Risk vs. Risks

In the April 2014 issue of the Synergist, AIHA published an article I wrote entitled Risk vs. Risks – Risk Assessment Lessons from Weather Forecasting. This article discusses the three different but related concepts that individuals associate with the term risk:

  1. Probability – What is the risk?

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Should I Write a Procedure?

One of the difficult questions that OH&S managers face is – “Do we need a written procedure for [some process]?”  The dilemma is that although written procedures are a necessary part of an occupational safety and health management system – if you create too many formal procedures your OHSMS becomes complex,

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Metrics Driven by “Intended Outcomes”

One of the ongoing discussions about OH&S management systems revolves around what it is exactly that the organization should be accomplishing.  In “standards speak” this is referred to as the “intended outcomes” of the OH&S management system.

In my conversations with professionals in the field, there seems to be a consensus that the overall goal –

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Addressing the “General Duty Clause” in an OHSMS

In surfing the internet, you will often find statements that some particular safety program or another is required because of the OSHA General Duty Clause. Often, this statement is tied to a pitch for consulting services or to promote a fill-in-the-blank template for whatever safety program is being discussed.

These statements are often a misrepresentation of what the general duty clause actually requires.

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Validity of Certification

One of the questions commonly raised is whether or not an OHS management system certificate is valid.

I previously received the following question from a reader –

My company is an Environmental Laboratory in India.  It holds an unaccredited certificate issued by an Indian company.  Can you clarify how far this certificate is valid.

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Need for an Audit Program

One of the requirements often missed when an organization initially implements a management system is the need for an internal audit program. Both audit procedures and an audit program are required.  This is true of OHSAS 18001 and all of the ISO Management System Standards (Clause 9.2 in the ISO standards).

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Evidence-Based Auditing

In 2012, I gave a presentation at the ENFORM 2012 Safety 360 Conference in Canada.

My presentation was on Evidence-Based Auditing. In particular, I focused on how the ISO 19011 standard can be used to develop a three-step approach for conducting evidence-based audits.

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