Edition No. 8

OHSAS 18001 and OSHA’s VPP: Development and Comparison

Many companies are looking for a reliable standard that they can use to assess and certify their health and safety management systems. They are also looking for guidance on how to implement an effective occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) that aligns with their business goals and culture. The British Standards Institution’s (BSI) OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) and the Federal and State OSHA VPP (Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program) have proven over time to be reliable and effective standards which companies can use to assess their OHSMS. Both programs are voluntary standards designed as benchmarks against which a facility’s OHSMS can be compared in order to control risks and continuously improve occupational safety and health performance.

This brief overview compares the OHSAS 18001 standard to OSHA’s VPP. It is not intended to be an endorsement of one over the other but merely a comparison that highlights the similarities and differences so that organizations can be informed prior to beginning the selection process.

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OHSAS 18001

OHSAS 18001 is a fairly new standard, developed by BSI in 1999. It is the successor standard to BS 8800, developed primarily to make the standard parallel to International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001 and ISO 14001.
Similar to ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 does not establish absolute requirements for performance. Rather, it is designed for organizations that wish to have a standard against which to assess their OHSMS. This standard enables them to continually maintain and improve upon their OHSMS, assure conformance to a stated policy, and demonstrate (through third-party certification) such conformance to others. Many of its clauses, terms and definitions parallel ISO 14001 and 9001. For example, planning for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control contained in OHSAS 18001 parallels the environmental aspects identification clause of ISO 14001.

It is estimated that over 2,000 sites worldwide have been registered to the OHSAS standard since its inception. Many of these sites were registered previously to the ISO 9001 and/or ISO 14001 standards; OHSAS 18001 is fully compatible with both standards.

Adoption

It is important to note that because OHSAS 18001 is not classified as an International Standard, it has not yet been adopted by ISO as such. BSI intends to withdraw the 18001 standard if ISO adopts it or includes it as part of an international standard.

OHSAS 18001 was developed differently than ISO standards. ISO standards were created with input from many different countries and sources, but OHSAS 18001 was developed by a select group of experts through BSI. ISO considered adopting OHSAS 18001 as an international standard, but the proposal was defeated, with the United States leading the opposition. There is still pressure from the international community to reach agreement on a standard. It may happen that OHSAS 18001, especially with the global acceptance of ISO 14001, will win that consensus.

OSHA’s VPP

Developed in 1982, OSHA’s VPP is more fundamental, systematic, and performance-based than OHSAS 18001. Like 18001, VPP is a voluntary program where specifics are identified and measured by an individual organization. But unlike OHSAS, there are minimal performance levels that need to be achieved. For example, the site must be in compliance with OSHA regulations and meet certain historical injury/illness rates in order to be considered for certification. In VPP, management, labor, and OSHA work together to establish cooperative relationships in workplaces which have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system.

VPP certification is OSHA’s official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have implemented and achieved exemplary occupational safety and health programs. According to OSHA, in the 22 years that the standard has been available, a total of 1,043 federal and state sites have been VPP-certified.

Summary

OHSAS 18001 was developed in Britain and has gained international acceptance, whereas OSHA’s VPP is US-developed and, by design, has only been deployed in US facilities. Both are voluntary standards against which a site’s occupational health and safety management system can be assessed. Each system recognizes excellent safety and health performance and provides guidelines for an organization’s continual improvement. Although there are differences in the way the standards were developed and applied, both are intended to achieve similar results. While VPP is more performance-based, the two standards use a third-party certifying body (a registrar for OHSAS and OSHA for VPP) that produces independent recognition of occupational health and safety performance. If 18001 becomes an ISO standard, its acceptance internationally will, no doubt, grow rapidly.

At EORM, we have helped organizations determine which standard is right for them and have assisted them in achieving certification. While EORM is not a registrar for OHSAS, our assessment services are scalable and range from a simplified high-level review of a facility’s compliance and/or management system status to an in-depth review of all relevant compliance, management systems, and best practices. Whether or not an organization takes the final step to be certified, the standard requirements of both systems are sound business practices that are quickly becoming necessities in today’s business climate.

For more information, please refer to http://www.osha.gov and http://www.bsi.org.uk.