ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
ISO 45001 is an international management system standard that supports organisations in addressing their occupational health and safety activities systematically, managing risks and creating a safe working environment.
Page Contents
- Definition of a management system and the purpose of certification
- The benefits management systems provide to an organisation
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
- The advantages ISO 45001 offers to companies
- Information on the transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001
What Is a Management System?
Management systems define the ways in which organisations organise their structures and processes in order to achieve effective results by ensuring that their processes are planned smoothly and effectively so that they act systematically.
An effective management system is designed to manage an organisation's policies, procedures and processes and to ensure that the system focuses on sustainability and improvement, thereby facilitating adaptation to constantly changing conditions.
Why Should You Obtain a Management System Certificate?
Holding a management system certification is proof that you comply with the requirements of the relevant standard, that you are able to achieve your policies and objectives, that you operate effectively and efficiently, and that you continuously improve your processes.
Organisations may wish to strengthen their management systems with certification by obtaining third-party audit services in order to check the correct functioning of their management systems and to prevent problems that go unnoticed without an external eye during production and service delivery.
For this reason, third-party certification, or an independent certification body that audits your practices against the requirements of management system standards, is the best way of informing your customers, suppliers, business partners and other stakeholders that you apply the standard correctly.
What Are the Benefits of a Management System?
According to research, organisations that adopt and implement best practices as set out in nationally and internationally recognised standards achieve significant benefits.
Management systems enable organisations to achieve these benefits by adopting best practices and verifying, through certification, that they have been properly established:
- Compliance with national and international standards and official regulations
- Producing the best possible solutions to customer demands and requirements
- Helping the organisation to improve its operations and manage risk
- Achieving customer satisfaction by growing the organisation and expanding customer reach
- It can help to establish trust among interested parties.
Risk Management
It contributes to the systematic identification and management of occupational health and safety risks.
Safe Working
It supports the creation of a safer and healthier working environment for employees.
Continuous Improvement
It ensures the regular monitoring and continuous improvement of OH&S performance.
ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
One of the most important responsibilities of organisations is the issue of human resources, namely that employees do not have a safe and healthy working environment. In order for organisations to achieve better competitive conditions, they need to carry out planned and systematic work in the field of occupational health and safety for their employees.
The purpose of implementing the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety management system is to enable the organisation to provide safe and healthy workplaces, to prevent work-related injury and ill health, and to continually improve its OH&S performance.
What Is the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System?
ISO 45001 is the only international standard that defines the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system.
The ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System has become a tool for organisations to address occupational health and safety activities systematically and to resolve them within the framework of a continuous improvement approach, in line with their overall strategy.
With the OH&S Management System, the main aim is to establish a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities, to clarify the roles and responsibilities of employees, managers and auditors, and thereby to secure employee participation.
What Benefits Does the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Provide to Companies?
ISO 45001:2018, which replaced OHSAS 18001, can make your work easier for organisations operating or trading internationally, as it was developed without regard to geographical, political, economic, commercial and social boundaries and is the world's first internationally recognised occupational health and safety standard.
An Occupational Health and Safety Management System will provide the following benefits to an organisation:
- Demonstrating your awareness of social responsibility by showing your commitment to safe, healthy and sustainable working,
- Preventing loss of workforce,
- Creating a positive image and increasing brand value,
- Improving compliance with legal and regulatory requirements,
- Preventing occupational accidents and, in particular, occupational diseases,
- Strengthening the organisational structure through proactive risk prevention and continuous improvement of OH&S performance
- It will ensure that risks identified in OH&S risk analyses are determined with a systematic approach and that accidents are minimised by taking the necessary measures for the identified risks.
By When Do Organisations Holding OHSAS 18001 Certification Need to Transition to the ISO 45001:2018 Version?
If your organisation currently holds OHSAS 18001 certification, you need to transition to this standard within three years from March 2018, the date the new ISO 45001 standard entered into force.
ISO 45001 is an international management system standard that aims to make the occupational health and safety management system applicable, monitorable and continuously improvable within the organisation.