OHSMS Components

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS), according to the Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene Inc., establishes a systematic control of health and safety standards throughout the organization. This is a major component of corporate culture and promotes employee involvement at every level of operation. This provides outreach to all facilities and personnel. One objective of an organization is to advance the long-term risk management strategy. This can be achieved by implementing an OHSMS plan. This plan is also considered an effective tool to improve management control, reduce the incidence rate of injuries and illnesses,  and facilitate the implementation of corporate extensions concerning the management of workplace hazards and their associated risks.Once this plan is fully implemented, the management system should address all of an organization's unique processes and hazards as well as any future changes to those processes.

(http://www.slideshare.net/GajananPandit/iso-18001-57141203)

Diagram of how OHSMS works

According to Safetyworx, the components of an OHSMS program most likely will have all of the following: planning, implementation, measurement and evaluation, and management review and improvement. Planning initially includes setting objectives, targets, and establishing performance indicators to address the regular occurrence of hazards and developing the controls necessary to eliminate, isolate, or minimize the hazards in the facility or corporation. These procedures should be developed in such a way that they are used for continuing operations in the organization. Implementation is critical and adequate for the organization to achieve it's goals. Financial, human, and material resources are adequate in achieving success. Responsibilities must be defined and designated, withhold an effective reporting relationship between management, employees, contractors, subcontractors, and visitors. Having consultation and involvement of both management and employees will help establish common goals and facilitate the development and implementation of the organizations goals and objectives. Along with consultation, the training needs of the employees should be identified and procedures should be put in place to ensure the training is providing adequate information and is well documented. Measurement and evaluation is necessary for an OHSMS plan to make sure an organization is preforming adequately and the objectives are sought clearly. All details of the system, whether its positive or negative, must be recorded and available for all stakeholders to see. Audits must be conducted periodically and use for management review purposes whether they are internal or external. Accident investigations have the ability to examine the effectiveness of the OHSMS plan. These should be approached in such a way that the problem areas are identified as deficiencies in the system rather than apportioning blame. The management and review component of the OHSMS plan is essentially a foundation for an ongoing and effective system element that is necessary to make adjustments that will improve the effectiveness of the organization. This process can be strictly foreseen at the management level, or incorporate employee or other stakeholder representation. Some factors that are considered can include changes in legislation, different technologies, and lessons learned from OHS incidents and feedback from employees and stakeholders to name a few. 

(http://www.c-ih.com/ohs-management-systems/)

The continual improvement cycle enables risk management processes to evolve and address new and changing workplace hazards.