Background on OHSAS Working Group Activities

In 2005, the OHSAS Working Group started the process for revising OHSAS 18001:1999, Occupational health and safety management systems – specification.  OHSAS 18001 is a specification document developed in 1999 by an independent group of national standards organizations and certification bodies. 

An initial working draft of the revised OHSAS 18001 standard was circulated in January 2006 for public comment.  Following a review of the 500 comments received on Working Draft 1 at a meeting of the OHSAS Working Group in Madrid, Spain in October of 2006, a second draft was circulated for comment in November of 2006.

The OHSAS Working Group met again in Shanghai, China in March of 2007.  The 500+ comments on Working Draft 2 were reviewed and consensus was reached on the language of the revised standard.  OHSAS 18001:2007 was published in July 2007.

Work on the companion guidance document, OHSAS 18002, Occupational health and safety management systems – Guidelines for the implementation of OHSAS 18001 began July 2007.

AIHA hosted the first drafting meeting in October of 2007.  This meeting resulted in the publication of the first Working Draft of OHSAS18002 which was circulated for public comment in December 2007.  A second drafting meeting was held in Bali in March 2008 to consider the 400 comments received on the first Working Draft.  A second Working Draft of OHSAS 18002 was circulated on April 9, 2008.  The public comment period on this standard is open until August 1, 2008. 

Contacts

Thea Dunmire, JD, CIH, CSP

AIHA Representative to OHSAS Working Group

(727) 507-8246

tdunmire@enlar.com