ISO 45001:2018
There are many differences, but the main change is that ISO 45001 concentrates on the interaction between an organization and its business environment while OHSAS 18001 was focused on managing OH&S hazards and other internal issues. But the standards also diverge in many other ways:
- ISO 45001 is process-based – OHSAS 18001 is procedure-based
- ISO 45001 is dynamic in all clauses – OHSAS 18001 is not
- ISO 45001 considers both risk and opportunities – OHSAS 18001 deals exclusively with risk
- ISO 45001 includes the views of interested parties – OHSAS 18001 does not
These points represent a significant shift in the way health and safety management is perceived. OH&S is no longer treated as a “stand alone”, but must be viewed within the perspective of running a sound and sustainable organization. That being said, although the two standards differ in their approach, a management system established in accordance with OHSAS 18001 will be a solid platform for migrating to ISO 45001.
Some of the improvements incorporated in ISO 45001 are as follows:
1. Structure similar to other management system standards
ISO 45001 is based on Annex SL, which is the framework used in other ISO management system standards. This would make its (and other management system standards) implementation easier, efficient, and streamlined.
2. Top-down approach to safety
In ISO 45001, management’s ownership and commitment to the organization’s OH&S is central to the standard’s effectiveness and integration.
Unlike 18001, that delegated responsibility to safety personnel, ISO 45001 would require the incorporation of health and safety in the overall management system of the organization, thus driving top management to have a stronger leadership role in the safety and health program.
With 45001, the safety culture of the organization will be supported by the engagement of management with workers and demonstrated by a top-down emphasis. Instead of providing oversight of the program, management would be true safety leaders.
Protection of workers, as well as performance improvements, are roles of leadership under the new ISO 45001
3. Ensures workers are aware of the risks and their responsibilities
ISO 45001 would require an organization to ensure their workers are competent to do their assigned tasks safely.
Workers will have broader participation in the new standard, with employees required to work with management to implement the safety management system (SMS). ISO 45001 would make employee training and education to identify risks and help the company create a successful safety program, mandatory. Internal audits and risk assessment results would be required to be openly shared with workers, allowing for employee input.
Under ISO 45001, the responsibility of safety management belongs to everyone in the organization.
4. More focus on prevention than control
ISO 45001 would follow a preventive process, requiring hazard risks to be evaluated and remedied, as opposed to hazard control, under OHSAS 18001.
Organizations will be required to identify potential hazard risks before they cause accidents and injuries.
Audits, job safety analyses and monitoring of workplace conditions will be vital to ensure the proactive approach prescribed by ISO 45001.
5. New clause for documented information
ISO 45001 will replace the requirement in 18001 for references to documentation and records with a new clause.
The new clause would still incorporate the concepts of documentation and records, but there would be no mandated procedures. With the risk-based approach of ISO 45001, documented procedures are a risk control mechanism. It would be overly prescriptive for the standard to specify when documented procedures are needed. Your organization does not need to throw existing documented procedures away. It should just consider whether it really needs them and how best to apply them.
6. Ensure suppliers and contractors manage risks
Under the new standard, the organizations would be required to take into account how their suppliers and contractors manage their risks.
When migrating from OHSAS 18001, several steps must be taken to “prepare the ground”, so to speak, before the new management system itself can be established. If you follow the sequence below, you will be well on your way:
Perform the analysis of interested parties (i.e. those individuals or organizations that can affect your organization’s activities) as well as internal and external factors that might impact your organization’s business, then ask yourself how these risks can be controlled through your management system.
Establish the scope of the system, while considering what your management system is set to achieve.
Use this information to establish your processes, your risk evaluation/assessment and, most importantly, to set the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the processes.
Once you have adapted all the data to the tools of OHSAS 18001, you can reuse most of what you already have in your new management system. So, while the approach is quite different, the basic tools are the same.
