Once I started developing and implementing management systems, I could not resist applying management system theory to this event.  I developed a Christmas Party Checklist.  This checklist sets out the various tasks that need to be done and has blanks for assigning responsibilities and checking off each task when it is done.

Why do I use a checklist?

One year, I found the strawberries for the appetizer course still in the refrigerator when I put the leftovers away.  Another year, I had to scramble to find the meat platter while the guests watched from the table.

This checklist helps the party go smoothly and, more importantly, it helps me relax and actually enjoy the party because I know I am not going to forget anything important.

The morning after the party I make notes and additions to the checklist and file it away for the following year.

So what does this have to do with OHSAS 18001?

Checklists are an important part of a management system.  As with our Christmas party, they prevent you from missing important tasks.  They also help make your job more manageable and enjoyable – that is, if they are done right.

Want to learn more about creating effective checklists?

Click here to check out my previous blog and sign up for my mini-course (starting January 16, 2012) focused on checklist creation.

p.s.  It was a great webinar Tuesday on ISO 19011:2011 – The Impact on Management System Auditing. Thank you to those of you who participated and submitted questions for the Q&A.  Come back here next week for a link you can use to view this presentation.

© ENLAR Compliance Services, Inc. (2011)

Checklists are everywhere.  

They are an integral part of many personal activities – from completing your tax return to communicating symptoms to your doctor.  Checklists also play an important role in managing many business processes. 

Checklists will be an important part of your OHSMS documentation.

In order to be effective, checklists need to be intelligently designed and routinely used.  They also need to be controlled.

So how do you go about creating a great checklist?

You need to follow 7 steps –

1. Clearly define the purpose of your checklist.
2. Decide on the right content.
3. Utilize great design.
4. Test that the checklist works as intended.
5. Explain how and when the checklist is to be used (train users).
6. Monitor that the checklist is used as intended.
7. Ensure users are provided new versions when the checklist is changed.

Want to know more? 

Sign up below to receive additional information on learning to create great OHSMS documentation.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2011)

 This result is most obvious in medicine where the use of surgical checklists has saved thousands of lives and untold suffering. The importance of checklists in medicine was highlighted in a 2007 article in the New Yorker Magazine, The Checklist. The most dramatic of these incentives is the international adoption of a one-page Surgical Safety Checklist developed, promoted and disseminated by the World Health Organization.

Click here to download a copy of this checklist. 

There are numerous uses of checklists in OH&S management systems.  In fact, checklists are one of the most effective way of creating management system procedures and work instructions to meet the OHSAS 18001 requirements. 

Some of the OH&S uses of checklists include –

1. Inspection checklists – for forklift trucks, fire extinguishers and other safety-critical devices, equipment and supplies.
2. Plans and permits – for confined space entry, hot work and equipment lockout where the sequence of tasks and adequacy of precautions are critical.
3. Emergency preparedness – for making sure equipment, materials and personnel will be ready and available when an incident occurs.
4. Risk assessments – for evaluating the hazards and risks associated with materials, equipment and tasks.
5. Internal audit protocols – for making sure that OHSMS audits are complete, inclusive and cost-effective.

As regulations, activities and organizations become more complex, checklists become increasingly important for ensuring that nothing is missed.  This is why pilot checklists were developed in aviation in the 1930s.  This is why surgical checklists are being aggressively promoted in medicine today.  This is why most OH&S management systems would benefit from the use of appropriately-designed checklists. 

In my next blog, I will cover the 5 steps you should follow in order to develop good OHSMS checklists.

In the meantime, click here to request a copy of my EHSMS Implementation Checklist.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2011)

Although this may be seen as progressive by those who developed this new management system structure, it is likely to create confusion on the part of users of the standards who are not information management experts.

There are important reasons for distinguishing between the documents that  need to be controlled in a management system and record retention requirements.  Even though both document control and record control are control of documented information, their purpose and use is very different.

Documents are controlled to ensure that individuals are using the correct information to guide them in accomplishing some task.  The information within a document changes over time as conditions and requirements change.  This is why approval processes and version control are critical for documents.

Records are controlled to ensure that the information contained within the document is available and accurate for reference in the future.  The information in records should not change over time.  This is why preservation and data integrity are critical for records.

In honor of the upcoming tax return deadline, I will use preparation and retention of tax returns as an example of document and record control. 

When you complete your tax return, it would be foolish to use last year’s forms and instructions. Instead, since tax forms typically change each year, you look for the most recent version. You want to ensure you use the right form so you meet the requirements set out in the tax code. Version control is what is important.

Once your tax return has been submitted to the IRS, it becomes a record.  Sometimes that record is requested by others to provide evidence of your financial stability.  It would be foolish to change the information contained in that record – and probably illegal as well.  Data preservation and integrity is what is important – not version control.

Both of these involve the control of “documented information” but they are hardly the same.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2011)

 I just got done reading an article in the October 2009 Quality Progress Magazine that sets out a nifty tool for making this decision – a 2 x 2 matrix for deciding whether or not to standardize a process.  Although the example given in this article – Building a Consensus – is  for a quality system process, it can be easily adapted to making standardization decisions in an OH&S management system.

Try it out for your OH&S management system and let me know – “Did it work?” - by posting your comments below.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2009)

Not true. 

As this video points out, at some point more information simply makes us stupid.

This is an important point to remember as you are establishing, implementing and maintaining your OH&S management system.  As you are developing your procedures, programs, forms, inspection sheets, training programs, meeting minutes, e-mail updates…… remember that the human brain only has so much capacity. 

Use it wisely.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2009)

Why is that OH&S management system manuals so often repeat the language of the OHSAS 18001 standard – isn’t that redundant?

Yes and No.

During management system implementation, the constant repetition of the OHSAS 18001 language feels redundant.  You are referring to OHSAS 18001 constantly – in drafting procedures, discussing processes, creating forms and developing training programs.  You probably feel – “enough already with the arcane standards speak.”  Since you are so close to the initial drafting of the manual and other procedures, it is clear in your mind what the OHSAS 18001 requirements are and how you are planning to meet them.

As with most things, memories and associations fade with time. 

One of my favorite Christmas stories is that each year when we got together with my mother and my husband’s parents for Christmas, my Mother would start a question with “What year was it when we ….”  A lively discussion would ensue as we tried to remember exactly what year it was that we did some particular activity – “Was it 1997 or was it 2000?”  My mother has since passed away but we still discuss “What year was it when we …” at Christmas – and I am reminded of her presence.

A similar thing happens with your management system manuals and procedures.  Over time, people will forget both WHAT they need to do and WHY if you don’t actually include the requirements in your Manual.  The “shall clauses” in the OHSAS 18001 standard are unlikely to be remembered and may not actually be met if you don’t explicitly include them in your own OHSMS documentation.

One of the tests of the completeness of a management system manual is whether you can file the standard away (never refer to it again), and still have a management system that continues to be in conformance with the requirements of OHSAS 18001. 

In fact, the hallmark of a good internal audit program is that audits are performed against the organization’s own OHSMS documentation – its manual and procedures – NOT against the OHSAS 18001 standard.  Conformance with the OHSMS manual IS conformance with OHSAS 18001.

© ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2009)