During the breaks and lunch you will have free access to all indoor and outdoor exhibits including the butterfly exhibit.  Call Julie Callaway at (269) 329-1237 for Reservations by March 1, 2005                

ANNUAL GOLF OUTING:

Mike Rabach has generously volunteered to organize our golf outing. It’s planned for a 9 AM tee time on June 17th.  We are looking for sponsors and/or for door prizes.  You can call Mike at 231 773 6791.  This is generally the best attended "meeting  of the year - so it’s a great opportunity to showcase your company!

!!!!!!   DETROIT STEAL OUR MEMBERS   !!!!!

While we have nothing against the Greater Detroit Chapter we have recently learned that - at renewal - the National ASSE mistakenly switched some of our members into the ranks of Detroit.  If you recently renewed your membership you might want to check the card - or get on-line at ASSE.org to check your status.
We are working with National to make sure everyone gets back to the proper side of the State.

HERMAN MILLER SAFETY CONFERENCE - March 15th

We would like to extend our thanks to Herman Miller for opening an invitation to all those involved in Safety to attend a full day conference on safety issues.  Those who attended last year’s session know how much information was packed into these sessions!  Herman Miller is offering this to our members at no cost. We hope that if you attend you will help network with their safety people and extend your appreciation.

This year’s date is March 15th from 7:45 AM to 4:30.  Four speakers are planned.  Pat McDonnell will talk about "Leading for Organizational Excellence". Pat’s talk will include a look at how to give your company the competitive advantage to impact their bottom line.  Samual Gualardo will cover "Thirteen Critical Elements to Achieving Safety Performance Excellence".  Sam is a nationally recognized expert on safety management and has lectured both nationally and internationally.   Patricia Burns will discuss "Safety concepts for Line Management".  Patricia works for DuPont Safety Resources and was based in Brussels Belgium prior to joining Dupont’s North Central Region.  The last speaker will be challenged to keep everyone awake. Peter Furst will talk on "Balancing Safety.   Peter has 20 years in construction safety and kept his EMR at or below 0.50!

Space will be limited so get your name in early if interested!  To register electronically go to http://www.hmiexperience.com/safety

MICHIGAN SAFETY CONFERENCE

The Michigan Safety Conference is coming up on April 19th and 20th. I’m sure most of you know what an excellent opportunity this is - but if you have never gone check out the agenda and topics to be covered during the break-out sessions at www.michsafetyconference.org <http://www.michsafetyconference.org>.  This is an excellent value for both your money and time.  We will be having a joint meeting with the other two ASSE chapters during the conference. We also will have a table to provide information on ASSE.  If you would like to volunteer please let a board member know.

If you have questions, Eric VanFleet from GVSU can probably help.  All necessary documents to take the exam are on the website.  The CSHM should be accredited by the end of April, which will make it the only Safety Manager accredited certification and only one of two (CSP & CSHM) accredited safety certifications.

WHO KNOWS NAEM?

We received a request to plug an upcoming seminar for NAEM.  This association is new to me, but their website states that NAEM is the leading professional association dedicated to advancing the principles and profession of EH&S management.  On August 3rd & 4th a workshop titled EHS Supply Chain Management will be held in Dearborn, MI.  There is no information on cost or content on their website at this time.
The contact information is:  Virginia Hoekenga    virginia@naem.org mailto:virginia@naem.org   1-202-986-6616

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We are constantly encouraging our members who have special knowledge to share it in the form of a Newsletter article.  Personally I’ll admit to a general lack of in-depth knowledge about the different certifications that many of you are forced to deal with as a part of your job.  One member took up our offer by sharing the following on the new OHSAS 18001 certification.

OHSAS 18001 - What?
By James Charles, PE, CPG

Many of you are just recovering from your QS9000 (Quality) and/or ISO14001 (Environmental) certifications and getting back to the manufacturing business.  So what is this new OHSAS 18000 certification people are talking about? Well, the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) guidelines and specifically OHSAS 18001:1999 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - Specification is an international framework and certification process for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management Systems.  The goods news is you’re your customers have not yet mandated this certification and the bad news is many of your competitors are not waiting and moving ahead as a "competitive  differentiator and to drive down operating costs. So let’s find out what OHSAS is all about and whether is makes sense to seek certification.
Because of the high costs associated with employee illness/injury, OHSA inspections, and employee concerns, most companies have well established H&S programs.  The OHSAS standard does not require additional H&S programs it is simply a consolidation and formalization of these existing systems.  And for those of you who have gone through the ISO 14001 process the OHSAS 18001 standard mirrors the ISO 14001.  OHSAS 18001 is built on the Deming’s PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT process and the objective is "Continuous Improvement  of your health and safety performance.So let’s see what is required for certification to this international standard. 

The OHSAS 18001 specification provides the requirements for an OH&S management system to enable an organization to control its OH&S risks and improve performance.  The management system will have the following major components:

[ Please see the newsletter for this table ]

You can see the similarities to the ISO 14001 standard and the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT process.  The following provide a brief overview of the effort required to develop each major component of an OHSAS 18001 conformant OH&S management system. 

