ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety (OHS)

Courtesy: ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety (OHS)

Reduce risk and promote occupational health and safety (OH&S) by working with SGS to migrate to the new ISO 45001:2018 standard.

An Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is a fundamental part of an organisation’s risk management strategy. The new ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) promotes a safe and healthy working environment to:

• Reduce occupational health and safety risk
• Prevent work-related incidents
• Improve legislative compliance

WHAT IS ISO 45001:2018?

ISO 45001 will be the new international standard for an OHSMS. While it is similar to OHSAS 18001, the new ISO 45001 standard adopts the Annex SL top-level framework of all new and revised ISO management system standards.

ISO 45001 is an ISO standard for management systems of occupational health and safety (OHS), published in March 2018. The goal of ISO 45001 is the reduction of occupational injuries and diseases, including promoting and protecting physical and mental health.

The standard is based on OHSAS 18001, conventions and guidelines of the International Labour Organization, and national standards. It includes elements that are additional to OHSAS 18001 which it is replacing over a three-year migration period from 2018 to 2021. As of March 2021, companies and organizations should have migrated to ISO 45001 to retain a valid certification, although ISO has extended the transition period for up to six months (to 11 September 2021) for organizations adversely affected by COVID-19.

ISO 45001 follows the High Level Structure of other ISO standards, such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, which makes integration of these standards easier.

ISO 45001 was proposed at the ISO in October 2013. The committee ISO/PC 283, created in 2013, had direct responsibility for the standardization process. At least 70 countries contributed to the drafting process. Preparation and committee work lasted until December 2015. From 2015 to 2017, a first draft failed to gain sufficient approval from ISO members and was revised in a second draft, which was approved and refined into a final draft. In the final vote, the standard garnered 62 votes in favour, nine abstentions and four votes against from France, India, Spain, and Turkey. The standard was published on 12 March 2018