NSI H & S GOLD CERTIFICATION SCHEME
This scheme is based upon compliance with BS OHSAS 18001:2007 the recognized standard for an Occupational Health & Safety Management System.
NSI H & S Gold Certification to BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and NSI Quality Schedule HSQS 101 is targeted at organisations who already hold an NSI Gold Approval for combined Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Product Certification (PC) as there is increasing demand for NSI to provide a ‘one stop shop’ certification service for companies operating within the Security and Fire Safety Industries. The advantage of this is that the H & S applicants are already familiar with the principles of management systems certification and they have already demonstrated compliance with the recognised technical requirements for the product or service. Additionally compliance will have already been demonstrated with the General NSI Rules and Regulations, which equally apply to all NSI Certification Schemes.
Although the NSI EMS Gold Scheme is targeted at organisations already holding an NSI QMS/PC Approval; applications for NSI H & S Gold Certification will still be accepted from organisations in the Security and Fire Safety Industries that do not hold any existing NSI certification. In such cases no actual H & S Auditing will commence until it is demonstrated that the General NSI Rules and Regulations can be satisfied.
NSI Gold Schemes for QMS(Quality Management Systems), EMS (Environmental Management Systems and OH & S (Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems) are all accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) for the defined scopes under EAC Codes 28, 34 and 35.Organizations approved by NSI can therefore use the appropriate NSI Logo in conjunction with UKASManagement Systems Tick & Crown as detailed in the relevant NSI scheme.
HSF 105.31MJC Oct 2012
APPROVAL PROCESS
1.Confirm that you can meet the general criteria for the NSI OH & S (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) Gold Certification Scheme
Before submitting your application please verify that you either already satisfy the following conditions or that you will satisfy the same by the time of any NSI Initial Certification Audit:
a)You have documented an Occupational Health & Safety Management System and Programme that addresses all clauses of BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and takes note of the additional guidance and clarification within the NSI Quality Schedule HSQS 101.
b)You believe you are aware of and comply with all applicable Health & Safety legislation.
c)You have appointed a management representative to establish, implement, maintain and report on the OH & S MS.
d)You believe that you can satisfy the NSI Rules and Regulations for the OH & S Scheme.
e)The Scope of your OH & S MS is clear and relates mainly to services or products provided within the Security and Fire Safety Industries.
Note: Organisations that already hold an NSI Gold Approval for their QMS (Quality Management System) should not experience any difficulty in complying with NSI General Rules and Regulations. They will also find that there are a number of clauses within BS EN ISO 9001:2008 that are compatible with BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and it may therefore be possible to have common procedures for certain activities e.g. internal audit, document control etc.
2.The Application Form
Complete the application form and annex J, sign to confirm that you agree to comply with scheme requirements etc and return to the NSI with the following items:
a)A cheque for the application fee (see current fee schedule and/or issued quotation). This covers the processing of the application and the required audit days to complete the initial certification audit. If due to the size and complexity of the company and its declared scope additional days are subsequently required, then these will be later charged at the standard daily rate.
Note:
1)For on-going certification, an annual registration fee is charged that includes a head office element and provision for the annual surveillance audit(s).
2)When an organisation maintains more than one management systems approval with NSI only the standard daily rate is charged for the necessary additional audit days to cover the second and subsequent management systems approvals and wherever possible integrated audits shall be conducted to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
b)A copy of any initial health & safety review that you may have carried out to determine your actual and potential hazards and risks.
c)A copy of your documentation that shows how you address the clauses of BS OHSAS 18001:2007. This may include a stand-alone manual or one integrated with an existing QMS Manual, Policy Statements etc. If possible also include a copy of any supporting procedures and any listing or register of applicable H & S legislation.
d)A statement identifying the major shareholders.
e)A list of all offices, branches and locations that the H & S applies to.
3.Review of the information submitted to the NSI
The general information submitted to the NSI office is reviewed and if there are no causes for serious concern a lead auditor is appointed. The Lead Auditor carries out a desktop review of the submitted H & S documentation to verify that there is sufficient compliance for the initial audit dates to be agreed. If the H & S Management System Documentation is clearly unacceptable the Lead Auditor will highlight the concerns in a letter to the applicant and make it clear whether or not revised documentation is required before a stage 2 implementation audit can be programmed.
4.Preliminary visit
A preliminary visit can be carried out to verify whether a potential applicant is ready for an initial certification audit. If a complete gap analysis and report is required then the visit will be charged for.
5.Initial Certification Audit
The initial certification audit is normally conducted in two stages as follows:
Stage 1: A detailed review of the H & S documentation and determination whether the applicant is sufficiently prepared for the stage 2 implementation audit to proceed. A documentation review and stage 1 audit report shall be produced and issued to the applicant.
Note: In some instances the stage 1 visit may be carried out at the applicant’s premises. This is recommended when there are indications of significant hazards, risks and legislation that are relevant and early warning seems sensible if significant action seems likely to be required to comply with the specified requirements.
Stage 2: There has to be at least a short interval between the stage 1 and 2 audits and the stage 2 implementation audit shall always include an appropriate number of audit days conducted at the applicant’s premises. The priority for the stage 2 audit is to verify that the OH & S Management System is sufficiently and effectively implemented such that the scheme criteria are satisfied. If this is the case then a recommendation for immediate certification can be made.
If however, nonconformity is identified an improvement need or improvement observation report will be raised. Improvement needs are a barrier to certification and a recommendation for certification cannot be made until there is a satisfactory corrective action response and we have verified the effectiveness of the action taken, or at least indicated that sufficient progress has been made to downgrade the improvement need to the lower level improvement observation report.
If only improvement observation reports are raised, provided we have a satisfactory corrective action response within 21 days, then a recommendation for certification can be made and the effectiveness of the corrective actions taken will be verified on the first surveillance audit once certification is granted.
6.Certification
A detailed summary report is produced on completion of the stage 2 initial certification audit with a clear recommendation as to whether or not certification can be granted. This summary report and the supporting audit evidence then have to be reviewed by a competent person who was not present on the audit. Once the independent review has been carried out and the recommendation for certification endorsed then a certificate of approval will be issued under cover of an appropriate letter which references the guidelines and requirements relating to the use of the certification marks and the UKAS logo.
The letter will also make it clear that to satisfy international rules for accredited certification, certificates of approval can only be issued for a three-year period and that prior to expiry of each three-yearly certificate of approval a re-certification audit has to be conducted.
During each three-yearly certification period annual surveillance audits shall be conducted. The duration of the surveillance audit shall be dependent upon the size of the approved organization and the range of activity and services provided. Where more than one day is required rather than conducting just one multi-day audit per year the requirement may be split across two six monthly visits.
HSF 105.31MJC Oct 2012