Your OHSAS training options

What is OHSAS?

OHSAS or The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series is a health and safety management system that follows the plan, do, check, review cycle. It was set up to assist companies meet health and safety requirements in an well-organised and effective manner. It has been designed not only to work as a stand alone management system, but also to be easily combined with other management systems such as ISO 9001 (quality) and IOS 14001 (environmental).There are a number of different OHSAS training courses available, and picking the right course for your needs can save you both time and money. Below is a run down of the different levels of OHSAS training on offer.

Getting up to speed?

The first type of OHSAS training course to discuss is the introductory course. Running for a single day, this type of course provides a solid grounding to those candidates that need to gain knowledge of how the system works. Such courses cover why the OHSAS system was implemented, an overview of the system, and introduction to the documentation used in the system and an introduction to OHSAS certification. 

Implementing OHSAS

The second type of OHSAS training available is the implementation course. Designed for those that have a basic knowledge of the OHSAS 18801 system, the implementation course provides information on how to put this system into practice in your own company. Many delegate, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel themselves, by putting the system in place with no experience and no support, choose to benefit from the experience of a trainer in this area. Just think of all the costly and time consuming errors you could avoid by using someone else’s expertise. 

There are also OHSAS training courses available that deal with auditing. Auditing is an essential part of the plan, do, check and review process and allows companies to make improvements to their health and safety practices.

Auditing OHSAS Internal

Firstly, the internal auditing course is designed for those candidates that need to check on the how their own company is doing in relation to the OHSAS systems. An internal auditor course will cover issues such as defining auditing, the specific requirements of the 18001 system, how to develop people skills for the auditing process, planning, performing and reporting on the audit. 

OHSAS Auditor / Lead Auditor 

Secondly, the OHSAS lead auditing course is best suited to either individuals heading an internal audit team, individuals needing to audit their own companies' suppliers or individuals wishing to externally audit other companies in line with the OHSAS 18001 system. The course will address issues such as strategising for audits, how handle situations when recommendations are not followed, how to carry out an audit, details on the 18001 requirements and how to plan for follow up reviews. 

If you are hoping to become an external auditor for OHSAS 18001, please be aware that there you should pick an IRC accredited course and there will be additional requirements to your qualification. Please see the IRC website for more information.