OH&S Policy - The OH&S policy is where a facility makes a commitment to the OH&S management system.  The commitment includes commitments to continual improvement of H&S performance and to comply with current applicable OH&S legislation.  The policy must be approved by top management, available to all interested parties, and periodically reviewed.  A facility should wait until completion of the planning elements prior to finalizing their policy to insure that it is in deed appropriate to the nature and scale of there organization and can include specific OH&S risks, as appropriate. 

Planning - The planning process includes a formalized process for hazard identification, assessment of potential risk, and risk control.  While most facilities intuitively know there high risk operations and have control mechanisms in place.  This process will require a complete inventory of all OH&S risks associated with an organizations operation (small and large) and a process to assess the risks of the identified hazards. This evaluation needs to include routine and non-routine activities and the activities of all employees including subcontractors. The process to evaluate these risks can vary widely across industries and organizations.  The hazard identification and risk assessment is extremely important as this establishes the basis for the entire OH&S management systems.

The organization also needs to conduct an assessment of all legal and other OH&S requirements it is subject and include this in the above risk assessment. This must be formalized in a procedure that describes how the legal requirements are identified and how this information is kept up-to date.

The final component of the planning process is the establishment of OH&S goals for improvement of the organizations OH&S performance and the continuous improvement process. The goals should consider all significant risks and focus on areas with the highest cost. The goals should be specific and include a timeframe for completion and clearly state who is responsible.

Implementation and operation - During the implementation and operation phase the organization will define the structure and responsibilities, training requirements, communication process, document control, and emergency preparedness.  The organization will designate a OH&S Management Representative (OHS-MR) who will be responsible for the implementation and operation of the OH&S management system. The standard states that this responsibility should be a member of the organization’s "Top Management".

Training and awareness requires a systematic identification of the OH&S competencies required at each level of your organization.  No additional training is required; however, all personnel need to be aware of how they and their position impact the OH&S performance of the organization and the consequences of deviations from specified procedures.  The procedures should outline the requirements for training,employees and the assessment of "competencies".  

OHSAS’s communication requirements are unique in that is requires the employees input into key OH&S elements.  It states that the employees shall be involved in the development and review of key policies, be consulted about changes that may affect safety, and be represented on OH&S matters.
Document control is one of the major areas that your various management systems can be integrated.  A single document control system should be used and documents can be differentiated (quality, environmental, OH&S) using a defined labeling systems. Most plants have implemented an electronic document control system to store documents, track revisions, and document approvals.  This is the one area where some capital investment is needed to minimize the long tern costs associated with the operation of these management systems.  Get a good system that works for your organization - don’t go CHEAP.

OH&S operational control procures is where you will formalize the procedures that you use to control and minimize the risks associated with your operations.  Operational control is required for "operations with identified risks where control measures need to be applied".  For many of you this may be a simple as getting your existing OH&S procedures into your document control system.

The emergency preparedness component of the standard is simply a formalization of your emergency response programs.  The will include your SPCC/PIPP, RCRA contingency, risk management plans (RMP), and evacuation plans.   The only changes are that you are required to review your response plans after each incident and periodically conduct emergency responses drills.

Checking and corrective action - The checking and corrective process should drive the continuous improvement for the organization.  The key to this is a very effective auditing program and well trained internal auditors.  The auditing program needs to be proactive and focused on finding opportunities for "continuous improvements  not just chasing down paper work errors. Your organization should also place as much importance on the identification of preventive actions as they do on finding corrective actions. 

Management Review - This is the acting component of the continuous improvement process. Many plants already have H&S reviews used to improve safety performance.  An effective management review process requires the organizations top management be engaged and the OHS-MR reporting on all elements of the OH&S management systems. This is includes the findings of the internal audits, preventative actions, and progress towards the defined safety goals.

So now the question is …… "does my site need an OHSAS 18001 conformant OH&S management system"?  I believe the answer is YES and Maybe.  The process of developing an OH&S management system using the frame work of this standard can be very beneficial and be used to accomplish improvement of your OH&S performance and drive down operating costs.  The MAYBE piece is whether or not to seek registration from a third party registrar.  Registration has the benefit of demonstrating to customers and other stakeholders (employees, bankers, insurance companies, regulatory agencies) that you have a well managed OH&S system and does tend to keep a system active through the surveillance audit process.  However, the improvement in OH&S performance can be achieved without the added expense of seeking certification.  Top management should decide, like with any other investment, if the return is worth the cost.

About the Author:  James Charles is a Principal Consultant responsible for management systems training and consulting services for EHS Management Strategies. He is a professional engineer and certified professional geologist with 18 years of EHS experience.  He is currently providing management systems and environmental compliance training programs specializing in ISO14001, OHSAS, DOT, RCRA and Contingency Planning programs. He can be reached at JimCharlesPE@aol.com mailto:JimCharlesPE@aol.com or (616) 901-5957.

TRAINING THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Lastly - We often put on training to comply with the legal requirements - yes it’s required but all too often the workers know the information and it’s difficult to generate much excitement.  The information below came to me from a friend and it seems well worth passing along.  Do you have an opportunity to share this with your employees?  While all training is important - this information could help avoid much pain and suffering within a family. I hope you agree that it’s worth a few minutes of time.