FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1996-07-03

Working group to establish national position on OHS systems management standards

A new ad hoc working group has been charged with formulating a Canadian position on whether or not the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) should develop voluntary standards on occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS).

The working group was established as a result of a two-day forum on the issue which took place in Toronto in May. It will include representatives from business and industry, labor, government, standards development organizations and insurance groups, and will be coordinated by the Standards Council of Canada, the Canadian member body of ISO.

If ISO decides to develop OHSMS standards, they would provide guidance to organizations that want to implement a management system for occupational health and safety, similar to the existing ISO 9000 quality-management and ISO 14000 environmental-management standards. ISO is looking for input from its member countries before proceeding.

The working group, which is holding its first meeting on July 4, will take diverse views expressed at the forum into account in developing a Canadian position. A Canadian delegation will report the group's findings to an ISO OHSMS workshop on September 5 and 6 in Geneva, Switzerland. Interested parties are invited to submit comments to the working group, through SCC, as soon as possible.

A discussion paper and report on the forum are available from SCC. To obtain copies, or to submit a viewpoint to the committee, call Hollie Last at (613) 238-3222 (e-mail: [email protected]).

The Standards Council of Canada is a federal Crown corporation whose mandate is to foster and promote voluntary standardization for the benefit of industry, consumers and the economy.

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