5 Things You Need to Know About ISO 45001:2018, the New Occupational Health & Safety Standard

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ISO 45001:2018, THE NEW OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY STANDARD

According to the ILO (International Labour Organisation), more than 2.78 million people have lost their lives at their workplace due to accidents and occupational diseases, with 374 million non-fatal incidents annually. To overcome this loss, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems came into existence in March 2018 following the success of OHSAS 18001 in raising the profile of Occupational Health and Safety. Not only ILO but also WHO (World Health Organization), National Safety Council in India and in every other country are promoting the workers’ health and safety.

WHAT IS ISO 45001?

The Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) management system, ISO 45001, is a new international standard that provides a framework for an organisation to proactively improve its OH&S performance and manage risks and opportunities to help prevent work-related injuries and ill health to workers. All the requirements must be integrated into an organisation’s management and business processes.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISO 45001 & OHSAS 18001?

ISO 45001 will replace OHSAS 18001, currently the most widely adopted workplace health and safety standard. The primary differences between ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001 are:

ISO 45001 uses a process-based approach rather than a procedure-based approach.

ISO 45001 needs active participation from the overall management system of the organisation, requiring management to take a stronger leadership role in OH&S.

The need to integrate workplace health and safety as a part of daily operations, rather than treating it as a standalone process.

HOW DOES ISO 45001 RELATE TO OTHER ISO STANDARDS?

Similar to the other ISO standards, ISO 45001 implements the ‘High-Level Structure’ (HLS), giving it a common framework with other management systems. The role of senior management also plays a great role in the implementation of this standard. This feature has already been implemented in the revised ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. Along with the permanent employees of the organisation, people who are not permanently employed but are associated with the organisation in one way or the other, such as subcontractors, are also included in the ISO safety standards.

WHO SHOULD CERTIFY TO ISO 45001?

Any organisation that aligns with ISO 45001 principles will benefit from implementing the system, irrespective of pursuing formal certification. The reason being, ISO 45001 is built around well-known practices in health and safety and is set to become the primary global workplace safety standard in the coming years.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ISO 45001 CERTIFICATION?

Many organisations may not adopt formal certification for ISO 45001 but doing so does have certain benefits. Some of the benefits are:

• Allows better identification of hazards and risk
• Improves the efficiency of internal operations and the quality of manufacturing processes
• Improves the safety of all affected by the organisation’s activities
• Sends a strong signal to customers, employees and other stakeholders that you are committed to workplace safety
• Transforms your operation from detection mode to prevention mode

Getting ISO 45001 certification from recognised training and certification services providers is very important for the support and growth of organisations. Some of the benefits are as follows:

• Globally recognised certificate
• Industry Expert Trainers
• Modern Learning Formats
• Customised Training Programs

Organisations have the responsibility to put a system in place to avoid avertible safety incidents as per the ISO safety standards. Making sure that all the employees return home safely every day can transform an organisation, from boosting employee morale to improve overall efficiency.