NSAI approves 11 Networks OHSAS Auditors
By Liam Ring,
Safety Services Manager
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD of ISO 9000 as an internationally renowned certification for Quality, and indeed many companies pride themselves at reaching the exacting standards to reach certification. Similarly, there is a sister standard for Safety Management called OHSAS 18000 series. Recently an 11-strong team from ESB Networks comprising members of the Networks Safety Team and Networks line management underwent a three-day training and examination course, presented by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). Successful completion of the prescribed project reports and written examination by the 11 candidates led to the conferring of the 'Occupational Health & Safety Benchmark Assessor Certificate' by the NSAI. This basically means that those accredited are now licensed to conduct audits and assessments against the OHSAS Benchmark.
What is OHSAS ?
OHSAS (Occupational Health &
Safety Assessment Series) is an
international standard for the
evaluation, assessment, and if
required, the certification of a
company's safety management
systems, processes and
procedures. It looks in detail at,
among others, such important
requirements as Safety Policy and
objectives, Continual
Improvement Initiatives, Roles
and Responsibilities, Safety
Documentation, Training and
Awareness, Safety Audits,
Accident and Incident Reporting,
Records and Management
Reviews, as well as site audits for
evidence of conformance.
Why OHSAS for ESB Networks?
In recent years ESB Networks has
been developing many aspects of
its internal Safety Management
System and associated processes.
This has been co-incident with a
marked drop in ESB Networks Lost
Time Injuries. The OHSAS
assessment allows Networks to
take stock and benchmark against
the best international and external
standard. It also allows for the very
successful Gerry Campbell Safety
Excellence Audit and Awards
process to better reflect
international as well as internal
standards. Continual
Improvement, which is a key
Networks Safety principle, is also
what OHSAS is itself centred upon.
The OHSAS Benchmark process
in ESB Networks
As part of the conferring of
licence by the NSAI, the 11 ESB
Networks Assessors conducted six
pilot OHSAS assessments at
Middle Manager team level. This
assessed both site and systems
safety requirements in great
detail. Strengths, opportunities
for improvement and best
practices were identified at each
location assessed against best
international standards. All
outputs were communicated to
teams being audited. On foot of
the valuable introduction to
OHSAS and the ongoing
benchmark assessments, ESB
Networks Safety Management
Systems and processes will
continue to be developed in line
with best international practice
and standards. EM
