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AFOES CONSULTANTS
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Frequently Asked Questions: OHSAS 18001:2007 Back to FAQ |
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1. What does OHSAS 18001
stand for? |
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Occupational Health and
Safety Assessment Series - the OHSAS specification and the accompanying
OHSAS 18002, Guidelines for the Implementation of OHSAS 18001, have
been developed in response to customer demand for a recognizable occupational
health and Safety management system standard against which their management
systems can be assessed and certified. |
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2. Who created OHSAS
18001? |
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BSI (British Standards Institution) spearheaded the
development of OHSAS 18001, with the assistance of the following co-operating
organizations: National
Standards Authority of South
African Bureau of Standards British
Standards Institution Bureau
Veritas Quality International Det
Norske Veritas Lloyds
Register Quality Assurance National
Quality Assurance SFS
Certification SGS
Yarsley International
Certification Services Asociacion Espanola de Normalizacion y
Certificacion International
Safety Management Organization Ltd Standards
Industry Research Institute of International Certification Services |
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3. Is OHSAS 18001
same as ISO? |
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NO. ISO has not adopted OHSAS 18001 as an international standard at this
time. The OHSAS specification will be withdrawn upon publication of its
contents in, or as, an international standard. |
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4. What are the
differences between conformity assessment, accreditation, certification, and
registration in relation to OHSAS 18001? |
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Official
definitions, according to ISO/IEC Guide 2 (General Terms and Their
Definitions Concerning Standardization and Certification) are as follows: Conformity Assessment This term refers to the determination of whether a product,
process or service conforms to particular standards or specifications.
Activities associated with conformity assessment may include testing,
certification, accreditation, quality assurance system registration and
environmental management system registration. Accreditation This term refers to a procedure by which an authoritative
body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out
specific tasks. Accreditation means that a body has been evaluated in
accordance with internationally recognized standards (ISO/IEC Guide 62) and
has been found competent and therefore is authorized to register companies
which have successfully demonstrated compliance to [ISO 9000/ 14001 OR OHSAS
18001]. Certification This term refers to a procedure by which a third party
gives written assurance that a product, process or service conforms to
specified requirements. Registration This term refers to a procedure by which a body indicates
relevant characteristics of a product, product or services and then includes
or registers the product, process or services in a publicly available list. Accredited organizations known as "registrars"
will be engaged by a company as third-parties to provide the certification
that the company has implemented ISO 9000/14001/OHSAS 18001.
"Registration" is generally used in the It is expected that registration will require evidence of
implementation of OHSAS 18001, which also includes: procedures to maintain
compliance to applicable OH&S laws, and a commitment to continual
improvement (in a broad sense). Whether a company decides to seek third-party registration
or certification to OHSAS 18001 will be dependent on the objectives the
company has in conforming to OHSAS 18001, as well as the market and public
context in which the company operates. For some companies, third-party
certification may be the most reasonable option. For example, companies
selling products to markets in |