As the ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety standard reached the second enquiry stage (DIS) earlier this year, the importance of having a global standard for OHS management systems continues to be highlighted.
The ISO 45001 standard is the leading framework for health and safety management systems, which gives organisations in the United States and around the world a structured approach to plan, implement, support, and evaluate their efforts to reduce or eliminate risks to employees.
“As companies look to implement processes to continually improve workplace safety in line with ISO 45001, the ability to accurately communicate residual risks to workers, subcontractors and guests becomes critically important”, states Clarion CEO Geoffrey Peckham.
ISO 45001 – Occupational health and safety
Over 6300 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases – that’s nearly 2.3million every year in the United States alone. Many of these accidents and injuries are preventable through proactive health and safety management and measures.
OHSE injuries present a significant financial burden for both employers and the wider community resulting in losses from staff absence, early retirement and rising insurance premiums. To counter the problem, ISO is developing a new standard, ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – a set of requirements designed to help organisations reduce this burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, on a global scale.
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 is an International Standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, to enable organisations to proactively improve OH&S performance in preventing health and safety incidents, injuries and ill-health.
Is ISO 45001 applicable to my company?
ISO 45001 is applicable to any organisation regardless of its type, size and nature. The requirements are intended to be introduced into the management processes of all organisations.
What are the benefits of using ISO 45001?
An ISO 45001 based OHS management system will help organisations improve their Occupational Health and Safety performance through:
- OH&S policy and objective development and implementation
- Taking into account risks, opportunities, legal and other requirements by establishing systematic processes
- Eliminating hazards and OH&S risks associated with activities and implementing mitigating controls to reduce occurrences
- Establishing operational controls to manage its OH&S risks and its legal and other requirements
- Increasing awareness and identification of OH&S risks
- Evaluating and improving OH&S performance
- Encouraging workers take on active roles in OH&S matters
How does ISO 45001 relate to other standards?
ISO 45001 follows the high-level structure approach that is being applied to other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment). In developing the standard, consideration has been given to the content of other international standards (such as OHSAS 18001 or the International Labour Organization’s “ILO –OSH Guidelines”) and national standards, as well as to the ILO’s International Labour Standards and conventions (ILSs).
Where Can I Find out More?
Please visit the ISO 45001 page.
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