How to Build and Implement an Appropriate OH&S Management System
Introduction
Occupation safety and health management system is the most crucial part of the organization in managing the risks that occur at the workplace in different industries, such as the construction industry. The construction industry is often regarded as a place with many prevalent risks such as slips and falls, collapse of the buildings under construction, fire due to electrical faults and bullying of worker The OH&S system handle the aspects of providing a safe working environment to the worker and formulation of the safety and health policies in an organization. Besides, the network plans the processes of preventing accidents and other risks in the organization. OH&S system also put in place the best practices, resources and procedures of establishing, executing, monitoring, auditing and maintenance of the occupation health and safety in an organization. This paper aims to discuss the critical factors essential for successful implementing of OH&S management system, the importance of ISO 31000:2018of implementing an OH&S management system based on plan-do-check-act (PDCA). Besides, the paper will describe the procedure of implementing OH&S management system based on plan-do-check-act (PDCA).
Critical Factors for Successful Implementation of an OH&S Management System
A successful occupation health and safety m, management system entails some essential elements to be put in place. The vital factors can be categorized as workers participation factors, safety arrangement factors and safety control measures factors. The practical training program should be offered to the workers and supervisors n occupation safety in developing their aptitudes and knowledge on occupation safety such as first aid and emergency plans. The training will contribute to the enhancement of the workers’ habits and attitude towards ensuring a safe place for themselves (Hassan & Esmail, 2018, p. 25-35). Another critical factor is the provision of suitable supervision, which will ensure the supervisors allocate duties and work to the workers following the knowledge on identifying potential risks. The supervisors should also have two-way communication with the workers to guarantee that workplace safety and health rules are being observed (Amponsah-Tawaiah et al., 2016, p. 12-17). Maintenance of types of equipment is yet another critical element in successfully implementing an OH&S management system. The machine should be maintained often to ensure they are in the right working conditions for the workers to use. Repairing and replacement of the broken parts should be reported to the supervisor to ensure the equipment is fixed before they are used for working. Besides, resources should be allocated for safety activities. The resources may be equipment, protective gears, finances and human capital. The management needs to reinforce the management of OH&S system through ensuring there are adequate resources for safety purposes (Guo et al., 2016, p. 1-11). The . Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Moreover, the delegating of authority and duties is required to ensure a management system on OH&S is successfully implemented. Different people in the organization and all levels of management should be assigned responsibilities regarding executing a safety system in the organization. The duties and authority should be clearly defined to enhance the accountability of those responsible (Guo et al., 2016, p. 1-11). There should also be open communication in the organization at all levels. The discussion will ensure that information is collected on the safety measures, identify the gaps and put in place control measure to ensure effective management of risks at the workplace. Communication will also motivate the workers in observing the safety rules for their well-being. It will also ensure that unsafe conditions at the workplace are instantly reported the moment that is identified. The organization should pass the information on safety, indicating that maintaining safety working standards is to ensure the well-being of the workers (Guo et al., 2016, p. 1-11).
Besides, program evaluation is another factor in ensuring OH&S management is a system that is successfully executed. The organization should put in place appraisal techniques to check on the effectiveness of the safety management system. Evaluation of the system will ensure continuous improvement in the process of managing the OH&S system. The assessment can be done by observing the decrease or increase of the accident incidents, observing the workers’ habits and attitude during work and resource allocation analysis. The evaluation will also help the organization in designing proactive and reactive tactics in handling risks at the workplace. The review will also ensure that the various risk control systems meet the required standards such as ISO 31000:2018 and comply with the laid down legislations. Safety meetings are another important factor in the successful implementation of OH&S system. The management should plan to hold meetings with the workers’ or their safety representatives, supervisors or safety committees. This will help in reviewing the existing safety control measures. The management should also ensure that the company statement articulates safety.
How ISO 31000:2018 is Instrumental in Implementation of OH&S System in Identification of Regulatory and Other Risks.
ISO 31000:2018 is instrumental in the management of risk factors in any organization. It provides guidelines and the process of risk management. The standards highlight the acceptable level of risk acceptance in the business. The rules help the organization in identifying the various potentials risks in operating the business. The types and amount of risks organization encounter depend on the type of the organization, size and the industry the organization operates. It also outlines the risk criteria method in analyzing the risks (Pacaiova et al., 2019, p. 267-276). The process of risk management, as outlined by the ISO 31000:2018 entails risk identification where the organization can create a comprehensive list of the various risk an organization faces. The sources of the risks are also identified and the consequences thereafter, for example, failure to report an accident to the relevant authorities giving rise to the organization facing non-compliance on reporting the accidents against the OH&S laws. The organization can be fined, and the responsible person can be jailed for the offence. The identification of the risks through ISO 31000:2018 guidelines helps an organization on how to mitigate risks. The second step in the risk management process is analyzing the risks. The identified risks can be analyzed basing on the coverage and context. The evaluation will help to indicate if the risk can be accepted, tolerated, avoided or transferred. For example, the non-compliance with labour laws risks can be transferred to the organization’s attorneys to handle or fire risk can be transferred to the insurance firms to handle. After analysis, ISO 31000:2018 directs that evaluation of the risks to be undertaken. This includes profiling the risks on the likelihood to occur in the future and the “risk appetite and tolerance”.
