How do the OHSAS training courses on offer fit with the stages of the OHSAS auditing process?

The health and safety management system specification OHSAS 18001, is the standard used by many business to safeguard their employees and visitors health and safety in the workplace. Not only does it show a commitment to health and safety provision, but it is also compatible with the 9001 quality and 14001 environmental standards. Many businesses now chose to implement all three systems together to maximise efficiency. 

If your company is looking to implement the 18001 specification, with an aim of getting your business certified, you may be a little daunted as to where to start. Of course, the best way of making sense of this is by attending an OHSAS training course. With such a range of OHSAS training courses on offer, this article aims to assist you in establishing which course would be most suitable for you, at any given point in the OHSAS process. 

Perhaps you are in the early stages of establishing what you need to do to get OHSAS 18001 certification? If this is the case, and you have had no previous experience with this specification, you may wish to consider an introductory OHSAS training course. Usually a short, single day affair, an introductory course will provide you with a general overview of the regulations and process, which will allow you to begin to think about how this would work within your organisation. 

Once the decision to go for 18001 certification has been made, you may be questioning how you will set up this system to work effectively in your company? If this is the case, then consider an ‘implementing’ OHSAS training course. Usually a little longer than the introductory courses, the implementing courses focus on how to put your health and safety management system in place in a cost effective manner. Especially useful in that they cover establish ways of doing things, which stops the inexperienced candidate reinventing the wheel, saving time and stress! 

Once you have implemented a health and safety management system, you must fulfil the OHSAS 18001 requirement by internally auditing the it for successes, gaps and improvements that can be made. OHSAS training is available for the internal auditor. A two day course, the internal auditor training covers the specifics of the 18001 regulations, comparisons between 18001 and ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, auditing skills,  how to plan and complete an audit, and reporting the findings of an audit. The key benefits of completing an OHSAS training course for internal auditors, is that it provides a tried and tested structure of how facilitate a successful audit, giving the candidate confidence to complete this role successfully. You may wish to consider how many trained internal auditors you have. This is because an auditor cannot assess their own work, so you will usually need a minimum of two and more will be needed for larger companies. 

The final stage in the certification process is an independent audit, which if it is successful, will lead to OHSAS certification. This independent assessment will usually be completed by a Lead Auditor and sometimes and audit team for larger organisations. The audit needs to be done independently to allow maximum objectivity and adherence to the strict OHSAS 18001 regulations. If you are considering becoming an independent auditor, you will want a Lead auditor course. Usually certified by IRCA (The International Register of Certificated Auditors) these courses last a full working week and are suitable for those with previous experience with 18001. 

Lead auditor courses are also applicable to individuals working within organisations who wish to extend their knowledge to head an in company team of auditors or if they wish to audit their own suppliers.