Guide · ISO 45001
What ISO 45001 Is and How Occupational Health and Safety Management Works
A guide to understanding the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems: what it asks for and how it helps protect people.
What it is
International standard for occupational health and safety management systems (OH&S)
Who it's for
Any organisation with workers
Objective
Risk prevention and safe working environments
What ISO 45001 Is
ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems sets out internationally the requirements needed to protect workers and provide a safe working environment.
It integrates occupational risk prevention into the organisation's overall management, with leadership from top management and the participation of workers.
Objectives of the Standard
- Reduce risks and incidents in the workplace.
- Protect workers.
- Increase workers' levels of satisfaction and wellbeing.
Who It Applies To
It applies to any organisation, regardless of size, sector or the nature of its activity.
It complements, but does not replace, legal obligations on occupational risk prevention.
Key Concepts
- Hazard
- A source with the potential to cause injury or ill health.
- Risk
- The combination of the likelihood of a hazardous event occurring and the severity of its consequences.
- Consultation and participation
- Involving workers in decisions that affect their health and safety.
- Hierarchy of controls
- Prioritising eliminating the hazard over reducing it or protecting against it.
- Incident
- A work-related occurrence that could cause, or does cause, injury; it must be investigated.
Structure of the Standard
ISO 45001 follows the common structure shared by ISO management system standards. Its requirements are organised into the following clauses:
- 4. Context
- Understanding the organisation, its interested parties and defining the scope of the system.
- 5. Leadership
- Top management commitment, policy, and roles and responsibilities.
- 6. Planning
- Risks and opportunities, objectives and how to achieve them.
- 7. Support
- Resources, competence, awareness, communication and documented information.
- 8. Operation
- Planning and control of the processes specific to the standard.
- 9. Performance evaluation
- Monitoring and measurement, internal audit and management review.
- 10. Improvement
- Nonconformities, corrective actions and continual improvement.
Benefits
- Improved productivity for the company.
- Added value for clients and interested parties.
- Greater safety and health for people.
- A preventive culture shared across the whole organisation.
What a Company Should Bear in Mind
- The relationship between the system and legal prevention obligations.
- How consultation and participation of workers will be organised.
- Identifying hazards across all activities, including non-routine ones.
- The management of contractors and outsourced work.
The certificate is issued by an independent certification body following an audit of the system; a consultancy helps implement and prepare it.
Relationship with Other Management Systems
Because ISO management system standards share a common structure, it is common to integrate them into a single system.
Common Questions about ISO 45001
Does ISO 45001 replace OHSAS 18001?
Yes. ISO 45001 replaced the earlier OHSAS 18001 as the international reference for occupational health and safety management systems.
Is ISO 45001 mandatory?
No. It is voluntary. Occupational risk prevention itself is a legal obligation, and the standard helps manage it systematically.
Can it be integrated with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?
Yes. They share a structure, which allows them to be managed as part of an integrated system.