Occupational Health and Safety Management (International Diploma)
What the exam tests
This domain examines whether you can evaluate an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), not merely describe one. You must connect leadership, worker participation, planning, operational control, performance evaluation and improvement to ISO 45001:2018 and ILO-OSH 2001.
Core rules
- ISO 45001 uses the PDCA cycle: Plan (clauses 4–6), Do (7–8), Check (9), Act (10). Clause 5.4 requires consultation and participation of workers and their representatives.
- Clause 6.1.2 requires hazard identification and assessment of risks and opportunities; 6.1.3 covers legal and other requirements; 8.1.2 requires the hierarchy of controls.
- ILO-OSH 2001 structures an OHSMS as policy, organizing, planning and implementation, evaluation, and action for improvement, with worker participation and continual improvement as core principles.
- Performance needs both lagging indicators (injuries, LTIFR, lost days) and leading indicators (near-miss reporting, inspections, training completion, safety climate). Use triangulation, not one number.
- Safety culture: Reason's reporting, just, flexible and learning culture; Hudson's maturity stages from pathological to generative.
Worked example
A site reports 12 recordable injuries but no action on 40 near misses. Reasoning: the lagging figure alone cannot show control effectiveness. Under ISO 45001 clause 9.1, monitoring must include proactive and reactive measures. The near-miss backlog indicates weak reporting follow-up and possibly a blame culture. A good answer would recommend analysing near-miss causes, consulting workers, setting leading KPIs, and verifying corrective actions-not just retraining.
Traps
Describing clause content without judging effectiveness; confusing policy with objectives; treating containment as corrective action; omitting worker consultation; relying on LTIFR alone; failing to verify actions.