There are two growing trends for the integration of management systems by organizations:
a) Those that establish a specific management system first and then others gradually integrate it and b) Those that establish an integrated management system; Whether one trend or another derives depends fundamentally on the resources (human, financial, material and technological) available to it.
This work is aimed at unifying the principles of the environmental and occupational health and safety management system as an integrated process, which requires carrying out specific actions, based on the definition of a policy and decision-making regarding planning, implementation, verification and review by senior management.
In addition, it shows the advantages and disadvantages of the integrated management system and the correspondence that exists between NC-ISO 14001: 2004 and NC 18001: 2005.
Introduction
Currently, as a way to provide excellent products and / or services that do not affect the environment and the safety and health of workers, organizations tend to implement management systems for certain activities (quality, environment, safety and occupational health and others), with a view to greater organization, management and control of them, as well as to gain image and eliminate the possible barriers that exist in the market as it becomes more competitive every day.
With the publication of an ISO 14001: 2004 standard for Environmental Management Systems and the increasing application of the OHSAS 18001: 1999 specification and / or the ILO Guidelines on safety and health, the development of an ISO standard for the The integration of the two systems seems more logical every day, despite the fact that we do not even yet have an ISO 18001 standard for occupational health and safety, nor a quality and environmental Integrated Systems standard. However, in any case, organizations are integrating their systems to a greater or lesser extent and it cannot be said that there are no specifications, guidelines or models at their disposal to help them design, implement and maintain their Integrated Management Systems.
goals
1. Analyze the integration of Environmental Management Systems and Health and Safety at Work.
2. Describe the integration process: the principles, connections and links between them, the advantages and disadvantages.
Materials and methods
NC-ISO 14001: 2004 standards were consulted. Environmental Management System - Requirements with Guidance for its use, NC-ISO 14004: 2004. Environmental management systems - General guidelines on supporting principles, systems and techniques and NC 18001: 2005. Safety and Health at Work - Management System for Safety and Health at Work - Requirements. ILO, 2005, as well as Safety and Health ILO-OSH.
Results and Discussion
The integration process is nothing more than applying the principles of the process management approach advocated by current business management theory, in which the organization is understood as a set of processes that must be seen from a global and balanced perspective to achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency, and not from the point of view of specialization in activities disconnected from the global process. The idea is to manage the set of processes that make up the organization, in a unique way but taking into account the specific requirements applicable to the environment and occupational health and safety, instead of managing each function from different and independent points of view.
The integration process
An integrated management system would have to propose as fundamental commitments the following:
- Environmental protection, including the prevention of pollution and waste. Safety and health in the workplace, as well as eliminating or, if not possible, minimizing occupational risks. Compliance with current applicable legislation and the regulations signed by the organization, having to go so far as to fulfill the specific requirement that applies to the organization. Continuous improvement that ensures effective performance with respect to the environment and occupational safety and health. The integration, therefore, of these commitments in the system general management of an organization.
To implement an Integrated Management System (GIS), the company will have to consider a process in which, depending on its initial diagnosis and the path chosen to achieve integration, that is, the degree of integration of the methodologies and the organizational structure existing at any time, may place the organization in one of the following cases:
A: Incomplete integration
- Different representatives by the management for the different systems.
Different documentation for different systems, which translates into excess of it, and much more work.
Systems very focused on control and little on improvement.
B: Full integration
- A single representative for the direction of environment and health and safety at work, with a real staff function.
Reduced documentation.
Continuous improvement effective in all GIS performance.
Highly competent and trained staff.
The scope for an Integrated Occupational Health and Safety and Environment Management System would be to one or more physical locations or to the entire organization, to satisfy the requirements of both systems.
The integrated policy must be in accordance with the complexity, size and nature of environmental aspects and occupational risks and must include at least three fundamental commitments:
Commitment to comply with current applicable legislation and the one signed by the organization in the field of Occupational Safety and Health and the Environment.
Commitment to continuous improvement
Pollution prevention commitment
The planning of the Integrated Management System includes:
Identification, evaluation and control of environmental aspects and occupational risks.
Legal and other requirements.
Objectives, goals and programs.
The objectives of Environmental Management and Safety and Health at Work must be measurable and consistent with the policy. Goals are more concrete and shorter-term actions that are taxed towards achieving an objective. These objectives and goals must be planned in one or more Integrated Management Programs where each person is responsible, compliance time and resources.
For the implementation and operation, logically, there must be an organizational structure where communication and the allocation of documented responsibilities flow efficiently to all levels and functions of the organization to sensitize, develop, implement, maintain and improve the GIS. Due to this, it is convenient for senior management to designate a person with sufficient authority and responsibility to coordinate the implementation and maintenance of the Integrated Management System, so that said person informs the Directorate of the performance of the GIS.
