The first global standard for OHS management, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety...
The first global standard for OHS management, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, has been published. ISO 45001 was created to address the global need to improve work related health and safety of workers. Led by the United Kingdom, the new international standard was developed with input from over 70 countries across five continents.
ISO 45001 specifies requirements for creating an OHS management system, with interpretation guidance to enable an organization to improve OHS performance in the workplace. The requirements in the standard are applicable to all organizations, irrespective of its size or activities.
The standard encourages an organization to see OHS as an investment in its success. The standard uses risk-based thinking throughout to minimize negative outcomes, and emphasizes that workers closest to a particular risk should be involved in the decision-making process, said the publisher, BSI. One of the goals during the development of this standard was to encourage a culture of openness around OHS: health and safety should not solely be the concern of health and safety managers, but the responsibility of all workers, according to BSI.
“ISO 45001 is about protecting workers at all levels of an organization. From the Saturday part-timer on a zero-hours contract to the chief executive of an international conglomerate, this global standard was designed for the good of the organization and everyone who works for it,” said Todd VanderVen, president, BSI Americas. “ISO 45001 was created to make it easier for organizations to create and maintain a safe and healthy working environment for all… ISO 45001 is relevant to an organization with 10 workers or a hundred thousand.”
ISO 45001 replaces the British Standard OHSAS 18001. Existing users of OHSAS 18001 have three years to transition to the new international standard.
