With more then 5,000 workplace fatalities per year, a comprehensive safe and health management system is crucial to reducing that number across all industries.
The revised ANSI/ASSP Z10.0-2019 standard guides implementation of safety and health management systems is now available from the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) after recently being approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
“This update establishes Z10 as one of the most comprehensive systems-based standards in the world for occupational safety and health management,” said Jim Howe, CSP, chair of ASSP’s Z10 committee. “The standard is a blueprint for any company to develop and administer a safety and health management system.”
ANSI/ASSP Z10.0-2019 improves organizational alignment and communication by eliminating silos and integrating planned processes into business systems. Safety and health management systems have customized elements that are based on the organization’s characteristics such as hazard exposures, risk levels, industry type and business processes. Workforce factors such as permanent, temporary, contracted or transient employees are also considered. Safe work environments emerge from the interaction of elements such as organizational leadership, employee engagement, risk assessments, hazard controls and monitoring and measurement.
“There are widespread benefits when a business makes occupational safety and health a priority,” said ASSP President Diana Stegall, CSP, CFPS, ARM, SMS, CPCU. “Quality and productivity flourish when workers are well-protected through a systems-based approach. It also helps organizations achieve sustainable growth and meet social responsibilities.”