To help protect employees and visitors from work-related accidents and diseases, the International Organization for Standardization introduced the ISO 45001 standard, which represents the world’s first international standard for occupational health and safety — or OH&S.

ISO 45001:2018 specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, and gives guidance for its use, to enable organizations to provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing work-related injury and ill health, as well as by proactively improving its OH&S performance.

ISO 45001:2018 is applicable to any organization that wishes to establish, implement and maintain an OH&S management system to improve occupational health and safety, eliminate hazards and minimize OH&S risks (including system deficiencies), take advantage of OH&S opportunities, and address OH&S management system nonconformities associated with its activities.

ISO 45001:2018 helps an organization to achieve the intended outcomes of its OH&S management system. Consistent with the organization’s OH&S policy, the intended outcomes of an OH&S management system include:

a) continual improvement of OH&S performance;

b) fulfilment of legal requirements and other requirements;

c) achievement of OH&S objectives.

ISO 45001:2018 is applicable to any organization regardless of its size, type and activities. It is applicable to the OH&S risks under the organization’s control, taking into account factors such as the context in which the organization operates and the needs and expectations of its workers and other interested parties.

 

The benefits of 45001:2018

1. Positions your business as industry leaders
By implementing the most up-to-date occupational health and safety standard, your organization will be seen as an elite category of business, and be internationally recognized. It is a level of excellence that is acknowledged worldwide and will help to set you apart from your competitors.

2. Increases trust
By demonstrating that you are actively facilitating continuous improvement of your employees’ morale, safety and performance, it will enable people to trust you and hold you socially accountable for your staff’s well-being. Being transparent and promoting your corporate social responsibility efforts can have a huge impact on how the public, your future employees and prospective clients perceive your business.

3. Consistency means efficiency
ISO 45001 creates an organization built around best practice. This is then mirrored across the company and sets a standard for managing risks. Having a strong, consistent standard means that the organization is more efficient across the board.

4. Improves individual safety as well as organizational
ISO 45001 has been widely anticipated by the global business community because it addresses the personal health and safety risks to the individual of any process or use of machinery within an organization. This relates both to their mental health and physical safety within your workplace.

5. Improves managerial oversight
This particular ISO ensures responsibility and ownership lies with safety management personnel or top level management. By having the involvement of top leadership and a clearly communicated process for identifying hazards, the occupational health and safety of employees is continually improved over time.

6. Preventative risk and hazard assessment
Implementing ISO 45001 helps your organization prevent risks as opposed to reacting to them once they are detected by others. The internal auditing system provides an ‘early warning system’ to help you spot potential threats to health and safety.

7. Occupational focus
The focus is primarily on the employees physical and mental well-being at work as opposed to the quality management of the workplace systems and tools that are used. This is an important factor to recognise when looking to implement ISO 45001 into your organisation, as it improves staff morale, which has a significant impact on staff turnover and retention rates.

8. Deals with risk and opportunities
Fundamentally, it deals with both the risk and opportunities whereas OHSAS 18001 and previous standards primarily deal with the risks presented by an organisation.

ISO 45001 Consulting

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