Workplace Safety

BS OHSAS 18001 – Occupational health and safety is a management task

Taking good care of your employees is one of the essential goals of your organization. With the implementation of an occupational health and safety management system according to BS OHSAS 18001, you fulfill both your own demands and legal requirements on workplace safety. DQS offers the comprehensive assessment of your management system, concluding in the issuance of a certificate. A management system according to BS OHSAS 18001 is fully compatible with ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment), and thus well suited to being part of an integrated management system.

A standard with many advantages

With an occupational health and safety management system according to the international standard BS OHSAS 18001, you optimize your operational processes with regards to workplace safety and the health of your employees.

This has positive effects throughout your organization: lower accident and illness rates among employees results in reduced costs. Your employees’ safety awareness is increased through the implementation of corresponding measures. And as an organization, you gain legal certainty.

Your demonstrably improved workplace safety performance enhances the image of your organization and creates competitive advantages for you on the market.

The requirements of BS OHSAS 18001 follow the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act), using the following criteria: workplace safety policy, hazard identification, risk appraisal and control of risk, legal and other requirements, objectives, program, structure and responsibility, training/awareness and ability, guidance, collaboration and communication, documentation/control of documents and data, control of operational processes, emergency preparedness and measures, performance measurement and monitoring, internal audit and management review.

How it works

You can have your management system audited comprehensively according to all of the requirements of BS OHSAS 18001 – or based on individual aspects or processes. In both cases, we will show you the strengths of your systems, potential for improvement, and we will summarize the results in a written report.

A successful, comprehensive system audit will be confirmed by the issuance of a certificate. On request, we can also regularly audit individual aspects of your organization.

SEDEX SMETA

The SEDEX-Database enables its members to show their customers that they respect the principles of ethically and socially sustainable production.

The Supplier Ethical Data Exchange Database is a worldwide platform for the exchange of information on ethically sustainable production in the supply chain. The SEDEX-Database enables its members to manage their suppliers and reduce their risks by exchanging information on ethical performance. This way improvements regarding ethically sustainable business practices are made throughout the production chain.

Companies which undergo a SEDEX-Audit according to the SMETA-Guidelines and share this information in the SEDEX-Database can prove to their customers that they respect the principles of ethically and socially sustainable production. Customers, on the other hand, can effectively manage their suppliers according to these principles, thus reducing their risk.

Benefits for your organization:

• Improve your company’s reputation
• Competitive advantage
• Reduction of risk
• Improvement of supplier relationships
• One instead of several audits

Sedex Membership Categories

Members can register as A, B or AB member in the Sedex Database

• A members: end of the supply chain, usually retailers who wish to manage their suppliers through Sedex
• B members: usually producers at the beginning of the supply chain, who are requested to share data on their ethical performance with their customers
• AB members: usually processors and distributors in the middle of the supply chain, who on the one hand obtain information from their suppliers and in turn are requested to make available information on their own ethical performance to their clients

SA8000 — Social Responsibility

SA8000 is an international Standard published in the year 1997 by the non-profit organization SAI (Social Accountability International). Companies choose audit and certification according to SA8000 because they want to demonstrate the social responsibility inherent in their management system. This involves top management taking into account the rights of employees, the working environment, and basic human rights.

The essential requirements of SA8000 relate to the subject areas of: child labor, forced labor, health and safety, freedom of assembly, discrimination, punishment, working hours, pay, and the management system.

SA8000 is the first auditable standard in this area. It is based on the conventions established by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN Convention for Children’s Rights.

DQS conducts assessments and certifications to SA8000 on behalf of IQNet, the world’s largest network of management system certification bodies. IQNet is accredited for this social standard by SAAS (Social Accountability Accreditation Services).

Benefits:

• Integrates easily into existing management systems
• Certificate provides competitive advantages and improves your image
• Improves employee confidence, trust, and satisfaction
• Demonstrates appreciation
• Improves mutual trust within your own network of suppliers

IQNet SR10 Corporate Social Responsibility, based on ISO 26000

The public is increasingly demanding corporations and organizations fulfill their obligations for social accountability, and improve the impact their activities and decisions have on the environment and society as a whole. More and more, the public is paying attention to the manner in which organizations handle their responsibility as corporate citizens. Consumers and buyers require ethical behavior and transparent management.

In order to meet the growing need for an internationally accepted standard, IQNet developed specification IQNet SR 10, which was published in December 2011. It is based on the Spanish specification RS 10 developed by AENOR and on ISO 26000 Among other factors, the particular strength of this IQNet standard lies in it being eminently suited to integration into an existing management system (thanks to IQNet’s more than 20 years of certification experience), as well as its international acceptance.

In April 2015, IQNet released the second version of the standard, IQNet SR10:2015.

Benefits for your organization:

• Improved image in the eyes of customers and consumers; stands out from the competition
• Guaranteed fulfillment of legal requirements
• International comparability, ranking and evaluation make your own corporate commitment visible and credible
• Long-term increase of economic success with minimum impact on the environment; long-term increase of competitive ability