Occupational Health and safety Management System
ISO 45001 is an occupational health and safety management standard that promotes a healthy work environment by providing a framework for identifying, controlling, and managing occupational health and safety risks and management opportunities. Adopting and implementing an effective occupational health and safety management system addresses legal, ethical, and industrial concerns related to worker safety as well as employers’ duty of care. Maintain a safe and healthy work environment and focus on continuous improvement.
ISO 45001 is supposed to drastically improve the level of safety and productivity in the workplace. ISO 45001 emphasizes the commitment of management, worker participation, and risk control by determining the requirements of the occupational health and safety management system. It prevents injuries, illnesses, and fatalities at work and is a practical solution to improve the safety and health of employees and other personnel. This is designed to apply to any company, regardless of its size, type, or nature.
The burden of occupational injuries and illnesses is significant, both for employers and the wider economy, leading to losses such as early retirement, absenteeism, and increased insurance premiums. To combat this problem, ISO has created a new standard called ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems. This standard helps organizations by providing a framework for improving employee safety, reducing workplace hazards, and creating better working conditions. Better yet, reduce this load. This guide was compiled by a committee of occupational health and safety experts. This standard follows other management system approaches such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.
With the updated standard (ISO 45001:2018) , you can ensure that your health and safety management is aligned with your organization’s strategic guidelines.
The key changes in the standard focus on the following:
Organizational context
Understanding the needs and expectations of workers and other stakeholders
Leadership, culture, and commitment
Policies were related to the overall strategic goals and direction of the organization.
Participation and consultation
Risk and opportunity.
Performance
Evaluation of measurement compliance
Review Management
You are not required by law to implement ISO 45001 or other similar management standards. However, they can help provide a structured framework to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.
The ISO 45001 standard presents an opportunity to improve and prevent harm to health while protecting the longevity of your organization by supporting business growth and competitiveness. However, by ensuring compliance, you can secure the workplace, gain the trust of stakeholders, and be at the forefront of gaining a competitive advantage and attracting more customers.
ISO 45001 is a comprehensive international approach to occupational health and safety management in the workplace. It is the first recognized international standard in the field of occupational health and safety. This standard enables organizations, regardless of context or size, to provide a safe and healthy workplace for workers, visitors, contractors, and other stakeholders to prevent death. And prevent work-related deaths.
ISO 45001 was developed using ISO’s high-level structure for management systems. This structure conforms to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.
This structure:
It integrates with other management systems.
It provides an integrated approach to enterprise management.
Ensure that the organization creates clear policies that are consistent with the overall strategic goals and direction of the organization.
Promote continuous improvement throughout the organization.
It enables the organization to assess and manage risk.
To prevent and limit workplace accidents, businesses can obtain occupational health and safety management standard certification. Two well-known standards are ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001 – but what is the difference between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001?
The main difference between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 is the reactive and proactive approach adopted by these standards. OHSAS 18001 only focuses on risks, not solutions, while ISO 45001 focuses on risks and preventive measures. Today, ISO 45001 certification has replaced OHSAS 18001.
What are the key differences between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001?
The main difference between the two standards is that ISO 45001 adopts a proactive approach that requires assessing hazards and correcting them before accidents and injuries occur. In contrast, OHSAS 18001 adopts a reactive approach that focuses solely on hazards. It is not the solution.
These two standards differ in many other ways as well:
1-Objectives and performance: At ISO 45001, there is an increasing focus on objectives as drivers for improvement and performance evaluation. These goals can be on topics such as worker participation, internal and external communications, and procurement.
2-Structure: The structure of ISO 45001 is based on Annex SL, which is a framework for other ISO management system standards that makes implementation easier and more efficient.
3- Leadership and management commitment: ISO 45001 requires more emphasis on senior management to actively incorporate health and safety into the organization’s overall management system.
4-Risk and opportunity management: With ISO 45001, companies identify, review and take action to address risks and opportunities that may disrupt production. Although ISO 45001 considers both, OHSAS 18001 deals exclusively with hazards.
5-Worker and third-party involvement: ISO 45001 introduces a heightened focus on the needs and expectations of all workers and stakeholders and requires training and education of employees to identify risks. OHSAS 18001 does not allow for wider employee participation.
The management of health and safety has changed significantly as a result of these changes.
Businesses must reassess their current management systems and get ready for the switch to ISO 45001 to be successful.
Designed specifically for senior management, the goal of ISO 45001 is to help businesses provide a healthy and safe work environment for their employees and anyone else who visits the workplace. This goal can be achieved by controlling factors that can potentially lead to injury, illness, and—in extreme cases—even death.
Consequently, ISO 45001 is concerned with the reduction of any factor that is harmful or a risk to the physical and/or mental health of workers.
Unfortunately, thousands of workers die every day due to preventable causes like poor workplace conditions. In fact, according to ISO and the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 2.7 million deaths occur worldwide due to occupational accidents. And on top of that, there are 374 million non-fatal injuries each year that result in 4 or more days of absence from work.
According to many health and safety experts – including those who served on the ISO committee – ISO 45001 represents a significant development.
Businesses of all sizes now have access to a single framework that offers a clear path to creating a better and more effective occupational health and safety measures. This is the first time globally.
The number of global certifications for ISO 45001 increased by 97.3% in 2020, which reflects the expansion and growing significance
of UKAS-accredited certification in recent years.
1- Reduction of operational costs
Damage caused by accidents, illness and disability leads to lower overall costs of workplace accidents and the number of insurance premiums claimed, which means money saved.
2-Improving relations with stakeholders
Employees, customers and suppliers are put first and demonstrate brand responsibility by committing to safe, healthy and sustainable work, increasing leadership involvement and worker participation.
3-Legal
The ability to meet legal and regulatory requirements within your organization and ensure that your management system meets international standards leads to trust and brand integrity.
4- Improve risk management
Employees and customers are kept safe by identifying potential incidents and implementing controls and measures to minimize risk. This enhances risk identification and risk assessment.
5- Customer satisfaction and safety
Continually meet the needs of customers by protecting their health and property.
6- Organizational strengthening
Resilience Increasing organizational resilience through risk prevention, innovation and continuous improvement
A universal occupational health and safety system for all businesses of all sizes.
The goal of ISO 45001 is to avoid occupational diseases and injuries while fostering a safe and healthy workplace. In its capacity as an international standard, ISO 45001 transcends distinctions in geography, politics, the economy, trade, and society. It establishes a unified standard for workplace health and safety administration. Therefore, if your company does business or operates worldwide, you can use a single standard to streamline operations. Additionally, if you are a newcomer to occupational health and safety management, using this framework will help your company develop organizational flexibility.
