ISO 45001 FAQs: Top Questions Answered

Introduction

The international standard Organizational Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is ISO 45001 which is aimed at assisting organizations in making their workplace safer, healthier and more resilient. There are numerous queries about the use of certification, required standards, and advantages that many businesses have whenever venturing into certification. The purpose of this FAQ guide is to provide answers to the most frequent questions - starting with the steps to complete the implementation process, documentation requirements, continuing with the certification procedures, and the compliance that should be followed.

Q. What Is ISO 45001? 

ISO 45001:2018 is Occupational Health and Safety Management System which is also called OH&SMS. It is a framework provided to organizations to take the utmost care of the health and safety of its employees, including contractors. The framework provides an amalgamation of requirements in the form of clauses with the aim to prevent OH&S hazards and minimizing respective risks at the workplace. The main aim of ISO 45001 is to protect workers at workplace from work related hazards and avoid accidents. 

Q. Why Is ISO 45001 Important?

ISO 45001 came into existence at a time when resources not just mean human resources. Yes, after years of industrial revolution and exploitation of workers that has happened for quite some time, it was time to have system in place that stopped these inhumane activities at workplace. More than inhumane, it was unethical work practices that were in place due to varied reasons such as political unrest, economic crisis, political unwillingness, general public support, etc. To tackle all this, OHSAS 18001 was published by British Safety Standard (BSI) but later in 2018 ISO with the help of governing bodies and taking views across the global devises a standard namely ISO 45001 and rolled in the year 2018. 

Q. What Are The Benefits Of ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 helps to

• Build and extend the foundation that OHSAS 18001 had established

• Designed to integrate smoothly with other ISO Standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

• Integrate OH&SMS with process operations more naturally. 

• OH&SMS is flexible and can meet the business needs at the same time protecting workers.

• Improved stakeholder relations.

• Reduction in operational downtime and costs.

• Reputation of the organization.

• Customer Trust.

Q. Who Should Get Certified With ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 can be implemented for any business which is aiming to mitigate OH&S risks,  prevent work-related illnesses and related injuries and accidents. Any organization with any employee number/ any process/ any product or service can get certified with ISO 45001:2018. It includes any and all business setup. Some industrial sectors that look for ISO 45001 certification are healthcare, construction, automotive, etc. 

Q. How To Get ISO 45001 Certified?

In case an organization intends to get ISO 45001 certified, it needs to start with gap assessment, implementation of the standard requirements prior audit and certification. Certification is done by an external agency which is accredited. The certificate remains valid for three year period with mandatory surveillance each year in between. 

Q. How much does ISO 45001 Certification cost?

The cost of an ISO 45001 certification is dependant on a varierty of factors:

• Duration of audit
  
  
• Employee numbers
  
  
• Scope of the audit
  
  
• Present compliance level of organisation,etc

A request to the accredited agency for quote will provide exact cost details for certification.

Q. How Did ISO 45001 Change The Definition Of "Worker?"

In ISO 45001, the term "worker" includes employees at all levels in the organization, employed directly as well indirectly. It also includes contractors, outsourced service providers, etc. 

Q. How To Determine Risks And Opportunities When Implementing ISO 45001?

The first step for an organization is to understand needs and expectations of the interested parties along with strategic requirements of the organization. With this information, one can easily assess risks and opportunities that are currently there and then plan actions.

Q. Does ISO 45001 Replace The Need For Other Certifications?

No. ISO 45001 is specifically for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems; it doesn’t replace other certifications, for example ISO 14001, ISO 9001,etc. ISO 45001 does follow the high-level structure similar to other ISO standard; ISO 14001 is focused on environment and ISO 9001 is focused on Quality.

As per ISO 45001, What is the main difference between improvement and continuous improvement?

The term Continual improvement has come into existence from Continuous Improvement, which means step by step improvement over a period time, but not continuous. Improvement on the other had occurs with a range of changes including awareness, training, process revisions, etc.

Q. Is ISO 45001 Just A Sub-versed Version Of OHSAS 18001?

No. ISO 45001 is a completely new standard that is in line with ISO high level structure which is designed to implement occupational health and safety management system, It focusses on worker participation, leadership commitment, risk based approach, etc while integrating with operational processes. 

Q. Is There A Criterion For Legal Registers Or Hazard And Risk Register?

No, there is no such criteria set for these registers. The contents of the register are very business specific and based completely on operational activities and local regulatory requirements. Every organization is unique and its risks will vary. There is no set format provided to the organization, only need is it should fulfil clause requirements.

Q. If You Meet The Requirements Of ISO 45001, Does It Mean You Also Meet The Requirements Of OHSAS 18001?

ISO 45001 is more matured form of OHSAS 18001. Even though the foundation was OHSAS 18001, but it has expanded its requirements by and large. Thus, meeting the requirement of ISO 45001 may not necessarily mean compliance to OHSAS 18001. OHSAS 18001 was designed in a completely different manner; it was not as per high level structure of ISO.

Q. Can I Still Receive OHSAS 18001 Now That ISO 45001 Has Been Released?

One could get accredited with OHSAS 18001 till march 2021 only post that migration to ISO 45001 was mandated. 

Q. Should An Organization Keep Their Management Systems Separate?

It all depends on organizational needs, availability of resources and organizational objectives. ISO 45001 is designed in a way that it can be easily integrated with other management systems (it has adopted Annex SL framework). Integration may help in redundancies.

Q. How Can An organization Address Local Risks Such As Earthquakes And Tornadoes Within Its Emergency Plan?

In case there are requirements stated by regulatory bodies then the same needs to be considered and there must be a plan in place for the same. However, such scenarios become a part of the organization’s business continuity management plan and response. There are also scenarios where response plans are designed in collaboration with local regulatory bodies.

Conclusion

These common questions can be used to understand how the ISO 45001 works and the overall effects it has on practice when certifying a company. It is not just a compliance requirement the standard is a systematic method of avoiding work-related accidents, enhancing employee health, and success in operations. The introduction of ISO 45001 can help establish an active safety culture and promote it with organizations that are not afraid to embrace the changes since they will be guided on the important considerations.