Abstract

More than 1000 companies have obtained ISO 9000 certification, a new global standardization. A team wanted to evaluate the effect of these standards on occupational health and safety management. Research was carried out on more than 300 Québec manufacturing companies with and without ISO certification. The authors concluded that in occupational health and safety, ISO certified companies do not have a significantly better performance than non-certified companies. It is impossible to paint an overall picture of the conditions and characteristics associated with a better occupational health and safety performance in relation to ISO certification. During ISO implementation, there is probably little or no integration of occupational health and safety concerns. Furthermore, the context and regulatory pressures in Québec over the last few years have prompted manufacturing companies to review their operations management by using a more integrated approach to manufacturing activities, thus improving by a domino effect, their occupational health and safety conditions and management practices.