ISO 45001 Occupational Heath & safety

ISO 45001 is an ISO standard for management systems of occupational health and safety (OH&S), published in March 2018. The goal of ISO 45001 is the reduction of occupational injuries and diseases, including promoting and protecting physical and mental health.

The standard is based on OHSAS 18001, conventions and guidelines of the International Labour Organization including ILO OSH 2001, and national standards. It includes elements that are additional to BS OHSAS 18001 which it is replacing over a three-year migration period from 2018 to 2021.

ISO 45001 follows the High-Level Structure of other ISO standards, such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, which makes integration of these standards easier.

An ISO 45001 based OH&S management system will enable an organisation to improve its OH&S performance by:

• Developing and implementing an OH&S policy and OH&S objectives
• Establishing systematic processes which consider its “context” and which take into account its risks and opportunities, and its legal and other requirements
• Determining the hazards and OH&S risks associated with its activities; seeking to eliminate them, or putting in controls to minimize their potential effects
• Establishing operational controls to manage its OH&S risks and its legal and other requirements
• Increasing awareness of its OH&S risks
• Evaluating its OH&S performance and seeking to improve it, through taking appropriate actions
• Ensuring workers take an active role in OH&S matters

In combination, these measures will ensure that an organisation’s reputation as a safe place to work will be promoted, and can have more direct benefits, and the recognition for having achieved an international benchmark (which may in turn influence customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities)