وبلاگ و اخبار

Introduction

Benefits of ISO 45001 Implementation

When to Apply for Certification

An Overview of ISO 45001 Requirements

Introduction

ISO 45001 is an international standard that specifies the requirements for implementation of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHS-MS). This standard helps organizations conform to national and/or international laws and regulations and protect their people against occupational accidents or from an unsuitable work environment which leads to ill-health, mental or physical diseases. By improving work morale and increasing employees’ loyalty, productivity in the organizations will increase.

It should be noted that the health and safety of visitors, contractors and neighbors are considered in this standard.

Benefits of ISO 45001 Implementation

By implementing ISO 45001 standard, organizations ensure that a safe and healthy work environment has been provided for the employees, contractors and visitors through controlling of different factors that result in injury, disease and cognitive disorders.

Some of the benefits are:

• Decrease of occupational accidents
• Decrease of work absentees
• Increase of productivity
• Decrease of premium costs
• Compliance to legal requirements
• Increase of personnel’s work morale and loyalty

Nourishing the culture of health and safety at the workplace represents the management commitment and improves the organization’s image and reputation.

When to Apply for Certification

Organizations interested in ISO 45001 standard certification should prepare the documentation structure in accordance with the requirements of the standard and provide adequate and appropriate evidence of the implementation of these requirements.

Since in certification contract, a specific period of time is defined for conducting the third party audit at the organization’s site, the organization has to ensure the availability of the followings as a minimum:

• Scope of occupational health and safety management system and related operational sites
• Internal and external issues affecting the occupational health and safety management system
• Identification of the occupational hazards and subsequent risk assessments
• Setting communication, consultation and participation mechanisms for employees to get involved in OHS risk assessments, incidents reporting, unsafe act/ condition reporting, receiving complaints/ suggestions /criticisms, and etc.
• Required procedures and documentation as mentioned in ISO 45001
• Legal and regulatory requirements related to the scope of the OHS-MS and evaluation of compliance level
• Measurement of workplace harmful agents based on legal/ regulatory/ local requirements
• Incidents analysis
• Records of occupational health and safety maneuvers
• Internal audit and management review records

An Overview of ISO 45001 Requirements

ISO 45001 is based on the implementation of the PDCA methodology (Plan-Do-Check-Act). In addition, process approach is used to document and revise organizational structure, responsibilities and procedures required to achieve an efficient occupational health and safety management system. Certain sections of the standard contain information on many titles, including:

• Context of the organization– it is required that OHS-MS be planned in such a way that is appropriate and applicable to the people who deal with it. Therefore, all internal and external issues related to occupational safety and health that affect the organization shall be considered. Moreover, all the people that are affected by these issues shall be identified, including visitors and contractors.
• Leadership and participation of the employees- management commitment and practiced mechanisms to encourage the participation of employees in the improvement of OHS-MS are addressed in this section.
• Planning– it is required that a specific plan for identification of workplace hazards and assessment of occupational health and safety risks be in place.
• Supporting– it is necessary to provide the required means and resources for implementation and maintaining the OHS-MS such as training of the personnel, personal protective equipment (PPE) and required infrastructure, suitable and safe work environment.
• Operation– it is required that procedure be reviewed for inclusion of legal and regulatory requirements. Risk assessment procedures are the key part in this section.
• Performance evaluation– performance of the occupational health and safety management system shall be monitored and measured through appropriate indicators to ensure the required results have been achieved.
• Improvement– in this requirement, continual improvement and seeking opportunities for enhancement of OHS-MS performance are addressed.

It is safe to say that appropriate risk management is the backbone of ISO 45001 standard. From this perspective, it is recommended that organizations be careful in selecting the method of hazards identification and risk assessment, so that they can implement appropriate control measures and ultimately reduce the level of risk. By this proactive approach, not only are workplace accidents minimized, but also the organization’s compliance with legal requirements and reputation are improved.

In addition to identification of workplace OHS hazards and assessment of related risks for the employees, contractors and visitors, it is required that the organization identify and assess the risk and opportunities of its occupational health and safety management system. These risks can prevent the organization from achieving its expected outcomes and on the other hand, seizing the opportunities can promote the OHS performance. All risks and opportunities do not have the same priority and the ones with the highest effect shall be focused on.

Some examples for opportunities in OHS-MS are: change in the work environment, change in the work condition, and organizing how the work is done. One of the most important opportunities arises when changes occur in the organization or its activities, because the OHS considerations can be applied in the change phase. Losing this opportunity means that at the end of the change phase without considering the OHS concerns, many issues will arise that need to be addressed with greater effort.

At the starting point, the health and safety hazards shall be identified. The hazards with higher probability and more severe consequences have to be prioritized. It is noteworthy that safety risks are associated with incidents, while health risks may be immediate or chronic. Depending on the nature of organization and its activities, hazards can be from sliding, tripping over, and falling to health threatening factors.

For understanding the hazards, the following methods can be applied:

• Walking around the workplace and observing the conditions
• Talking to the employees
• Reading the information by the suppliers
• Reviewing the records of incidents and ill-health