Tips on obtaining 3rd party certification to OHSAS 18001 – is it right for your organisation and how to chose a certification company that will provide you real value

If you have a developed and maintain your Occupational Health & Safety Management System in accordance with OHSAS 18001 you may wish to consider obtaining third party certification. There are many certification companies that provide this service. Typically they will undertake an initial audit of your system to ensure it complies with the standard requirements, and then a more detailed audit to ensure that the system is implemented and maintained. They will undertake surveillance visits over the certification period, which is typically 3 years.

As an employer, you get an additional level of comfort that your health & safety management is to a high level. You also obtain a certificate that is useful in demonstrating to existing and prospective customers that the organisation has reached an internationally recognised high level of safety management, which may assist in tendering opportunities. Similarly, it provides a good independent check that matters are being appropriately addressed, which in itself may encourage your employees to ensure all elements of the management system are being implemented.

If you consider the benefits of third party certification outweigh the costs then you'll need to decide which certification company you want to employ.

Some certification companies are not UKAS accredited, which means there is no body governing them. A certificate from a non UKAS accredited certification company clearly has less value than one from an accredited company.

The most important element of the service from a certification company is whether they provide value for money. The audit process can be very negative, in that the auditor's job is to find departures from the standard and requirements specified in the System. A good auditor will also identify the positive good parts of the system. An auditor that picks up a major non-conformance in a positive way will provide far greater value for money than one that does not, or simply concentrates on the trivial items.

If you find you cannot work with the auditor remember that you are the client – explain to the certification company that the individual they have provided is not suitable. They will hopefully find an alternative auditor to suit your requirements. The UKAS accredited certification companies obviously have to stay within the rules set down by the standard and UKAS so do not make demands that go beyond this remit.