| Term |
Meaning |
Accident
| Any unplanned event that results in injury or ill-health to people, or damage or loss to property, plant, materials or the environment or a loss of a business opportunity |
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| Acceptable Risk |
Risk that has been reduced to a level that can be tolerated by the organisation having regard to its legal obligations |
| Continual Improvement |
Recurring process of enhancing the management system to achieve improvements in overall performance consistent with the organisation’s policies |
| Control Measures |
Any safety protection systems, personal protective equipment, work methods, training, instructions, information and supervision employed to control risks and prevent accidents |
| Corrective Action |
Action to eliminate the root cause of a detected nonconformity and prevent it re-occuring |
| Environment |
Surroundings in which an organisation operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interrelation |
| Environmental Aspect |
Element of an organisation’s activities or products or services that can interact with the environment |
| Environmental Impact |
Any change to the environment whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organisation’s environmental aspects |
| Environmental Management System (EMS) |
Part of an organisation’s management system used to develop and implement its environmental policy and manage its environmental aspects |
| Environmental Performance |
Measurable results of an organisation’s management of its environmental aspects |
| Environmental Policy |
Overall intentions and direction of an organisation related to its environmental performance as formally expressed by top management |
| Hazard |
Any material, activity or process with the potential to cause an accident |
| Hazard Identification |
Process of recognising that a hazard exists and defining its characteristics |
| Ill Health |
Identifiable, adverse physical or mental condition arising from and/or made worse by a work activity and/or work-related situation |
| Incident |
Any unplanned event that results in injury or ill-health to people, or damage or loss to property, plant, information assets, materials or the environment or a loss of a business opportunity |
| Interested Party |
Person or group concerned with or affected by the activities of an organisation |
| Internal Audit |
Systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the management system has been established and implemented and its effectiveness |
| ISO |
International Organisation for Standardization which is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies |
| ISO 13485:2003 |
An internationally-recognised standard for the competence and quality management system requirements relating to the manufacture of medical devices |
| ISO 14001:2004 |
The world’s most widely-recognised standard for environmental management systems |
| ISO 17025:2005 |
An internationally-recognised standard for the competence and quality management system requirements relating to laboratories providing testing and/or calibration services |
| ISO 9001:2008 |
The world’s most widely-recognised standard for the quality management of business |
| ISO 27001:2005 |
The leading international standard for Information Security Management systems |
| ISO 50001:2011 |
A new ISO standard relating to the improvement of energy performance |
| Near Miss |
Any event that could have resulted in an accident or any set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause an accident to occur |
| Nonconformity |
Non-fulfilment of a requirement |
| Objectives |
A set of process measures or defined actions set to support the achievement of the organisation’s policies and effective implementation of its management system |
| Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) |
Conditions and factors that affect, or could affect, the health of employees or other workers (including temporary workers/contractor personnel), visitors, or any other person in the workplace |
| OH&S Management System |
Part of an organisation’s management system used to develop and implement its health and safety policy and manage its risks |
| OH&S Performance |
Measurable results of an organisation’s management of its OH&S risks |
| OH&S Policy |
Overall intentions and direction of an organisation related to its OH&S performance as formally expressed by top management |
| OHSAS 18001:2007 |
An internationally-recognised standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management systems |
| Prevention of Pollution |
Use of processes, practices, techniques, materials, products, services or energy to avoid, reduce or control (separately or in combination) the creation, emission or discharge or any type of pollutant or waste, in order to reduce adverse environmental impacts |
| Preventive Action |
Action to eliminate the root cause of a potential nonconformity and prevent it from occuring |
| Procedure |
Specified way to carry out an activity or a process |
| Quality Management System (QMS) |
Part of an organisation’s management system designed to implement its quality policy and satisfy its customers’ requirements |
| Record |
Document stating results achieved or providing evidence of activities performed |
| Risk |
The likelihood of an accident or incident occurring and its severity |
| Risk Assessment |
A systematic method for identifying hazards, assessing risks, identifying any control measures required and prioritising their implementation |
| UKAS |
United Kingdom Accreditation Service. The sole accreditation body recognised by the UK Government to assess, against internationally-recognised standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services |
| Workplace |
Any physical location in which work-related activities are performed under the control of the organisation |
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