H&S Manual vs H&S Management system
  • Sandra Nieuwoudt
    42
    Good afternoon all

    I need help to update our H&S Manual - at the moment it is made up of random stuff.
    So one of my questions is why do you need a manual if you can have an H&S Management System (in my view that is your manual).

    We are an Analytical Laboratory and mainly covered Quality in the past.

    I want to change to an H&S Management System using ISO 45001- We are not accredited and there is no benefit in getting accredited by I need a good guideline to get my system going.

    Is there any of you willing to work with me that I get it right? From the screenshot attached you will see I compared what is mandatory vs processes then I ended up having blank spaces, questions and wondering if there are any categories I can combine.

    My email is to enable first contact or comment here, please.

    Thank you
    Sandra
    Attachment
    ISO 45001 H&S (15K)
    Sandra Nieuwoudt Options
  • Alex P
    16
    Hi Sandra,

    To answer you manual vs system question, how big is the organisation? My thoughts are that it is not uncommon for larger organisations to have a H&S System and as well as department specific H&S Manuals (also referred to as a Policy and Procedures manual). For smaller organisations, it may be a bit unnecessary to have both. Also, to some extent, it may be down to semantics in terminology.

    All the best.
    Alex
    Alex P Options
  • KeithH
    173
    @Sandra Nieuwoudt
    As a preamble, policies are usually overarching principles that provide flexible guidance to achieve outcomes. Processes are a collection of specific activities or tasks in a defined sequence to produce a service or product related to the outcomes. Procedures are instructions to execute one or more actions in a process.
    So policies are the why, processes are the what and procedures the how.

    ISO45001 is an OHS framework or system that can be used to create an OHS manual that contains processes that are comprised of specific procedures.
    An advantage of using ISO is Annex L (formerly Annex SL), a level structure for all future ISO releases. This allows for other standards - say 9001, 14001 - to be easily added as an integrated management system.

    While it is possible to have a OHS manual without reference to ISO45001, the manual does need a framework.

    The detail in each section of the manual should be sufficient to provide clarity and in jargon relevant to the audience it is intended for. The best method to do this is to engage the audience. Takes longer but opens the door to buy-in.

    Looking at what you have prepared, you may wish to use this for the gap analysis to determine what sections of ISO45001 apply for your requirements - SGS gap analysis.

    My ramblings
    KeithH Options
  • Sandra Nieuwoudt
    42
    Hi Alex
    We have 426 permanent staff and during Kiwi Fruit season we can have up to 750 staff.
    And I don't want to have both systems but wanted to use some framework to have the correct processes and procedures in place.
    At the moment our stuff is all over the place.
    My thought was if we use the ISO framework then if we at a later stage want to get accredited then we are good to go.

    Hi Keith
    Thanks for that SGS doc.
    Sandra Nieuwoudt Options
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