ISO 45001 Standard – Introduction
ISO 45001 standard is a modern response to the age-old concern for workplace health and safety. It is the first International Standard for Occupational Health and Safety management systems published to combat the rising number of work-related incidents, illnesses, and deaths worldwide.
As per the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 2.78 million deaths a year result from occupational accidents or work-related diseases, along with 374 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses. In addition to the tremendous effect on families and communities, the cost to businesses and economies is substantial. The construction and manufacturing industry is prone to more accidents owing to manual labour.
These accidents encouraged ISO to establish the ISO 45001 standard, which is an outcome of five years of hard work done by 90 experts and shares many fundamental safety concepts with its predecessors.
Aim of ISO 45001:
ISO45001 intends to place health and safety at the centre of its business strategy and alter the way in which both employees and employers view well-being on the job.
It aims to assist global businesses in enhancing their health and safety performance by creating safer work environments where workplace injuries and diseases are prevented and lives are saved.
ISO 45001: 2018 Standard
ISO 45001: 2018 standard provides a framework to increase safety, reduce workplace risks and enhance health and well-being at work, enabling businesses to proactively improve their OH&S performance. Although it is fairly like OHSAS 18001, the new ISO 45001 standard follows the Annex SL framework for all new, old, and revised ISO management system standards.
ISO 45001 differentiates itself by taking a novel approach to the most significant occupational safety challenges that make it challenging for an organisation to protect its employees in the operating environment.
ISO 45001 Clauses
Below explained are the key clauses of ISO 45001 Standard (ISO 45001: 2018) essential for Australian businesses to follow to be eligible for ISO 45001 Certification.
1) Context of the Organisation
It serves as a starting point for enterprises to form and develop their OHSMS. Understanding the interplay between the Company’s most important OHS conditions, external issues (such as legal, social, and political), and internal conditions (such as products/services, culture, and strategic direction) is essential for determining the OHSMS’s functionalities and objectives. Through this analysis, businesses must identify the needs and expectations of interested parties that must be incorporated into the OHSMS, be they sustainability initiatives of a primary customer, community concerns, or OHS legal requirements.
The determination of organisational context leads to the definition of the OHSMS’s scope, which should reflect the elements that the organisation wishes to influence and has the authority to influence with the OHSMS. The OHSAS 18001 standard provides guidance on how to address this issue and establish the OHSMS’s scope. Additionally, the new ISO 45001:2015 standard places greater emphasis on evaluating internal and external factors that may influence the OHSMS’s scope and results.
2) Leadership and Employee Involvement
This section focuses on the top management and discusses organisational roles, responsibilities, and authorities. The management is held accountable for the effectiveness and performance of the OHSMS, and to ensure that the essential resources are available to sustain it and promote continuous improvement. It also emphasises the need for a framework to effectively communicate organisational objectives to all departments.
3) Planning Action
Planning is one of the key components of an OHSMS. This section includes the identification of hazards and evaluation of risks and opportunities, as well as legal and other requirements, objectives, and targets. Hazards and risks, opportunities and legal requirements are presented in the context of risk and opportunity management, which is the most notable addition to this section. In addition, legal and other requirements explicitly include those that may result from the needs and expectations of interested parties. ISO 45001 standard establishes a symbiotic relationship between hazard, risk, and opportunity.
ISO 45001 urges enterprises to consider their technological options and business requirements when establishing OHS objectives to be able to integrate them into a company’s business operations. This is reflected in the ‘Planning Action’ clause of the new standard, which requires corporates to develop actions to address risks, opportunities, legal and other requirements, as well as to prepare for and respond to emergency situations. Considering the OHS hierarchy of controls is given the top priority when planning actions.
4) Support
The Support section of the new standard includes requirements for communication and documentation, as well as competence and awareness (derived from the “Competence, Training, and Awareness” clause of the OHSAS 18001 standard). Within the Competence subsection of the new standard, the emphasis on OHS performance is reiterated.
Unlike the OHSAS 18001 standard, which required training to acquire skills relevant to a Company’s OHS risks and OHS management system, the new standard requires identifying the requisite skills for workers that can influence an organisation’s OHS performance.
The requirements for communication have been expanded and refined. The term ‘documented information’ replaces the separate terms ‘documents’ and ‘records.’ However, if desired, a business might proceed using the traditional names for documents and records.
5) Operation
Operation includes the elements of ‘Operational Planning and Control’ (previously called ‘Operational Control’) and ‘Emergency Preparedness and Response.’ It is dominated by two themes: Change Management and Procurement (product safety).
