OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001)

OHSAS 18001 stands for Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001. It was a specification for an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). It set out requirements that let an organization control workplace health and safety risks and improve its performance. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety gives its formal title as "Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, Specification".

The specification was published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) as part of the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series. It has since been replaced by ISO 45001, the current ISO standard for occupational health and safety management systems. Suppliers will still see OHSAS 18001 on older certificates, company profiles and past bid documents.

What the OHSAS 18001 specification covered

OHSAS 18001 was written as a management-system specification. Its purpose was to help organizations identify, control and reduce workplace health and safety risks. An organization could use it to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve its OHSMS.

Conformity could be shown in two ways: through external certification or registration, or through self-declaration. A certificate from an accredited registrar was therefore one route, but not the only one.

OHSAS 18001 compared with OHSAS 18002

The two documents had different jobs. OHSAS 18001 supplied the requirements, and OHSAS 18002 supplied implementation guidelines for applying them. An organization building a system would read 18001 to learn what had to be in place and 18002 to learn how to go about it. The OSTI technical document describes this split between requirements and guidance.

A management-system specification is also separate from legal obligations. Holding or following OHSAS 18001 did not replace the occupational health and safety legislation and regulations that apply to an employer.

Replacement by ISO 45001

BSI describes OHSAS 18001 as the previous occupational health and safety management system standard and states that ISO 45001 has replaced it. Any current reference to a recognized occupational health and safety management system standard should point to ISO 45001, not to OHSAS 18001.

Treat OHSAS 18001 as a legacy label. A supplier that still describes its safety program as OHSAS 18001 compliant should be ready to say how that program maps to the current standard.

How management-system standards appear in Canadian procurement

Federal procurement guidance on standards and quality assurance shows how management-system standards enter solicitations. The CanadaBuys guidance on standards and quality assurance says government buyers are generally expected to use recognized Canadian standards or specifications for goods and services, unless the volume or specific nature of the purchase justifies an exception.

• Clients must state government quality assurance requirements clearly in the requisition or attached documentation, including the inspection authority and the point of inspection.
• A solicitation may require an offeror or contractor to take part in an acceptable recognized qualifying program.
• Examples given include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 9001:2015 plus AQAP-2110, or an equivalent program that provides adequate audits and controls.

That guidance names ISO 9001 and AQAP-2110 as qualifying programs. It does not name OHSAS 18001. Broader oversight material is available on the Public Services and Procurement Canada standards and oversight page.

What OHSAS 18001 means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Do not build a bid around an OHSAS 18001 certificate. The federal quality assurance guidance does not list it, and the standard has been replaced by ISO 45001. If a solicitation names OHSAS 18001, read the clause closely and, where the process allows, ask the contracting authority through the stated channel what evidence it will accept.

If a tender asks for evidence of an occupational health and safety management system, describe your current system and state which standard it follows. Keep records of audits and certifications, and keep your legal compliance separate from your management-system claims. Where a solicitation sets quality assurance requirements, meet the programs it names, such as ISO 9001:2015 or AQAP-2110, and follow the inspection requirements in the bid documents.