Scope Statement Content for OHSAS 18001

[Peter West]

Dear All

I am carrying out a gap analysis of our new system against OHSAS 18001.

Under 'The organization shall define and document the scope of its OH&S management system' - the only reference to scope is at the top of the H&S Policy statement (1 pager) where it says 'Scope - All group companies, All regions / Countries, All Staff'.

There is no mention of scope anywhere else. I think the scope is maybe too lean, compared to those in our other management systems, and also, its very very general which i imagine leaves the company open.

Any thoughts? I will have to explain my concerns to management but need to do so persuasively and as of yet have not come up with a succinct reason to add more detail to the scope.

Thanks

Peter

 

[Randy]

SCOPE....What do you intend to manage? What are the boundaries of the OHSMS?

Then just answer the questions in a documented format of choice and there is nothing that requires the SCOPE to be located in the Policy....Nothing!

 

[samsung]

Dear All

I am carrying out a gap analysis of our new system against OHSAS 18001.

Under 'The organization shall define and document the scope of its OH&S management system' - the only reference to scope is at the top of the H&S Policy statement (1 pager) where it says 'Scope - All group companies, All regions / Countries, All Staff'.

There is no mention of scope anywhere else. I think the scope is maybe too lean, compared to those in our other management systems, and also, its very very general which i imagine leaves the company open.

Any thoughts? I will have to explain my concerns to management but need to do so persuasively and as of yet have not come up with a succinct reason to add more detail to the scope.

Thanks

Peter

It would be better if the scope also includes the products manufactured or services provided by the organization as some products (as well as their manufacturing processes) may involve higher OHS risks than others. That said, the stakeholders should know which products/ services are included in (or excluded from) the OHSMS.

 

[somashekar]

'Scope - All group companies, All regions / Countries, All Staff'.

This is more a wish statement than a scope. Just set your boundaries of OH&S management, where you can control the OH&S risks and improve the OH&S performance. Do you know the cost of certification for your scope and the extent of task and time it needs to cover them ... ? :mg:

It would be better if the scope also includes the products manufactured or services provided by the organization as some products (as well as their manufacturing processes) may involve higher OHS risks than others. That said, the stakeholders should know which products/ services are included in (or excluded from) the OHSMS.

Sorry, .... It says in the scope of the OHSAS standard:
This OHSAS Standard is intended to address occupational health and safety, and is not intended to address other health and safety areas such as employee wellbeing/wellness programmes, product safety, property damage or environmental impacts.

 

[samsung]

Sorry, .... It says in the scope of the OHSAS standard:
This OHSAS Standard is intended to address occupational health and safety, and is not intended to address other health and safety areas such as employee wellbeing/wellness programmes, product safety, property damage or environmental impacts.

I too didn't say that OHSAS is intended to address what you mentioned above.

 

[somashekar]

I too didn't say that OHSAS is intended to address what you mentioned above.

Yap, and what is not covered in the scope of the standard is not addressed in the scope of the OH&S management system, of the implementing organization.

 

[samsung]

Yap, and what is not covered in the scope of the standard is not addressed in the scope of the OH&S management system, of the implementing organization.

Sorry, I didn't get what you wish to convey. IMO, the OP is concerned about the scope of OHS certification.

 

[somashekar]

Sorry, I didn't get what you wish to convey. IMO, the OP is concerned about the scope of OHS certification.

I did not get how the scope of the OHS certification differs from the scope of the OHS management system ....

 

[samsung]

I did not get how the scope of the OHS certification differs from the scope of the OHS management system ....

Scope of certification and scope of Management system are two different things. An organization may decide to implement OHS management system throughout the entire facility but at the same time it has the liberty to exclude part of the facility from the certification scope.

Have a look at the follwoing para from OHSAS 18002:2008 which is self explanatory:

An organization can choose to implement an OH&S management system with respect to the entire organization, or to a subdivision of the organization, provided this is consistent with its definition of its workplace. However, once the workplace is defined, all the work related activities and services of the organization, or subdivision, within that workplace need to be included in the OH&S management system.

Care should be taken in defining and documenting the scope of the OH&S management system, to determine who, what and where, are to be covered. The scope should not be limited so as to exclude an operation or activity that can impact on the OH&S of an organization’s employees and other persons under its control in the workplace.

Note the terms 'who, what and where'. This was the reason I suggested to include the 'products' (what) in the scope of certification.

 

[somashekar]

Thanks for the 18002 reference ...
The "What" directs the organization to the operation or activity that can impact on the OH&S of an organization’s employees and other persons under its control in the workplace, as clearly stated over there.
I do not see What as product and this may be misleading and limited in scope and not as what OHSAS 18002 sets the guidelines.