QHSE, what is it? And what does a QHSE manager do?

Compliance

Now that we know what the acronym QHSE stands for, it's useful to know that compliance is an important part of QHSE management. QHSE is all about the legislation surrounding these topics. An organization that deals with this chooses to shape policies that comply with the laws associated with quality, health, safety and the environment. KAM management and QA/QC (Quality Assurance / Quality Control) are parts of this.

Quality in QHSE

When talking about quality and quality management in business, it is about the quality of a production process, product, service, or about the organization as a whole. To ensure this, many companies use a quality management system. This makes work more efficient and orderly.

A KMS supports employees in establishing, achieving and maintaining the right quality. Quality standards exist in every industry, from healthcare to manufacturing and from asset management to hospitality. The best-known quality standard that is a household name in almost every industry is ISO; with the ISO 9001 standard in particular, but certainly also ISO 27001 being standards that are important to every industry.

H and S stand for Health and Safety

The Health and Safety sections deal with hazards in the workplace and reducing accidents. Consider, for example, exposure to harmful substances or undesirable behavior by a colleague. Employers are obliged to ensure that their employees can work safely and healthily. The minimum requirements you must meet as an employer are described in the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet), the Working Conditions Decree (Arbobesluit), and the Working Conditions Regulations (Arboregeling).

By mapping your risks, you make a start in creating a healthy and safe working environment – which, by the way, is an obligation. After this, you will have to start working on a plan of action indicating what management measures you will take to create this safe working environment, how and when you will do this, and who will take these measures.

The E of Environment

Environment is all about compliance with applicable environmental regulations. Think about the consumption of energy, the storage of waste materials, and the emission of pollution to the air and soil.

But wait, don't think you're already there if you comply with the laws, mind you. More and more customers are also expecting companies to work to reduce their organization's environmental impact. Making and keeping the ecological footprint as small as possible is one of the spearheads of environmental policy.

What does a QHSE manager do?

A QHSE manager is concerned with drafting, implementing, and complying with all policies that fall under QHSE. Performing and supervising internal and external audits, making and monitoring risk analyses, drafting, analyzing, and improving safety issues, and taking care of obtaining and managing ISO certifications.

That's quite a bit of paperwork to secure. So many organizations decide to ‘go digital’. Would you want to do the same? And if so, do you need help?

The QHSE manager's greatest challenge is to ensure that quality and everything associated with it is a subject for the entire organization. In this respect, ensuring the involvement of employees in QHSE issues is a big part of the job, especially when the position of QHSE manager has just been introduced into an organization.

Where do QHSE managers work?

As a QHSE manager, you can work in all types of organizations, regardless of the industry or specialization the organization focuses on. In practice, however, it is mainly medium-sized and larger companies that have their own QHSE branch, whether or not under the name QA/QC.