BS EN ISO 45001:2023+A1:2024 (which replaced BS OHSAS 18001) is the recognised international standard for occupational health and safety management systems.
The purpose of an occupational health and safety management system is to underpin the creation of safe and healthy workplaces, prevent work-related injury and ill health and continually improve occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance.
Although there is no legal requirement to implement ISO 45001, improving an organisation’s approach to occupational health and safety management has benefits over and above simply reducing accidents and ill health at work. The British Standards Institute (BSI) cites other advantages of adopting ISO 45001 and these include:
• Higher levels of discretionary effort by employees
• Increased performance levels and enhanced productivity
• Strengthened recruitment, diversity, engagement, and retention
• Reduced costs and improve compliance
• An authentic culture of trust and work engagement
• Adapting to the future of work
ISO 45001 adopts a management approach founded on the universally applied ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ model, which provides a framework for organisations to plan what they need to put in place to minimise the risk of harm. The measures should address concerns that can lead to long-term health issues and absence from work, as well as those that give rise to accidents.
There is a much stronger emphasis on organisational context with ISO 45001. The role of ‘leader’ is also prominent, with a requirement for organisations to demonstrate that their occupational health and safety management system is driven from the highest level.
ISO 45001 is applicable to any organisation regardless of its size, type and nature. All its requirements are intended to be integrated into an organisation’s own management processes. The standard stresses that the level of detail, the complexity, the extent of documented information and the resources needed to ensure the success of an organisation’s OH&S management system will depend on a range factors, such as: the organisation’s context (e.g. number of workers, size, geography, culture, legal requirements and other requirements); the scope of the organisation’s OH&S management system; and the nature of the organisation’s activities and the related OH&S risks.
KGS Ltd could provide a Gap Analysis Checklist to help you undertake an internal review, assessment and benchmark your OH&S management system against the ISO 45001 standard.
Written by Daniel Prosser, MSc CMIOSH L4DipFRA OSHCR
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Professional