Posted By Ronofcam Hi Jason, My advice to you is to employ a consultant. You don’t state in your post, but if you don’t have experience with any other standard (ISO 9001 & 14001) then setting it up from scratch is difficult, no matter how competent you are at health & safety. You have to remember that most of it is procedural, and (in my experience) paper driven. It could be that your company has procedures in place already to deal with H&S matters, but to collate them all into the right format will take up lots of time. It is much easier (though costlier) to let someone come in and do an initial appraisal of your system with a view to assisting you in the implementation of the standard. I say all this from the perspective of having gone through the process myself. Our company has accreditation to all 3 standards, and we have an integrated management system. I would have been lost, though, without specialist help. Also, you’ll find that an independent consultant will be very familiar with the accreditation body’s requirements, and know what they’re looking for, thereby removing a lot of unnecessary work on your part. If you’ve any specific questions on the process then post on here and I’ll do what I can to assist. Iain

Posted By cmw Hello Jason, Having managed an OHSAS 18001 system for a few years I would advise to keep it simple. If you comply with HSG65 then you will have much in place already. Take each clause in the BS and work out what you need from what you have to comply. I do it on an excel spreadsheet. The guidance on what to do for each clause is in 18002. Be careful with your specification for consultants if you use them. I inherited a system with hundreds of documents including process maps in it (put in by a consultant) and it was a nightmare to keep up to date. You do not need process maps but one or two in key areas can be very handy to clarify in your own mind. Email me and I can send you the list of clauses in a spreadsheet. Clare

Posted By Stuart Nagle Jason the new 18001: 2007 is much easier to do than the previous version. You should get hold of a copy of 18001 2007 and it's sister publication 18002, which gives information on how to implement it. Drop me a mail...!! Stuart

Posted By Robert K Lewis jason Drop me a line as I think your proposed consultants may be offering you a service that might not truly assist. Will contact you personally off my own computor tommorrow Bob

Posted By Tony Tomkins Hi Jason Would definitely agree with the purchasing of 18002 advice, and get yourself on a specific 18001 Lead Auditor's Course; but a brief overview can be found here: http://www.healthandsafe...ownloads_Pages/OHSAS.htm Good luck! Tony