Change Management is required to establish processes for the implementation and control of planned temporary and permanent changes that can affect OHS performance, and unintended changes must be evaluated for controls to minimise adverse effects.
When it comes to Procurement, businesses must ensure that their OHS management system requirements are met by contractors and their employees. Additionally, outsourced functions and processes must be controlled and coherent with the OHSMS’s objectives.
6) Performance Evaluation
The integration of concise requirements is a prevalent theme throughout ISO 45001:2018. In addition to outlining what should be monitored and measured, the new standard also identifies methodologies and criteria. It also guides organisations on when to conduct monitoring and measuring and when to review, evaluate and convey results. A Company should establish a committee to track and evaluate its performance.
7) Improvement
The final clause of the robust framework reflects an important theme of ISO 45001:2018. The standard improves the corrective action methodology so that an OHSMS can influence preventive action. During the corrective action process, a Company must primarily ascertain if an equivalent nonconformity exists or might possibly occur and then take the appropriate measures to nullify these factors. The new standard mandates continuous quality improvement of the OHSMS to boost OHS performance and the competency, proficiency, and efficiency of the OHS management system.
ISO 45001 Certification
ISO 45001 Certification is granted to businesses fulfilling all the key requirements of ISO 45001: 2018 standard.
Companies with existing OHS systems must follow the below steps to be eligible for ISO 45001 Certification:
1) Gap Analysis
An organisation should perform Gap Analysis to identify improvement areas in their existing OHS. Based on their findings, they should develop a plan for aligning existing OHSMS procedures with the new organisational structure and underlying themes.
2) Identifying Interested Parties
Identify interested parties involved in the OHSMS and what kind of influence they have on the scope and requirements of the Company.
3) Evaluation of Risk and Opportunities
To determine the order in which OHS issues will be acknowledged, set up a risk and opportunity evaluation process in conjunction with the revised hazards identification/risk evaluation procedure.
4) Management of Change Process
Develop management of the change process to ensure the enterprise maintains an effective risk management plan when modifications are introduced to tools, procedures, goods, employees, etc., and to ensure the change’s goals are met.
5) Supply Chain Involvement
Businesses must promote the involvement of supply chain partners to improve the efforts of the OHS management. Organisations must analyse how this interaction can assist in addressing the Procurement theme of the new ISO 45001:2018 Standard for Organisational Health and Safety (OHS).
6) Leadership Evaluation
Evaluate organisational procedures and policies to ensure senior management is adhered to show a commitment to the OHSMS and accepts the authority, responsibility, and governance to ensure success. This assessment also needs to ensure that organisational strategy and decision-making processes reflect OHSMS objectives.
Organisations New to ISO 45001
Organisations new to ISO 45001 can seek certified professionals, i.e., OHS Consultants to help them establish an OHS system. The consultants will ensure to follow all the requirements of ISO 45001: 2018 and help you in implementing a robust framework for workplace safety.
Benefits of ISO 45001
Here are the top benefits of implementing ISO 45001 standard at your workplace:
1) A significant decline in workplace incidents.
2) Decreased absenteeism and employee retention shortage resulting in increased performance.
3) Lowered healthcare premium costs.
4) Establishment of health and safety practices encouraging employees to participate actively in their own OH&S.
5) Bolstered leadership commitment to proactively enhance OH&S performance.
6) Compliance with legislation and regulatory mandates.
7) Reputation enhancement.
8) Team morale boost.
9) Effective use of Technology and resource utilisation.
How much shall ISO 45001 Certification cost?
The minimum cost to get ISO 45001 Certification can range from $10,000 to $15,000 for a small business. With an increase in the size of the company, the price will increase.
How can Anitech help you in achieving ISO 45001 Certification?
Anitech has created a name for itself in the business circuit for being one of the most trustworthy and reliable Business Consulting firms. We offer robust, industry-specific solutions to businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
Our OHS Consultants are certified and experienced professionals who will assist you in the strategising, implementation, and granting of ISO 45001 Certification. They will guide you with the necessary information on the certification and various processes involved. We will also provide training to your staff wherever essential.
Anitech aims to support businesses in promoting workplace health and safety and preventing accidents and hazards.
If you want us to help you in developing and implementing ISO 45001 and achieving certification, feel free to call us on 1300 802 163 or e-mail us at info@anitechgroup.com or enquire here.
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