On the other hand, the organization must identify the training and competence needs of all workers related to the environmental aspects and associated risks, establishing one or several training plans to guarantee their effectiveness.
Today, it is sought that any Management System in the organization has the minimum of necessary documentation, becoming more extensive depending on the complexity and nature of significant environmental aspects and occupational risks. It is also necessary to establish one or more emergency plans for potential incidents and emergency situations, which will be reviewed periodically.
The organization must establish and document at regular intervals the monitoring and measurement of GIS performance. This means that once the System is implemented, compliance with the objectives, programs and plans, legislation, indicators, operational criteria, corrective and preventive actions is verified, and the results thereof are recorded. This principle is known as Verification.
Senior management should review the GIS within the time frames that were proposed, seeking to gather all the information necessary to evaluate and take effective actions.
The correspondence between the requirements of both standards is detailed Jan. Annex A
Advantages and disadvantages of Integrated Systems
We can point out the following advantages of integrating Management Systems for an organization:
- The implementation, monitoring and certification audits of the two systems can be carried out at the same time, within the corresponding deadlines, by a multipurpose audit team. This would reduce the costs for an organization of preparing such audits. It would be an incentive for innovation in organizations, which would provide added value to their actions. It would simplify the necessary documentation as it is unique, which would bring transparency, ease of handling and reduction of maintenance costs. By tending to a single system and therefore an easier system to manage, develop and maintain, it would help, encourage and sensitize organizations to improve their competitiveness and their image in the market..
There are also disadvantages:
- Higher implementation cost, in relation to a single particular management system. Greater effort in terms of training, organization and change in business culture.
Conclusions
1. The key to business success will be given to the extent that the organization can establish the bases or premises necessary to implement an effective GIS.
These premises are:
- There must be the commitment and leadership of the organization's Management. All applicable legislation in force and the one signed by the organization must be identified. It must be based on the continuous improvement of the performance of the integrated system. It is a permanent activity. The objectives, goals and programs cannot be static, but dynamic; it is fundamentally based on preventive action and not on corrective action. The effectiveness must be measured fundamentally by the actions. It is a priority to prevent risks both in normal and abnormal conditions, and in potential situations that may occur. The system must be measurable. It will only be effective if one is able to measure and evaluate the situation in which the organization finds itself, where it wants to go and what is needed.the identification and evaluation techniques are similar, and some are even identical so they can be integrated. It is very important that measurements are made on prospective indicators. It is everyone's job. It is achieved through training.
2. The Integrated Management System for the Environment and Occupational Safety and Health, although it is more expensive, has more competitive advantages compared to these separately.
Bibliographic references
1. NC-ISO 14001: 2004. Environmental Management System - Requirements with Guidance for its use.
2. NC-ISO 14004: 2004. Environmental Management System - Guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques.
3. NC 18001: 2005. Safety and Health at Work - Management System for Safety and Health at Work - Requirements.
4. ILO, 2005. Safety and Health ILO-OSH.
Annex A
Correspondence between the requirements of NC-ISO 14001: 2004 and NC 18001: 2005
| NC-ISO 14001: 2004 | NC 18001: 2005 |
| 4. GHS requirements | 4. Elements of the SGSST |
| 4.1 General requirements | 4.1 General requirements |
| 4.2 Environmental policy | 4.2 Occupational safety and health policy |
| 4.3 Planning | 4.3 Planning |
| 4.3.1 Environmental aspects | 4.3.1 Planning for hazard identification, risk assessment and control. |
| 4.3.2 Legal and other requirements | 4.3.2 Legal and other requirements |
| 4.3.3 Objectives, goals and programs | 4.3.3 Objectives 4.3.4 Occupational safety and health management program (s) |
| 4.4 Implementation and operation | 4.4 Implementation and operation |
| 4.4.1 Resources, functions, responsibility and authority | 4.4.1 Structure and responsibilities |
| 4.4.2 Competence, training and awareness | 4.4.2 Training, awareness and competence. |
| 4.4.3 Communication | 4.4.3 Consultation and communication |
| 4.4.4 Documentation | 4.4.4 Documentation |
| 4.4.5 Document control | 4.4.5 Control of documents and data |
| 4.4.6 Operational control | 4.4.6 Operational control |
| 4.4.7 Emergency preparedness and response | 4.4.7 Emergency preparedness and response |
| 4.5 Verification | 4.5 Verification and corrective actions |
| 4.5.1 Monitoring and measurement 4.5.2 Evaluation of legal compliance | 4.5.1 Measurement and monitoring of performance |
| 4.5.3 Nonconformity, corrective action and preventive action | 4.5.2 Accidents, incidents, nonconformities, corrective action and preventive action |
| 4.5.4 Control of records | 4.5.3 Records and record management |
| 4.5.5 Internal audit | 4.5.4 Audit |
| 4.6 Management review | 4.6 Management review |
