The ISO 45000 family of standards focuses on occupational health and safety management. It provides guidance and requirements to help organisations create safer workplaces, prevent work-related injuries and ill health, and continually improve occupational health and safety performance.
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001:2018 is an international standard that specifies requirements for an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OH&S MS). It helps organisations identify workplace hazards, assess occupational health and safety risks, and establish controls to prevent injuries and work-related ill health.
What is an Occupational Health and Safety Management System?
An Occupational Health and Safety Management System is a structured framework for identifying hazards, evaluating risks, defining responsibilities, and implementing measures to protect workers and other relevant people affected by an organisation's activities.
ISO 45001 encourages leadership involvement, worker consultation, effective hazard controls, emergency preparedness, performance evaluation, and continual improvement in workplace safety.
Key Principles of Occupational Health and Safety
These principles help organisations establish safer working conditions and strengthen their occupational health and safety management practices.
Worker Protection
Hazard Identification
Risk Assessment
Worker Participation
Injury Prevention
Legal Compliance
Continual Improvement
Who is ISO 45001 for?
ISO 45001 is suitable for organisations of all sizes and sectors, including manufacturing, construction, engineering, healthcare, education, logistics, warehouses, and service industries. It can be applied wherever occupational hazards and health and safety risks need to be managed systematically.
How will it benefit my business?
- Improve workplace safety and prevent work-related injuries.
- Identify hazards and manage occupational health and safety risks.
- Strengthen employee awareness and safety responsibilities.
- Improve emergency preparedness and response arrangements.
- Support compliance with applicable occupational health and safety obligations.
- Reduce workplace incidents and associated operational disruption.
- Encourage worker consultation and continual safety improvement.
ISO 45001: Benefits
An effective Occupational Health and Safety Management System helps organisations establish consistent safety procedures, assess workplace hazards, and implement appropriate risk controls. It supports the prevention of work-related injuries and ill health while encouraging employees to participate in workplace safety.
ISO 45001 certification can demonstrate that an organisation's management system has been assessed against the applicable standard. Its value depends on the organisation's requirements, certification scope, and the recognition of the certification body.
Should I be certified to ISO 45001?
Certification may benefit organisations seeking to demonstrate a systematic approach to occupational health and safety. Customers, contractors, tender requirements, and supply chains may also request certification. The management system should reflect actual workplace risks and applicable legal obligations.
How do I get started with ISO 45001:2018?
Key implementation tips
- Define the scope of your Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
- Secure leadership commitment and assign safety responsibilities.
- Identify workplace hazards and assess occupational risks.
- Establish safety objectives and implement appropriate risk controls.
- Provide relevant training and consult workers on safety matters.
- Monitor performance, conduct internal audits, and improve the system.
Need further guidance? Contact our team to discuss your occupational health and safety implementation and certification requirements.
Related Health and Safety Standards
Related standards and guidance include:
- ISO 45002 — General guidelines for implementing ISO 45001.
- ISO 45003 — Psychological health and safety at work.
- ISO 45004 — Guidance on OH&S performance evaluation.
- ISO 31000 — Risk management guidelines.
- ISO 19011 — Guidelines for auditing management systems.
Certification Process
-
01
Preliminary Audit (Optional)
An initial review can identify gaps and help prepare your Occupational Health and Safety Management System for certification.
-
02
Certification Audit
Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits assess readiness, documentation, hazard identification, risk controls, and practical implementation against applicable requirements.
-
03
Certification Decision
Following satisfactory audit outcomes and the required certification decision, a certificate may be issued for the approved scope.
-
04
Surveillance Audits
Periodic surveillance confirms that the Occupational Health and Safety Management System continues to meet applicable requirements.
-
05
Recertification
Recertification is completed before expiry in accordance with the applicable certification scheme.