The next step is treating the risks. The risks can be treated depending on its intensity and the impact on the organization. The appropriate risk control systems can be put in place, such as taking risks for the organization to implement its expansion strategy. The affected parts of the organization affected by the information receive communication and consultation are made. Then the outcomes from the risk assessment and treatment are documented and communicated across the organization. The control and treatment measure is then monitored and reviewed to ensure they met the goals of managing the risks and its progress (Fesenko et al., 2019, p. 4-10)
ISO 31000:2018 contributes to the implementation of OH&S management system and identification of legal obligation and other risks as it outlines the standard measure in formulating the policy and procedure documents in risk management. It helps an organization in identifying potential hazards it may face and draw standard frameworks of handling the risks. Besides, it ensures that an organization identifies regulatory risks such as the complying with the various statutory obligations of putting in place preventive and control measures of mitigating risks (Fesenko et al., 2019, p. 4-10). For example, it is required by the law that construction sites should have ladders to help workers in climbing high heights and providing equipment in aiding the movement of heavy loads. Also, construction workers should put on protective gears such as helmets, gloves and masks.
OHSM Implementation Process and PDCA Cycle
Implementation of the occupation health and safety management systems process can be developed based on the Plan- Do- Check-Act cycle in an organization. The process starts with the identification of the intervention to be carried out while designing the implementation. The resources required to implement an OH& S intervention can also be evaluated. It is worth noting, not all strategies an organization undertakes can implement effectively. The internal and external factors affect the suitability and successful implementation process (Paun et al.,2019). The step that follows involves determining the resources required and available in the implementation process. The resource available will help in determining the various mechanisms already in place to ensure resources are utilized effectively in implementing the OH&S management system. Consultation can be made between the workers, top management and middle management. For example, if an organization is considering training, it will have to evaluate if it has the required resources to undertake the training on safety (Prashar, 2017).
Clarification of goals is another step in implementing the OH&S management system. In this stage, the objectives of an intervention or improvement strategy in safety management should be clearly articulated. The objectives should align with the company’s overall objectives and statement. The first phase of the PDCA cycle is integrated at this stage. Planning of the implementation process that will comprise the definition of the objectives of an intervention. The plan should also outline the team that will be involved in the implementation process of the intervention measures suggested. The next step is looking at the past interventions, which integrates with the active phase of the PDCA cycle. The team should gather information based on evidence of the intervention measures that were successfully implemented. Then, the team can act or implement the best practices from the past that were successful and aligns to the objectives and the resource capability of the organization (Prashar, 2017).
Moreover, the next step is the clarification of the intervention, which is same as the check phase in PDCA. It is the most difficult stage in the implementation process as it involves making decisions between the new intervention safety measures adoption and the past intervention control measures to continue applying. At this point, an organization can elect to carry out a prototype on the intervention measures to apply in its system before it fully implements the entire occupation safety and health measures. A strategic analysis of the measures to be adopted to be carried out to inform on the cost implications, value and the benefit it will accrue to the organization. Finally, after analyzing the intervention to be implemented and an effective measure selected, then it can be implemented or acted upon (Prashar, 2017).
Figure 1: PDCA cycle
Source: Astutis Blog
Conclusion
Developing suitable OH&S management systems starts with analyzing the critical elements to consider. The factors to consider comprises of training, regular maintenance of equipment in good conditions, appropriate supervision, open communication, support from the management, the delegation of authority and employee motivation. The factors will help in building an effective occupation and implementation of OH&S management system (Da Silva et al., 2019). The process of implementation entails the identification of the problem that requires intervention and evaluate the resource requirement. Evaluating on the resource will help the organization on planning on the control measures to adopt.
The next steps comprise of planning through clarification of the objectives of implementing an OH&S management system. Besides, gathering on the past interventions through and clarifying on the intervention measures through checking its effectiveness. Then act on the selected measures that have been selected. An organization should adopt ISO 31000:2018 standards while establishing various control and preventive risk management system to have clear frameworks of identifying and treating the risks. OH&S management system is vital to the organization not only for compliance with regulatory bodies but also to the improvement of the business performance.
The effective system will ensure the organization does not incur unnecessary costs such as litigation and compensation of workers for failure to put in place preventive OH&S preventive mechanisms. Risk management should be a collective responsibility for everyone in the organization to ensure it is integrated into all the processes and operations of an organization. Risk management is growing to be a major significant dimension of an organization.
References
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