OHSAS 18001:2007 Certificate for the Occupational Safety and Health Management System of T&D Division of HEC

OHSAS 18001:2007 Certificate for the Occupational Safety and Health Management System of T&D Division of HEC

In 2001, the safety management system (SMS) of HK Electric was certified to OHSAS18001 by an independent external certification body, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA).


The OHSAS18001 regarding health and safety management system has been upgraded to a new British standard since July 2007. 

 

HK Electric took the initiative to upgrade its SMS according to the requirements of OHSAS18001:2007 in 2007. Despite the stringent requirements of the new standard as compared with the previous specification, HK Electric passed the conversion audit by HKQAA in November 2007 and was granted the new certificate in December 2007.

Mr. K.S. Tso, Managing Director of HEC, received the OHSAS 18001 certificate from Mr. Richard Chan of HKQAA in the Certificate Presentation Ceremony on 21 June 2001

Mr. K.S. Tso, Managing Director of HEC, received the OHSAS 18001 certificate from Mr. Richard Chan of HKQAA in the Certificate Presentation Ceremony on 21 June 2001

HK Electric first established its SMS to oversee power transmission and distribution activities in 1987. After years of implementation and enhancement, the SMS was certified to ISO9000 in 1997 by HKQAA. The SMS was refined and subsequently certified to OHSAS18001 in 2001 by HKQAA.

HK Electric is the first local utility acquiring the prestigious OHSAS18001 certification in Hong Kong. In the same year, HK Electric formalized its on-going environmental initiatives and established an environmental management system (EMS) for its power transmission and distribution activities in compliance with the ISO14001 requirements.

Notwithstanding its achievements, HK Electric keeps seeking continuous improvements in occupational safety and health (OSH) performance, environmental friendliness as well as operational efficiency. A thorough review was conducted in 2004 to look into possible integration of the existing quality management system, SMS and EMS based on the established SMS framework. The review successfully identified a number of common elements across these various systems, such as resources management, documentation control, training, promotion, audit and system review. It also concluded that an integrated management system based on the currently proven SMS would achieve synergy and further enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.

After due modification and synchronization of the existing systems, an integrated management system (IMS) covering the aspects of environment, quality, health and safety (EQHS) management was established and implemented since mid-2004. The IMS was successfully certified by HKQAA in early 2005.

The OHSAS18001:2007 certificate is another milestone of health and safety management of HK Electric.