ISO 45001 is the international standard that guides companies in accident prevention and the promotion of safe work environments.
Its certification demonstrates a commitment to the health, safety, and well-being of employees.
ISO 45001 is intended for use by any organization, regardless of its size or the nature of its work, and can be integrated into other health and safety programs such as worker wellness and well-being.
ISO 45001 is an International Standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OHSAS) management system, with guidance for its use, to enable an organization to proactively improve its OHSAS performance in preventing injury and ill-health.
ISO 45001 is intended to be applicable to any organization regardless of its size, type and nature. All of its requirements are intended to be integrated into an organization’s own management processes.
ISO 45001 enables an organization, through its OHSAS management system, to integrate other aspects of health and safety, such as worker wellness/well-being; however, it should be noted that an organization can be required by applicable legal requirements to also address such issues.
ISO 45001 follows the approach of risk-based thinking. This means that organisations have to consider their risks and opportunities more carefully than before and identify them accordingly. Instead of reacting to consequences that have already occurred, organisations have to make specific plans beforehand as to how potential effects are to be handled. Assessment of risks and opportunities can relate, for example, to investments (new machinery), in-house infrastructure, innovations or suppliers.
When the recertification process is complete, you will receive certificates according to ISO 45001, which are valid for three years. The period of validity follows on directly from the previous certificate. That means that the expiry date of the new certificates corresponds to the normal three-year period (expiry date of the old certificate plus three years) if the process is carried out within the stipulated deadline or if the audit and the NC management (Non-Conformity) are completed on schedule. If the transition is made during a surveillance audit, the new ISO 45001 certificate takes on the period of validity of the existing certificate.
The new ISO 45001 follows the so-called “High Level Structure” (HLS). This standardised structure ensures simple integration of the new ISO 45001 management system into existing ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 management systems. This results in two very important benefits: Firstly, definitions and structures can be used for all the standards and secondly, standards are easier to understand and synergies are possible when different standards and certifications are combined. This saves time and money when introducing ISO 45001 into the organisation.
Within the audit process, it is important to ensure that the participants named in the standard and the accreditation rules are taken fully into account. In ISO 45001, the participants are now more clearly defined with regard to their roles:
In the audit, the management and employees of contractors should be interviewed at the site of the audited organisation if possible.