The answer depends on how much you know about ISO management systems. ISO 45001 adopts Annex SL, thus sharing a high-level structure (HLS), identical core text and terms and definitions with other recently revised ISO management system standards such as ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management). If you are already acquainted with the common framework, then much of ISO 45001 will seem familiar to you and you will just need to fill the “gaps” in your system.
If this is not the case, things could be a little more tricky. The standard is not easy to apprehend when you read it as a normal book. You have to realize all the interconnections between the specific clauses. My best advice would be to find a good training course to help you unlock the standard’s full potential. You may also want to consider employing consultancy services to assist you in the process.
ISO’s common framework (the aforementioned HLS) for management system standards was deliberately developed to facilitate the integration of new management topics into an organization’s existing management systems. For example, ISO 45001 is based fairly closely on ISO 14001 as we are aware that many organizations combine their OH&S and environmental functions internally.
ISO 45001 follows the high level structure approach that is being applied to other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment). In developing the standard, consideration has been given to the content of other international standards (such as OHSAS 18001 or the International Labour Organization’s “ ILO –OSH Guidelines ”) and national standards, as well as to the ILO’s International Labour standards and conventions (ILSs).
Those adopting the standard, once it has been published, should nd its requirements consistent with the other standards. This will allow for a relatively easy migration from using an existing OH&S management system standard to using ISO 45001, and will also allow for the alignment and integration with the requirements of other ISO management system standards into their organization’s overall management processes.
ISO 45001 does not state specific criteria for OH&S performance, nor is it prescriptive about the design of an OH&S management system. An organization’s OH&S management system should be speci c to meeting its own needs in preventing injuries and ill-health ; consequently a small business with low risks may only need to implement a relatively simple system, whereas a large organization with high levels of risks may need something much more sophisticated. Any type of system may be capable of being in conformity with the requirements of the standard, provided it can be shown to be appropriate to the organization and is e ective.
ISO 45001 does not speci cally address issues such as product safety, property damage or envi- ronmental impacts, and an organization is not required to take account of these issues unless they present a risk to its workers.
ISO 45001 is not intended to be a legally binding document, it is a management tool for voluntary use by organizations from SME’s upwards whose aim is to eliminate or minimise the risk of harm.
The simple answer is all organizations.
It should not matter if your organization is a micro business, or a global conglomerate ; if it is a non-pro t organization, a charity, an academic institution, or a government department. As long as your organization has people working on its behalf, or who may be a ected by its activities, then using a systematic approach to managing health and safety will bring bene ts to it.
The standard can be used by small low risk operations equally as well as by high risk and large complex organizations. While the standard requires that OH&S risks are addressed and controlled, it also takes a risk based approach to the OH&S management system itself, to ensure a) that it is e ective and b) being improved to meet an organization’s ever changing “ context ”. This risk based approach is consistent with the way organizations manage their other “ business ” risks and hence encourages the integration of the standard’s requirements into organizations’ overall management processes.
Increasing competitive pressure and ever-faster responsetimes mean that there is no longer any room for error forcompanies today. Industrial accidents and downtime usually lead to disruption to the production and supply process and can in the worst case scenario result in order cancellations. An occupational health & safety system will allow you to demonstrably reduce the number of accidents through a systematic approach to aspects of health & safety.
The overall intent to focus on hazard, risk, and controls, the Plan-Do-Check-Act model, planning and policy, legal requirements, improvement objectives, action planning, monitoring, awareness, competency and resources needed to support the system remain similar to 18001.
ISO 45001 certi cation is an international recognition of a health & safety management system for every company in every industry. The SCC (Safety Certi cate Contractors), on the other hand, is only valid for subcontractors in industry, the SCP certi cate (Safety Certi cate Personnel Leasing) is only valid for HR service providers and the SCCP Certi -cate (Safety Certi cate Contractors for Petrochemicals) is only valid for service providers within the petrochemicals industry. Alongside these specializations, ISO 45001 is a universal solution for certi ed occupational and health &safety management at an international level.
