Do Safety Management System Standards Indicate Safer Operations? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard

Given the enormous disruptions and costs of occupational injuries, companies and buyers are increasingly looking to voluntary occupational health and safety standards to improve worker safety. Yet because these standards only require implementing certain processes and procedures, it is largely unknown whether certification actually conveys superior safety performance. We examine this relationship in the context of the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management system standard.