ISO 45001 Health and safety management standard
ISO 45001 is an international standard for health and safety at work developed by national and international standards committees independent of government.
Introduced in March 2018, it’s replacing the current standard (BS OHSAS 18001) which will be withdrawn. Businesses have a three-year period to move from the old standard to the new one.
You’re not required by law to implement ISO 45001 or other similar management standards, but they can help provide a structured framework for ensuring a safe and healthy workplace.
If your organization is small or low-risk, you’ll probably be able to demonstrate effective risk management without a formal management system. A simpler and less bureaucratic approach may be more appropriate such as that outlined in HSE’s guidance on health and safety made simple.
Why is Occupational Health and Safety Management important for you?
Regardless of what industry you are in, accidents that lead to injury or health related issues will always occur. Therefore, whether you are an employee, manager or business owner, you will always share the same goal- minimize the number of casualties at work. ISO 45001 provides you with a framework to identify, control and prevent work-related injuries.
By obtaining an ISO 45001 certification you will prove that you care about the well-being of employees and that you are continually making efforts to enhance their welfare. Furthermore, you will earn a globally recognized certificate on Occupational Health and Safety Management, which will prove that you are aware of the policies and processes needed to reduce work injuries. You will also gain a competitive advantage by improving your brand’s reputation and increasing your capacity.
Benefits of ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management
By becoming ISO 45001 certified you will be able to:
Reduce work-related injuries, ill -health and deaths
Eliminate or minimize OH&S risks
Improve OH&S performance and effectiveness
Protect and improve brand reputation
Transform operations from detection to prevention mode
Improves compliance with current legislations
Audit
To implement ISO 45001 in a proportionate way, auditors or certifiers should understand that it needs to be:
tailored to an organization’s size and level of complexity
in proportion to the risks
You should ensure that any auditor or certifier you use has evidence that they’re competent to a recognized standard, such as ISO 19011:2011 or the relevant parts of the ISO 17021:2011 series.