What Is ISO 45001?

July 21, 2019

What Is ISO 45001?

  • ISO 45001 was published on March 12,2018and is the new international standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) management
  • ISO 45001 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 injuries, illnesses, and fatalities and by proactively improving OH&S performance
  • ISO 45001 is applicable to any organization worldwide regardless of its size, type, or nature
  • ISO 45001 replaces OHSAS 18001, the world’s former reference for OH&S management (organizations currently certified under OHSAS 18001 will have until March 12,2021to migrate to ISO 45001)
How is ISO 45001 similar to OHSAS 18001?
  • Intent: The overall intent to create a framework for managing the prevention of employee injuries, illnesses, and fatalities is the same for both standards
  • Plan-Do-Check-Act: The PDCA cycle remains the fundamental operating principle in both standards
  • Other Similarities: Many of the requirements covered in OHSAS 18001, although consolidated, relocated, or expanded on, are found in ISO 45001, including policy requirements; identification of legal and other requirements; improvement objectives; awareness requirements; competency requirements; resources needed to support the system; and requirements for monitoring, measuring, and analyzing OH&S performance and improvement
What are some of the main differences between ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001?
  • Structure: The structure of ISO 45001 is based on Annex SL, which is the framework used in other ISO management system standards, making implementation easier and more efficient
  • Management Commitment: ISO 45001 requires the incorporation of health and safety into the overall management system of the organization, requiring management to take a stronger leadership role in OH&S
  • Worker Involvement: ISO 45001 requires employee training and education to identify risks and help create a successful safety program, allowing broader employee participation
  • Risk v. Hazard: ISO 45001 follows a preventative process, requiring hazard risks to be evaluated and remedied before they cause accidents and injuries, unlike OHSAS 18001, which focused only on hazard control