Objective of ANSI/ AIHA

Today's blog we will be discussing the objective trying to be reached by the ANSI/ AIHA.  Before we begin, it might help to understand a little background about what each of these are.  Lets begin with ANSI.  What is it?  Well, according to the site http://www.ansi.org/about_ansi/introduction/introduction.aspx?menuid=1 , the ANSI stands for the American National Standards Institute.  What ANSI does is create assessment systems and promotes consensus standards for US businesses throughout the country.  They are a non profit private organization, and work with SDOs, which stands for Standards Developing Organizations, to create national consensus standards for businesses.  The AIHA, which stands for the American Industrial Hygiene Association, is an SDO.  According to the site https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/aiha/aiha.html , the AIHA aims to protect and train employees all around the nation on health and safety and to recognize and prevent workplace hazards.  So, the ANSI and AIHA have teamed up to create what is known as the occupational health and safety management systems.  This is also known as OHSMS.  We received a packet in class, which I will be referencing further in this article.  So what is the purpose of this occupational health and safety management system?  Well, according to the packet and information we received, the main purpose of this system is to reduce any occupational injuries and risk.  It is essentially a management tool.  This system is comprised of 5 major components.  I will list these 5 and then go into a little details summarizing each component so you are aware about what each section is.  These 5 components are management leadership and employee participation, planning, implementation and operation, evaluation and corrective action, and management review.  We'll start with management leadership and employee participation.  This section is all about making sure employees are well aware of standards and procedures in order to be safe in the workplace.  The next step, planning, is very simple to explain.  This step is all about making sure that the business is running most efficiently and productively.  The implementation and operation section is probably the most difficult to follow through with in business.  This is because a lot of employees may not want to change their ways of what they do when they work or how they do it, let alone wearing different safety equipment if any.  This can be a big challenge, however it is a very crucial part of the system in order for the business to run smoothly.  Next is the Evaluation and corrective action.  This is where anything is changed if there is a problem, whether that be exposure, or productivity.  The last step, management review, is where the business does an internal audit of its business.  They stick to the guidelines of an actual audit, that way if there is anything wrong they can fix it and know that it is up to code.  So, what is the purpose of this system?  Well, after this article and its information, there can be a lot of answers but to summarize, it basically makes sure that a business is running as smoothly and efficiently s possible.  I hope this article was helpful to you.