1. What does OHSAS 18001 stand for?
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.

2. Who created OHSAS 18001?

BSI (British Standards Institution) spearheaded the development of OHSAS 18001, with the assistance of the following co-operating organizations:

• National Standards Authority of Ireland
• 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 Malaysia
• International Certification Services

3. Is OHSAS 18001 same as ISO?
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  The OHSAS specification will be withdrawn upon publication of its contents in, or as, an international standard.

4. What are the differences between conformity assessment, accreditation, certification, and registration in relation to OHSAS 18001?
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 United States for the procedure defined as “certification” above, while “certification” is the preferred term in Europe and other parts of the world.

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 Europe might face considerable Pressure to obtain third-party certification. However, even in Europe, companies should not presume certification will be necessary. It is very important to understand that the OHSAS 18001 standard is quite clear that either third-party certification or self-declaration is available options. Third-party certification is not mandated by OHSAS 18001.