ISO 45001
ISO 45001 is the new international standard for occupational health and safety management replacing the OHSAS 18001 standard. The standard reduces workplace risks to improve employee safety. Gaining the ISO 45001 certification allows you to demonstrate that your business operates a best-practice Occupational Health and Safety Management System – reducing the likelihood of accidents and breaches of legislation, as well as improving your organisation’s overall performance. This Standard surpasses many existing health and safety standards because it has been developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts. It takes into account other international standards in this area such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions. This makes it one of the most valuable Health and Safety Management Systems available to date.
BENEFITS OF ISO 45001
Establish controls to ensure legal compliance – ISO 45001 can help you to establish operational controls which take into account risks and opportunities, as well as legal and other requirements Increase Health and Safety Awareness – the OH&S management system helps organisations to increase employee awareness of Occupational Health and Safety risks, ensuring workers take an active role in health and safety matters Enhance your Reputation – Achieving certification to this standard is recognition that you have achieved an international benchmark, getting you noticed by customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities Reduce Absenteeism – by better managing H&S risks in the workplace you will be able to protect employees, reducing absenteeism and turnover rates Reduce Insurance Premiums – By demonstrating that you have an effective occupational health and safety management system in place, many businesses can go on to benefit from reduced insurance premiums Improve Management of H&S Compliance Issues – ISO 45001 helps to improve your ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues, reducing the overall costs of incidents and downtime Better Manage Health and Safety Risks – the standard will help you to determine hazards and the health and safety risks associated with your activities; seeking to either eliminate them or put controls in place to minimise their effects .
REQUIREMENTS OF ISO 45001
Context of the Organisation – The context of the organisation refers to internal and external factors that affect your business. In order for your OH&S management system to be relevant and practical for the people responsible, these internal and external factors need to be determined. To meet this requirement, you will also need to know who will be affected by these issues and how. This includes visitors and sub-contractors. 2. Leadership – To work towards OH&S objectives in a practical way, you will need to communicate roles and responsibilities clearly. Your leadership team needs to assume responsibility for the OH&S management system and ensure your staff have the tools and resources they need to run it successfully. 3. Planning – This requirement highlights your business’ need to adapt and react to changes. To do so, you will need to set out a clear plan for spotting, evaluating and managing OH&S risks. You will also need to demonstrate how this will be communicated to key personnel and how you will manage the relevant documentation. 4. Support – To meet this requirement, you will need to provide the tools and resources needed to implement, run and maintain your OH&S management system. This could include providing training to key staff, buying personal protective equipment (PPE) and clearly communicating your goals. 5. Operation – This requirement prompts you to assess existing procedures and take note of legal obligations. Once you have the knowledge, you will need to plan how to identify and respond to emergencies, risks and opportunities. Regular, formal risk assessments can be a key part of this requirement 6. Performance Evaluation – To know if you are performing well, you will need to monitor and evaluate your occupational health & safety performance by creating criteria for measuring it. This evidence will then show that your OH&S management system is working. 7. Improvement – Continual improvement is a key requirement of this Standard. This shows that you have an eye on the future and are always in pursuit of a better performance. This can be achieved through regular monitoring and evaluation as well as appropriate corrective actions.