ISO 45001:2018
Occupational Health & Safety Management System
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 is a new international standard (to replace OHSAS 18001:2007) that provides a framework of occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). It enables organization to know and control all the hazards associated with routine and non-routine activities, reducing the chances of employees and related parties being injured or getting ill-health issues in the workplaces managed by the organization.
Transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001
ISO 45001:2018 standard officially published on March 12, 2018, and will replace the existing OHSAS 18001:2007 standard within a three-year transition period (please contact your certification body for confirmation). Therefore, organization has already certified to OHSAS 18001:2007 is required to upgrade the existing OHSMS to the ISO 45001 standard version by March 12, 2021, and pass the audit to maintain the validity of the certificate. During the transition, the organization should:
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Identify the gap between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 (refer to the standard requirements or attend our training course to learn more)
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Plan and implement ISO 45001, actions include modifying existing system documentation, communicating with employees and stakeholders about changes, providing training, reviewing system compliance, etc.
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Contact your certification body to arrange for transition/re-certification (in response to the policies of different certification bodies, organizations may keep both valid ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001 certificates during the transition period)
Benefit of ISO 45001
Organization shall put health and safety of employees (and related parties) as first priority. In addition to greatly reducing work efficiency, increasing operating costs, and causing loss of personnel, industrial injuries and occupational diseases are more likely to impose serious legal responsibilities on organization.
Implementing the ISO 45001 OHSMS ensures the health and safety of personnel, reduces accident and production time losses, and strengthens the legal compliance of the organization. At the same time, certified to ISO 45001 can enhance your reputation and make you more competitive in the market.
Comparing to OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001 inherits the high-level structure of ISO standards, while strengthening the occupational safety and health requirements of interested parties (including workers and external providers), and making management systems more effective through encouraging participation and consultation of workers.
ISO 45001 Requirements
Like other ISO standards, ISO 45001 promotes the adoption of a Plan - Do - Check - Act (or PDCA) cycle and risk-based thinking approach, as reflected in the standard clauses 4 to 10 (Clauses 0 to 3 are introduction, scope, normative references, and terms and definitions, not subject to audit-able requirements). You can find out about the standard requirements in the following: (or by related links)
(The major differences between ISO 45001:2018 and OHSAS 18001:2007 are being shown in the following in different colors)
Clause 4 - Context of organization
This is the first step in establishing an OHSMS, which requires the organization to clearly determine:
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What are the internal and external issues related to the organization's business, policies, etc., which can affect the organization to achieve the intended results?
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Who are your interested parties and workers? What are their needs and expectations? Which of them will become the legal and other requirements of the organization?
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What is the scope and boundary of the OHSMS?
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What is the process of the OHSMS?
第 5 條款 - Leadership and worker participation
Top management is required to commit and proactively participate in the OHSMS. They need to be ultimately responsible for the performance of the OHSMS. The standards clearly state that these responsibilities include establishing and communicating OHS policies, promoting OHS objectives, providing resources, defining the role of organizational staff, authority and responsibility, supporting other relevant management roles, protecting workers from reprisals when reporting OHS concerns and supporting the establishment of OHS committees. Management Representative is not required.
The organization shall establish a process for consultation and participation and remove any obstacles and barriers to participation. Consultation and participation of non-managerial workers shall be emphasized.
Clause 6 - Planning
Based on the internal and external issues and interested parties' needs and expectations determined from clause 4, the organization identifies the OHS risks and opportunities and others risks and opportunities associated with its operations, activities, services, products, and determine the actions to manage them. All legal and other requirements shall be identified and accessible. The standard also requires organizations to establish OHS objectives to drive continual improvement.
Clause 7 - Support
The organization shall ensure that there is sufficient support to establish, implement, maintain and improve the OHSMS, including resources, personnel competence, awareness, communication, and documented information.
Clause 8 - Operations
The organization shall ensure that its operations are properly planned and controlled, including:
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Plan to implement the actions determined in clause 6 above
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Control procurement, contractors and outsourced processes
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Prepare and response to OHS related emergency/incidents
Clause 9 - Performance evaluation
The organization shall review the performance of the OHSMS and determine the areas, times, methods, resources of monitor and measuring. Those shall include evaluating its operation/activities/products/services compliance, reviewing the effectiveness of actions addressing risks, opportunities, and determining the need for improvement. The organization is also required to conduct internal audits and management reviews on a regular basis to check that OHSMS is effectively implemented and the performance is being reported to the organization's top management.
Clause 10 - Improvement
The organization shall drive continual improvement of the OHSMS based on the results of Section 9, the identification and control of risks and opportunities, and the investigation and corrective actions of any nonconformity.