An assessment of the OHSAS 18001 certification process: Objective drivers and consequences on safety performance and labour productivity

Analysis of the relationship between the adoption of the OHSAS 18001 and business performance in different organizational contexts

“…The fundamental objective of the OHSAS 18001 standard is to support and promote good practices in the area of occupational health and safety via systematic and structured management systems (Chang and Liang, 2009). Also, prior studies suggest that safety practices linked to the OHSAS 18001 improve both competences at existing operational procedures and the functioning of the business (Abad et al, 2013;Lo et al, 2014). As a result, adopting organizations could be in a solid position to minimize risks to its employees, and subsequently to reduce work accidents (Fernández-Muñiz et al, 2012).…”

“…Thus, the adoption of the OHSAS 18001 can be understood as a reaction to poor safety performance (Abad et al, 2013;Bevilacqua et al, 2016;Lo et al, 2014).…”

“…Existing research on safety management supports the notion that businesses adopting safety systems experience performance improvements (Abad et al, 2013;de Koster et al, 2011;Lo et al, 2014). The analysis of how enhanced safety management systems improve various dimensions of performance is the focus of this study.…”

“…Scholars and practitioners have witnessed a striking change in the role of safety management, which has evolved from a narrow view linked to a costly administrative burden to an operating priority with significant economic and social impact (Abad et al, 2013;Das et al, 2008). According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA, 2013), the economic costs and operational losses of work accidents to workers, businesses, and public administrations represent 3% of the EU's gross domestic product.…”

“…Moreover, the OHSAS 18001 is the basis for the new ISO 45001 standard on work safety that will likely be available in 2017, which makes the strategic importance of the OHSAS 18001 more evident. The increased relevance of safety management for managers and policy makers had led to a growing body of work on the role of safety systems on performance; however, literature is relatively silent on how the OHSAS 18001 impacts performance metrics unrelated to work safety (Abad et al, 2013;Lo et al, 2014). The OHSAS 18001 is a source of knowledge but the characteristics of the safety system themselves, of the environment in which the system is used, and of the operational tasks which condition both the visibility of the consequences of accidents can each affect its influence.…”