ISO 45001

Overview

The International Standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) ISO45001 has been published on March 2018, and is set to transform workplace practices globally.

ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, provides a robust and effective set of processes for improving work safety. Designed to help organizations of all sizes and industries, the new International Standard is expected to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses around the world.

The new OH&S standard is based on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management systems standards and uses a simple Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model, which provides a framework for organizations to plan what they need to put in place in order to minimize the risk of harm. The measures should address concerns that can lead to long-term health issues and absence from work, as well as those that give rise to accidents.

ISO45001:2018 shall replace OHSAS18001 which means that organizations certified under OHSAS18001 will have until March 12, 2021 to migrate to ISO45001.

Structure of the standard

ISO 45001 was designed to consider the content of existing occupational health and safety standards, (such as OHSAS 18001 or the International Labour Organisation’s “ILO – OSH Guidelines”), as well as the ILO’s labor standards, conventions and safety guidelines

The standard adopts Annex SL, thus sharing a high-level structure (HLS), identical core text and terms and definitions with other recently revised ISO management system standards such as ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management).

If your organization is already acquainted with the common framework, then much of ISO 45001 will seem familiar and you will just need to fill the “gaps” in your system.

WHY CHOOSE ISO45001 – KEY BENEFITS

ISO45001 enables organizations to put in place an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system that 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 the use of the standard include

• Improved performance of OH&S processes;
• Increased internal OH&S performance levels
• Enhanced internal OH&S awareness;
• Reduced insurance premiums
• Demonstrated compliance with customer, regulatory and/or other requirements;
• Reduction/elimination of cost associated with OH&S injuries/illness
• Maintain/improve organization’s public reputation in the health and safety industry
• it deals with both the risk and opportunities
• Seamlessly integrate with quality, environmental and other sector specific management systems

What are the major differences between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001

There are many differences, but the main change is that ISO 45001 concentrates on the interaction between an organization and its business environment while OHSAS 18001 was focused on managing OH&S hazards and other internal issues. But the standards also diverge in many other ways:

• ISO 45001 is process-based – OHSAS 18001 is procedure-based
• ISO 45001 is dynamic in all clauses – OHSAS 18001 is not
• ISO 45001 considers both risk and opportunities – OHSAS 18001 deals exclusively with risk
• ISO 45001 includes the views of interested parties – OHSAS 18001 does not

Although the two standards differ in their approach, a management system established in accordance with OHSAS 18001 will be a solid platform for migrating to ISO 45001.

The policy of AVRV to migrate from OHSAS18001 to ISO45001 can be found here { AVRV’s policy for transition to ISO 45001-2018 }

STEPS TO CERTIFICATION

Step 1: Proposal for Certification – Contact AVRV and exchange of preliminary information. AVRV provides you a proposal based on the size and nature of your organization, detailing the the cost and time involved.

Step 2: Optional pre-audit – You may decide to perform pre-audit to assess the readiness of your organization for the audit. This stage is optional

Step 3: Stage 1 Audit – Readiness review of your management system to verify the status of your organization for certification that includes compliance of your documented system, examination of key elements of the system and planning of next audit steps. At the end of this step you will receive a report summing up all findings (critical and non critical).

Step 4: Stage 2 Audit – Evaluation of the implementation and systems effectiveness through observation of working practices, personnel interviews and examination of records. At the end of this stage all audit finding will be presented to you by the lead auditor that include nonconformities, opportunities for improvement and positive aspects.

Step 5: Recommendation for Certification – The auditor(s) team shall propose their recommendation based on the evaluation and review of the effective implementation of corrections and corrective actions on findings raised during Stage 1&2 Audits. The final audit report is forwarded for the review and decision.

Step 6: Technical Review and Issue of Certificate subject to successful audit –Appointed independent and impartial team of AVRV reviews the audit report and the recommendation of the audit team and decides further on granting or not certification.

Step 7: Awarding Certification –The client is informed on the results of the certification decision and following successful certification a three years certification cycle is initiated and a certificate is issued

Step 8: Surveillance audit – Each year the validity of the certification remains subject to successful surveillance audits. Every twelve months we will verify that the management system conforms to the requirements of the standard.

Step 9: Re-certification – After 3 years and before the expiry of your certification our routine visit will be extended to enable a re-certification audit.

The technical review and decision of certification includes granting, refusing, maintaining, renewing, suspending, restoring or withdrawing certification or expanding or reducing the scope of the certification.

Certification Flowchart

The roadmap of the certification process is summarized as follows

The technical review and decision of certification includes granting, refusing, maintaining, renewing, suspending, restoring or withdrawing certification or expanding or reducing the scope of the certification.