The Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. For more than 100 years now, the company has pioneered the development, production, marketing and servicing of state-of-the-art braking systems. In 2013, Knorr-Bremse Systems for commercial vehicles had a turnover of Euro 2 billion and had over 8,300 employees globally.

In South Africa, the Knorr-Bremse South Africa (Pty) Ltd. factory is an advanced, equipped manufacturing plant situated in Spartan, Kempton Park. It has been successfully transformed into an export driven operation and the DB60 freight wagon valve is currently its primary export. As one of only two factories around the world to manufacture this AAR approved valve, the South African plant is now equipped on rolling out stock to 6 continents.  With such high volumes of production of products that have great impact even on human life, it is no wonder that KBSA (Pty) Ltd. puts significant emphasis on implementing high standards on safety and quality. 

What measures does such a large company take to ensure the high standards are maintained?
KBSA (Pty) Ltd appointed Classical Environmental Management Services to provide a Gap Analysis evaluating the current state of their documentation and implementation of the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 Standards for compliance purposes. The Gap Analysis constituted the initial phase of the compilation, implementation, operation and management of the Health, Safety and Environment management system required by KBSA. Once the current state of the relevant documentation was determined, an HS&E management system was compiled by C.E.M.S in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 Standards.  The Gap Analysis that was done at KBSA (Pty) Ltd. determined the current state and performance of the HS&E management system; and provided recommendations for improving this system, so that it would be in compliance with the ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 standards. A formal, documented HS&E management system, in compliance with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, needed to be compiled, implemented and maintained. This HS&E management system was developed in such a way that it integrates with the current ISO 9001 Quality Management System at KBSA (Pty) Ltd.

The ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001 standards

The ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Health and Safety) have been developed to be compatible with each other and the ISO 9001:2008 (Quality) management systems standards. This ensures facilitation of the integration of the quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems within an organization.

OHSAS 18001:2007

The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series Standard has been developed in response to customer demand for a recognizable occupational health and safety management system standard, against which their management systems can be assessed and certified.  Implementation of the OHSAS 18001 Standard for Occupational Health and Safety provides an organization with the elements of an effective OH&S management system that can be integrated with other management requirements, thus helping organizations achieve OH&S and economic objectives.  The success of the system depends on commitment from all levels and function of the organization, especially from top management.

ISO 14001:2004

The ISO 14001 is an international standard and guidance document that provides a framework for the development of an Environmental Management System, that includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing implementing, achieving, reviewing, maintaining the environmental policy, and maintaining the supporting audit programme. 
The ISO 14001 Standard requires an organization to state how it controls and reduces its impact on the environment – that the organization does what it has stated in its environmental policy; recording what has occurred, and learning from experience.  The ISO 14001 standard offers a structured management system that gives assurance that an organization’s performance continuously meets legal and environmental policy requirements.
Gap Analysis

Based on both the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards, the following documented procedures were developed for implementation:

• Environmental aspects & Operational control
• Hazard identification, Risk assessment and Determining controls
• Legal and other requirements and Evaluation
• Resources, roles, responsibility and authority
• Communication
• Control of documents
• Control of records
• Operational control
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Performance measurement and monitoring
• Evaluation of compliance
• Non-conformance, corrective and preventive action
• Incident investigation
• Internal audit
• Management review

The implementation and operation of the HS&E management system must be audited on a regular basis to ensure compliance.  Documentation should also be reviewed regularly to ensure that procedures are still relevant.