Aiming for Zero

OHSAS 18001 is the internationally recognised assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems developed by leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies. The specification enables organisations to establish an occupational health and safety management system and improve performance through eliminating or minimising risk to employees. One tyre industry company that has recently obtained the globally acknowledged OHSAS 18001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems certification is Malaysian retreading compound and materials supplier Goodway Rubber Industries.

With this certification, Goodway expects to increase productivity through reducing the number of lost hours that result from accidents. “We’ve combined the best methods from recognised industry practises to derive model habits,” stated Eunice Yee, Goodway’s Total Productivity Management (TPM) manager.

Using a model that that identifies hazards, assesses risks and determines control measures as a basis, Goodway’s TPM department has incorporated response programmes to prevailing standard operating procedures (SOP) in order to accommodate the implementation of OHSAS 18001. Goodway has set up a committee made up of managerial and executive level staff to oversee the qualification’s implementation, and this committee has set a ‘zero accidents, zero illness’ target for the company’s retreading materials and rubber compound manufacturing factory in Nilai, south of Kuala Lumpur.

“We’ve integrated our QMS ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 codes of practise into a single cohesive framework for easy compliance,” adds Ms Yee. “We’ve observed every effort to minimise risk to our employees, while gaining our customers’ confidence and demonstrating due diligence to our partners.”

According to Goodway, obtaining OHSAS 18001 constitutes a step towards fulfilling the Safety, Health and Environment pillar of the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) certification that Goodway aims to achieve. To support this initiative, the TPM department has organised a series of events to drive home the message. These activities cover an anti-dengue fever campaign in cooperation with the government’s Vector Unit; audiometric tests, fire drills, blood donation drives, anti-smoking campaigns and talks on critical illnesses and health management by conducted by Hospital Seremban.

The OHSAS 18001 is the latest from a number of internationally recognised standards qualifications Goodway has earned to date; others include the TÜV ISO 9001:2000 and the Quality Environment Practises (formerly known as 5S Practises Certification) from Malaysia Productivity Corporation.