John Nolan
May 18, 2016
Given the dangers of working with electric and electronic modules and circuitry and operating machinery that heats and cools to extreme temperatures, the electronics manufacturing industry is expected to be particularly health and safety conscious and therefore sets a special set of challenges when tackling an ISO 45001:2018 implementation. So, how should an electronics manufacturer tackle ISO 45001, what special considerations need to be taken, and what areas require special attention?
In the previous article: 11 occupational health and safety principles and how to apply them in your ISO 45001 project, we considered the general OH&S (operational health and safety) principles that should underpin your OHSMS (Occupational Health and Safety Management System). Of course, the same strategy will need to be used when establishing an OHSMS in an electronics manufacturing business as any other, such as capturing legislation, using corrective action, internal audit, and utilizing employee engagement – all elements we have spoken of in previous blog articles, but what specific areas of concern should an electronics manufacturing organization pay special attention to?
So, will identification of and work on these key elements help our OH&S performance?
Concentrating on the above elements will help the OH&S performance within your electronics manufacturing organization, but you must remember to execute the basic clauses of the standard also. Ensure your OHSMS is built on the core principles of identification and mitigation of risk, sharing of knowledge and information, and effective root cause and corrective action to correct and prevent reoccurrence of incidents and accidents. Use consultation amongst employees with experience in the electronics manufacturing industry and ensure strong leadership and communication is demonstrated to provide a culture of safety. Most importantly, ensure that the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” cycle is used to improve your OH&S results with defined strategies that are planned, executed, measured, and improved, and your employees will benefit.
Why not use our free Gap Analysis Tool to measure your OHSMS against the standard?