Exemplar Global OHSMS Lead Auditor study guide
Exemplar Global OHSMS Lead Auditor · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Exemplar Global OHSMS Lead Auditor credential certifies competence in auditing occupational health and safety management systems against ISO 45001. It is intended for practising auditors, OH&S managers, consultants and compliance professionals who lead or participate in first-, second- or third-party audits. The Exemplar Global OHSMS Lead Auditor study guide has 9 sections and about 3,872 words.
01OHSMS fundamentals and the ISO 45001 standard
This domain tests whether you can read an organisation's OH&S management system against the requirements and intent of ISO 45001:2018 - its Annex SL structure, its defined terms, and what changed when it replaced OHSAS 18001. Questions usually present a short scenario and ask which clause is engaged or what evidence would be sufficient.
485 words, about 2 min02Audit principles, audit types and the audit programme
This domain tests how you select audit types and build, run and review an audit programme, and whether you can keep programme-level decisions separate from plan-level ones. ISO 19011:2018 lists seven audit principles: integrity, fair presentation, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, evidence-based approach and risk-based approach.
463 words, about 2 min03Auditor competence, roles, responsibilities and ethical conduct
This domain tests the competence requirements in ISO 19011 clause 7 and ISO/IEC TS 17021-10, the roles inside an audit team, and the ethical lines an OH&S auditor must not cross. ISO 19011 clause 7 requires generic competence (audit principles and methods, management system standards and their interaction, organisational context, applicable legal and other requirements), discipline and sector competence, and personal behavioural skills.
436 words, about 2 min04Audit planning, scope, criteria and documentation review
This domain tests how you convert an audit objective into a defensible scope, a criteria set, an audit plan and a documentation review, and how you use the stage 1 review to decide whether stage 2 is viable. Objectives state what the audit is for: certification, surveillance, supplier approval, internal programme input.
467 words, about 2 min05Conducting the audit: evidence gathering, sampling, interviewing and observation
This domain tests how you generate, verify and record evidence through interview, observation and document examination, and how you sample without misleading yourself or the client. Evidence must be verifiable and traceable: what you saw, where, when, who was present and which record.
419 words, about 2 min06Auditing OH&S hazards, risk assessment and legal/other requirements
This domain tests whether you can audit the technical core of ISO 45001 - 6.1.2 hazard identification and risk assessment, 6.1.3 legal and other requirements, and 9.1.2 evaluation of compliance - rather than confirming that documents exist. Audit the chain: hazard, risk assessment, controls, monitoring or health surveillance, review.
407 words, about 2 min07Audit findings, nonconformity classification and reporting
This domain tests how you convert evidence into a defensible finding, grade it consistently, and report conclusions the client can act on. Definitions: conformity, nonconformity (a requirement not met), and observation or opportunity for improvement (not a nonconformity, but a risk worth flagging).
384 words, about 2 min08Audit follow-up, corrective action verification and closing the audit
This domain tests what happens after the closing meeting: whether corrections and corrective actions are real, whether effectiveness is verified, and how the audit is formally closed and the programme improved. Separate correction (fix the instance), containment (stop the effect spreading) and corrective action (remove the cause).
394 words, about 2 min09Communication, conflict management and teamwork in audit teams
This domain tests the human side of auditing: planning communication, keeping a team coherent, and handling resistance, hostility or an imminent-danger discovery without losing the audit. Plan communication: opening meeting, daily team briefing, auditee updates, closing meeting, and the channel to the client.
417 words, about 2 min