OHSAS 18001 management system recognizes that 
the system is bound to require modifi cation and change 
as the activities of the organization change and national 
regulatory requirements change.
18.3.4 ILO-OSH 2001
The ILO has a considerable infl uence on the develop-
ment of employment law in many countries across the 
world. As companies become more international in terms 
of both its markets and production bases, this infl uence 
of the ILO has increased and its working standards have 
become accepted in many parts of the world. Many of 
the ILO standards cover health and safety issues and 
are used in the International General Certifi cate course. 
As mentioned earlier, the ILO-OSH 2001 guidelines offer 
a recommended occupational health and safety man-
agement system based on an ILO survey of several 
contemporary schemes including HSG 65 and OHSAS 
18001. There are, therefore, many common elements 
between the three schemes. The guidelines are not 
legally binding and are not intended to replace national 
laws, regulations or accepted standards.
At the national level, the guidelines should be used 
to establish a national framework for occupational 
health and safety management systems, preferably 
supported by national laws and regulations. They should 
also provide guidance for the development of voluntary 
arrangements to strengthen compliance with regula-
tions and standards leading to continual improvement in 
occupational health and safety performance.
The ILO recognizes that a management system can 
only be successful in a country if there is some form 
of national policy on health and safety and occupa-
tional health and safety management systems. The ILO 
recommends, therefore, that the following general prin-
ciples and procedures be established:
1. The implementation and integration of occupational 
health and safety management systems as part of 
the overall management of an organization
2. The introduction and improvement of voluntary 
arrangements for the systematic identifi cation, plan-
ning, implementation and improvement of occupa-
tional health and safety activities at both national 
and organizational levels
3. The promotion of worker participation in occupa-
tional health and safety management at organiza-
tional level
4. The implementation of continual improvement with-
out unnecessary bureaucracy and cost
5. The encouragement of national labour inspectors 
to support the arrangements at organizational level 
for a health and safety culture within the framework 
of an occupational health and safety management 
system
6. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the national 
policies at regular intervals
7. The evaluation of the effectiveness of occupational 
health and safety management systems within 
those organizations which are operating within the 
country
8. The inclusions of all those affected by the organiza-
tion, such as contractors, members of the public 
and temporary workers, at the same level of health 
and safety provision as employees.
Figure 18.8 shows the key elements of the ILO-OSH 
2001 occupational health and safety management sys-
tem. Each element will be discussed in turn but since it