ISO 45001 - Occupational Health & Safety
22 February 2018
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) states that 'over 7600 people die each day from work related accidents or diseases which equates to 2.78 million each year. This burden of occupational injuries is significant to both employers and the wider economy, resulting in losses from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums'.
To combat the problem ISO is developing a new standard, ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems Requirements. They hope that this standard will help organisations reduce the burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions.
ISO 45001 standard spells out requirements for an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). The main aim is to provide a 'model' that organisations can implement, within their businesses. This model is a management system which defines how the business inter-links with its various components and highlights the 'processes' within the business. The aim of any management system is to provide the ability to manage, evaluate, audit and improve the processes over time. In particular ISO 45001 requires both senior management and employee participation, this 'buy-in' will aid the business in embedding the guiding principles.
The final outcome is, of course, better health and safety within the business – that's a great goal to aim for. You can download the Intelex white paper here for further guidance.