Assessment ANSI/AIHA

There are at least two industry consensus standards for injury and illness prevention programs. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) have published a voluntary consensus standard, ANSI/AIHA ZIO—2005 Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ANSI/AIHA 2005). The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) Project Group, a consortium of selected Registrars, national standards bodies, professional associations and research institutes, has produced a similar document, OHSAS 18001—2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSAS Project Group 2007). These consensus-based standards have been widely accepted in the world of commerce and adopted by many businesses on a voluntary basis. 

Safety professionals can expect that being able to make documented risk assessments will be necessary for their job retention and career enhancement. That premise has acquired weight because of the more frequent inclusion of risk assessment provisions in safety standards and guidelines. ANSI/AIHA ZlO-2005 is an example. Other standards and guidelines requiring such provisions are discussed in Chapter 9, Including Risk Assessment Provisions in Standards and Guidelines A Trend. ... 

In March 2006 the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) issued the first edition of CSA ZlOOO-6, the Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard. It is similar in many respects to ANSI/AIHA ZlO-2005. Its Hazard and risk identification and assessment provision reads as follows The organization shall establish and maintain a process to identify and assess hazards and risks on an ongoing basis. The results of this process shall be used to set objectives and targets and to develop preventive and protective measures. ... 

The Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Standard, ANSI/ AIHA ZIO-2005, was approved in July 2005. Much is written in this book about its risk assessment and prioritization provisions. 

A formal safety system can provide the structure for an overall assessment. For example, ANSI/AIHA/ASSE ZIO, states that The organization shall establish a process to set documented objectives, quantified where practicable, based on issues that offer the greatest opportunity for Occupational Health and Safety Management System improvement and risk reduction (Occupational Health Safety Management Systems, 2012). 

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