About your point 4, the rates of accidents or occupational illnesses or the visit of a company tells me 100 more than its eventual OHSMS certificate ! With this certificate I do know two things: the OHSMS standard used by the company and the date of his certification ... but I know nothing about the actual H&S working conditions of its employees...
My point w.r.t. certification was only to highlight the declaration of the 'compliance status' of the organization to the requirements of an international standard by an accreditated agency. The certification, as a minimum, ensures
a) that the organization has
established & implemented a H&S Policy & an OHSMS in conformance with an international standard. (Although establishing H&S policy is a legal requirement in almost all the countries),
b) that the organization
complies with (or has a system to comply with) the applicable legal requirements pertaining to H&S of the employees & others,
c) that the organization has a system
to continually improve it's OHS performance
d) that the OHS performance is
periodically audited & reviewed and actions are taken /attempts are made to further improve it.
Although, all the above features can be developed even without having a certificate, yet the 'certification' (if granted after a
'real' audit) itself speaks of the 'working conditions' of the employees which are largely governed (in every country) by the local legislation and the auditor, as a minimum, has to verify if those requirements are being complied with or not.
1.1. These guidelines should contribute to the protection of workers from hazards and to the elimination of work-related injuries, ill health, diseases, incidents and deaths.
1.3. At the level of the organization, the guidelines are intended to:
(a) provide guidance regarding the integration of OSH management system elements in the organization as a component of policy and management arrangements; and
(b) motivate all members of the organization, particularly employers, owners, managerial staff, workers and their representatives, in applying appropriate OSH management principles and methods to continually improve OSH performance.
The excerpts from the ILO-OHS Guidelines, as mentioned above, also signify the need for adoption (not necessarily certification) of a robust OHS management system capable to
i) motivate the people at all levels to achieve the organization's OHS commitments
ii) apply appropriate tools (monitoring & measurement systems, audits, reviews, CA / PA etc.) to continually improve the organization's OHS performance in terms of managing or mitigating the OHS risks in measurable terms or atleast maintaining the 'acceptable level' of OHS performance.
Thanks.
