OHSAS 18001

While OHSAS 18001 (= Occupational Health- and Safety Assessment Series) isn't an official norm, it can nevertheless be used as the basis for certification of management systems for workplace safety (AMS).

The structure of OHSAS comes primarily from ISO 14001, making it suitable for use in an integrated management system. OHSAS is based on the English standard BS 8800:1996. There is currently much discussion about whether it should be established as an internationally valid norm. OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) draws strongly from ISO 9001 and 14001, and was in fact established as the British norm in 2007. The standard has since been raised to a national standard in Poland as well, although it is not a globally valid ISO (International Standard Organisation) standard, since norms from the AMS are not accepted at the global level. Instead a request has been made by the ISO for the ILO (International Labour Organization) to create a globally applicable code for AMS (ILO-OSH 2001). Currently in use in more than 80 countries around the world, OHSAS 18001 is the best known and important AMS standard available. In Germany roughly one thousand companies have received OHSAS 18001 certification.

The welfare of our employees is a very serious matter for us, and part of the reason why we've integrated this standard into the IMS.