ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
WHAT IS A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?
A management system is the way in which an organization manages the interrelated parts of its business in order to achieve its objectives or business objectives. These objectives can relate to a number of different topics, including product or service quality, operational efficiency, environmental performance, health, and safety in the workplace and many more.
The level of complexity of the system will depend on each organization’s specific context. For some organizations, especially smaller ones, it may simply mean having strong leadership from the business owner, providing a clear definition of what is expected from each individual employee and how they contribute to the organization’s overall objectives, without the need for extensive documentation. More complex businesses operating, for example, in highly regulated sectors, may need extensive documentation and controls in order to fulfill their legal obligations and meet their organizational objectives.
WHY IS ISO 45001 IMPORTANT?
Meeting the requirements of the ISO 45001 standard can support organizations that are striving for a culture of proactive, continual improvement, and can drive an organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in the realization of the highest levels of OH&S performance. It reflects the latest thinking and best practices in OH&S management. ISO 45001 Standard requires identification of processes within the organizational context. The processes can be identified using the functional groups/departments and then dissecting within each functional group their processes using the workflow. Once the processes have been identified, ISO 45001 Standard requires prioritization of processes using some sort of risk-assessments. Such risk-based approach assists an organization in developing a focus through categorization of risks as high, medium, or low.
Developing and implementing an OH&S management framework based on the ISO 45001 standard demonstrates to internal and external interested parties (e.g., workers, regulators, customers, investors, insurers) that the organization manages its risks and performance in a very effective and efficient manner.
Recognized globally, the ISO 45001 management standard will offer organizations a trustworthy framework enabling consistency in OH&S management practices. It aligns with other ISO management standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 can contribute to an organization’s development of a coherent set of management practices across all facets of its operation.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR MY BUSINESS ?
ISO 45001 enables organizations to put in place an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. This will help them manage their OH&S risks and improve their OH&S performance by developing and implementing effective policies and objectives. Key potential benefits from use of the standard include :
- Reduction of workplace incidents
- Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover, leading to increased productivity
- Reduced cost of insurance premiums
- Creation of a health and safety culture, whereby employees are encouraged to take an active role in their own OH&S
- Reinforced leadership commitment to proactively improve OH&S performance
- Ability to meet legal and regulatory requirements
- Enhanced reputation
- Improved staff morale
