ISO 45001 – all you need to know

Keeping your employees, visitors and other stakeholders safe at work is a legal and moral obligation. The most effective way to approach it is by using recognised standards and frameworks like ISO 45001.

ISO 45001 is the international standard for producing and implementing an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. With an ISO 45001-based system in place, you should expect far fewer work-related injuries and safety incidents. This blog provides an overview of what ISO 45001 is all about. 

Purpose and scope of ISO 45001

Committing to ISO 45001 means drafting and implementing a comprehensive and realistic occupational health and safety management system. Its primary purpose is to reduce workplace safety incidents, protect stakeholder health and generally improve the wellbeing of all involved in your business. As a result, ISO 45001’s scope is pretty broad. It’s relevant to all organisations of any size, sector or status.

For the most effective use of ISO 45001, implement your occupational health and safety management plan alongside other ISO management standards. These include ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with the associated quality management systems (QMS) and environmental management systems (EMS), respectively. While these standards focus on separate business operations, you’ll find many synergies between them. Implementing them simultaneously means a more holistic strategy that better meets your business objectives across all departments.

Key elements of ISO 45001

So, having an ISO 45001 certification means enforcing an effective OH&S management system. Bringing your health and safety plan in line with ISO 45001 involves several key standard elements, as below:

• Leadership commitment – as with most recipes for success, it all starts at the top. Your leaders – the board, owners, managers and influential employees – must all be on board. They must demonstrate that they believe in the new OH&S management system and the associated practices it enforces. It can be challenging to build a culture committed to proper health and safety (depending on your starting point). However, if your leaders are on board, you’re already on the way.
• Worker participation – with your leaders committed to ISO 45001, their expectations should trickle down to your workers. After all, they’re the people who’ll be most affected by your OH&S management strategy. The best way to ensure your workers embrace a positive health and safety culture is to involve them in the planning process, per ISO 45001. Learn about their concerns, day-to-day risks and health challenges, and develop your risk assessments and safety protocols to meet their needs.
• Risk assessment – speaking of risk assessments, these are pivotal aspects of an occupational health and safety management system. For most employees, risk assessments aren’t the most exciting of tasks – but they must be done and continually updated and as the risks adapt, evolve and change. Following ISO 45001, a risk assessment should be a systematic process for identifying and assessing potential safety hazards and health risks, and implementing control measures.
• Continual improvement – your OH&S management system should strive for continuous improvement. ISO 45001 mandates this for all aspects, including the risk assessment (as mentioned above). Use KPIs to determine how well your current setup is working. Review and make regular changes to your strategy and implementation, assigning a dedicated team to ensure this happens.