ISO 45001 Certification – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

ISO 45001 applies to any organization, regardless of size and sector, wishing to implement an OHSMS.

It is particularly valuable to higher-risk industries, such as:

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Oil and gas
• Mining
• Agriculture

Implementing the ISO 45001 standard provides significant value to organizations wanting to reduce workplace incidents and demonstrate OHS commitment.

The standard strongly focuses on an organization’s context. It requires the organization to consider what stakeholders expect from its OHS management. The organization must determine which parties are relevant to its OHSMS and their requirements.

ISO 45001 aims to provide an organization with a high-level understanding of the important issues that can affect it, either positively or negatively, and how it manages its OHS responsibilities toward its workers.

Issues of interest are those that affect the organization’s ability to achieve its intended outcomes. These include the objectives set for its OHSMS, such as meeting OHS policy commitments.

Top management must demonstrate its involvement and engagement with the OHSMS through direct participation, taking OHS performance into account in strategic planning.

Top management must also contribute to the OHSMS’s effectiveness by actively directing, supporting and communicating with workers, and promoting and leading organizational OHSMS culture.

ISO 45001 defines the requirements for top management responsibility and accountability to ensure that ultimate responsibility cannot be delegated to health and safety or other managers.

ISO 45001 requires top management to encourage consultation with and participation from workers and their representatives, as these are crucial to OHS management.

Consultation implies two-way communication – dialogue and exchange – and involves the timely provision of information that workers and their representatives need before the organization can decide.

An OHSMS depends on worker participation, which enables them to contribute to OHS performance and comment on proposed changes.

The organization must encourage workers at all levels to report hazardous situations, so preventative measures and corrective action can be taken. Workers must be able to report and suggest improvements without fearing dismissal, disciplinary action or similar reprisals.

The focus on organizational context and the requirement to adopt a risk-based approach when developing and implementing an OHSMS are closely aligned.

An organization must identify and address the risks and opportunities to ensure the OHSMS can achieve its intended outcomes.

These risks and opportunities include those relevant to or determined by their organizational context. The organization must plan actions that address these risks and opportunities, implement them into its OHSMS processes and evaluate the effectiveness of these actions.

ISO 45001 requires an organization to ensure that outsourced processes affecting its OHSMS are defined and controlled.

When outsourced products and/or services supplied are under the organization’s control, supplier and contractor risk must be managed effectively.

Organizations can get certified against ISO 45001 by a third-party certification body like SGS. Certification confirms that an organization has implemented the standard and a compliant OHSMS. However, certification is not mandatory.

As with other ISO management system standards, some organizations choose to implement the standard to benefit from the best practices, while others want to get certified to reassure customers and clients.

Many certification bodies are accredited, meaning that an accreditation body has provided independent confirmation of their competence. This may bring an additional layer of confidence to stakeholders.

The certification process typically involves gap analysis, implementing the OHSMS as per the standard, internal audits, management reviews and a certification audit by an external body.

Certification is not a one-off event, but an ongoing process. To maintain certification, organizations must continually monitor and enhance their OHSMS. This includes undergoing regular audits and reviewing performance against objectives to stay competitive and achieve long-term success.

ISO 45001’s harmonized structure is compatible with other management system standards, allowing seamless integration.

Organizations can align or integrate their OHSMS with other standards to leverage synergy and increase management efficiency.

ISO 45001 is compatible with other ISO management system standards, enabling an integrated approach to managing various organizational capabilities and processes.