What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is an International Standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, with guidance for its use, to enable an organisation to proactively improve its OH&S performance in preventing injury and ill-health. ISO 45001 is intended to be applicable to any organisation regardless of its size, type and nature. ISO 45001 enables an organisation, through its OH&S management system, to integrate other aspects of health and safety, such as worker wellness/wellbeing; however, it should be noted that an organisation can be required by applicable legal requirements to also address such issues.

Benefits of ISO 45001 certification

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

ISO 45001 and other standards

ISO 45001 follows the high-level structure approach that is being applied to other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment). In developing the standard, consideration has been given to the content of other international standards (such as OHSAS 18001 or the International Labour Organisation’s “ILO –OSH Guidelines”) and national standards, as well as to the ILO’s International Labour standards and conventions (ILSs).

Those adopting the standard, once it has been published, should find its requirements consistent with the other standards. This will allow for a relatively easy migration from using an existing OH&S management system standard to using ISO 45001, and will also allow for the alignment and integration with the requirements of other ISO management system standards into their organisation’s overall management processes.

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