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When it comes to workplace injuries and accidents, a single incident is one too many. Businesses need to be proactive in understanding the scope of their work health and safety obligations, and then take active steps to ensure they are met. By doing so, they help keep their company running efficiently, minimise downtime, and demonstrate to the wider public that they are working to meet their safety obligations. Companies can clearly work towards these goals by implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System, which helps them identify, prevent, and manage all OH&S risks staff may be exposed to. This article will discuss four key reasons why businesses need ISO 45001 certification.
- Provides reassurance to people of your business’ compliant safety standards
The ISO 45001:2018 OH&S Standards are an internationally recognised Business Management System, and seen as the first port-of-call for companies looking to meet and maintain compliant work health and safety practices.
Through certification, companies will develop a proactive approach to OH&S, in which they are working to identify potential onsite risks before they impact staff, and then take preventive measures to ensure employee safety. Specifically, organisations will conduct a gap analysis of their existing OH&S practices, which sees them assess which of their current practices meet the ISO 45001 requirements, and which don’t.
Upon identifying the ones that don’t, businesses then work at refining their practices to ensure everything meets the Standards outlined in ISO 45001. Through this process, companies are reassuring their staff, existing and potential customers, and regulatory bodies that they are committed to compliant safety standards, and that people will be safe at their workplace.
- Enhances productivity and general operations
Another key advantage of ISO 45001 is that it helps businesses identify and prevent workplace risks that could impact staff health. Through the adoption of proactive risk prevention strategies, companies will improve their overall operations and significantly minimise downtime.
An incident of onsite staff injury can have severe repercussions for companies; from decreased staff confidence, financial penalties, and customers being reluctant to purchase from the organisation. Through ISO 45001 certification, businesses are demonstrating a commitment to safety and productivity, which can both strengthen their daily operations and overall reputation.
- Continually improves through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle
ISO 45001 utilises the PDCA cycle, which is a proven successful, systematic approach to achieving goals and continual improvement. This four-stage cycle sees companies first plan the scope of their OH&S goals and objectives, and what needs to be done to fully identify and prevent workplace risks impacting staff. The do stage sees them carry out the goals and objectives they outlined in planning.
They then routinely check their progress, to determine whether everything is going according to plan, while also documenting their results for future records. Finally, the act stage sees businesses taking continual action to ensure their OH&S Management System is meeting their objectives, performing as it should, and that any potential issues are swiftly rectified.
By working with the PDCA cycle, businesses develop a structured approach to achieving and maintaining their work health and safety goals, and ensuring that all their regulatory requirements are met.
- Opens doors for new trading opportunities
In today’s safety conscious society, many ISO 45001 certified businesses are reluctant to conduct dealings with uncertified companies. Many businesses want an assurance that their trading partners maintain the same compliant WHS standards that they do, and will not work with companies unable to demonstrate this.
By achieving ISO 45001 certification, companies will be able to maximise trading and growth opportunities with other businesses, as they are proving that they take the issue of compliant OH&S practices seriously, and taking active steps to meet their obligations.
Our safety consultants can help with this process
With the 2021 working year almost over, it is the perfect time to start preparing your business for a safe, productive 2022. Organisations experienced so many challenges throughout 2021, and many learned that a forward-thinking approach is a key ingredient to success. This means businesses should work to identify potential operational problems they may experience, before their workplace is affected, to prevent the problem from significantly impacting them later.
ISO 45001 can be tailored to companies of all shapes, industries, and sizes, because the fundamental OH&S strategies it offers apply to all workplaces. To find out more about how ISO 45001 can help your business realise its operational goals, please contact our OHS consultants today by filling out this online form, or by calling them on 1300 802 163 for a brief, obligation-free consultation.
It will be a quick call where you discuss the specifics of your business with a consultant, including information about its size, industry, how many staff typically work onsite, and so on. They can explain to you how IS0 45001 certification could help your company achieve its goals. The next stage sees your business work closely with a consultant to implement the Standards, thus preparing your company for a productive, safe 2022 and beyond. Wouldn’t you agree that sounds like an idea worth implementing?
Please click here to learn more about why companies need an OH&S Management System.
