ISO 45001:2018 Certification Occupational Health & Safety Management System
The New International Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management ISO 45001:2018 Certification
The ISO 45001:2018 standard was released on 12th March, 2018.
Commencing from the date of publication of ISO 45001:2018, organizations currently certified to OHSAS 18001 will have a 3-year transition period to upgrade to the new standard.
ISO 45001:2018 is an international standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. It will enable organizations to proactively improve its OH&S performance in preventing injury and ill-health. ISO 45001:2018 will replace OHSAS 18001 as the primary international standard for OH&S management systems. It is expected that organizations currently holding OHSAS 18001 certification will have three years to recertify to the requirements in the new standard.
According to the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, there are 8,60,000 occupational accidents every day, with consequences in terms of injuries. Of the 2.3 million work-related deaths a year, the majority (2 million) are a result of ill health and disease. People in this category often suffer prolonged illness from long-term exposure to risks. These cases should not be ignored by placing the focus on accidents, which are more visible and generally result in immediate action. The direct or indirect cost of occupational illness and accidents at work is estimated at USD 2.8 trillion worldwide.
Businesses need to ensure they manage all their risks to survive and to thrive. OHS is a key aspect, which every business has to manage proactively. Apart from the devastating impact on people, poor OHS management can have many negative effects on organizations, such as the loss of key employees, business interruption, claims, insurance premiums, regulatory action, reputational damage, loss of investors and ultimately, the loss of business.
ISO 45001:2018 is the new international voluntary standard for occupational health and safety which like OHSAS 18001 also aims at reducing unacceptable work risks and consistently enhancing the OHS performance. ISO 45001:2018 is a generic standard and can be applied to all kinds of organizations and set ups irrespective of their nature, type and size of business. It lays a set of guidelines that establish a framework by specifying requirements for your organization's OHSMS. Aligning your organization's OHSMS with ISO 45001:2018 can significantly mitigate risk by enhancing safety and lowering the incidents of injury and disease in workplace.
- Reducing absenteeism and employee turnover rates
- Reducing the overall costs of incidents
- Improving organization's ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues
- Reducing downtime and the costs of disruption to operations
- Reducing the cost of insurance premiums
- Recognition for having achieved an international benchmark (which may in turn influence customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities)
TÜV SÜD is accredited by DAkkS and other European Accreditation Bodies under the European co-operation for Accreditation Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA), and by ANAB (U.S.) and JAS-ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) under the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Agreement (IAF-MLA). This ensures that ISO 14001 certification is conducted with the highest degree of professionalism and conformance to international guidelines and standards. Leveraging TÜV SÜD as your certification partner not only allows your company to lean on our experience and know-how but also lends your brand the distinction of the TÜV SÜD certification mark.
Our international network of subsidiaries on every continent enables us to serve organisations worldwide and certify their compliance to ISO 14001 on a global scale. TÜV SÜD’s experts hold various international and national accreditations to satisfy local requirements for combined auditing exercises. In addition, our auditors are required to follow a strict code of conduct that assures both you and your customers of our complete independence and professionalism.
Although ISO 45001 constitutes a fully new standard, its foundations already exist and are formulated in OHSAS 18001. Companies that have already implemented an occupational health and safety management system in accordance with OHSAS 18001, and actively apply it in everyday company practice, can therefore expect a smooth transition to ISO 45001.
Nevertheless, there are some fundamental differences, such as:
ISO 45001 implements the ‘High Level Structure’ (HLS), giving it a common framework with other management systems, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
ISO 45001 places great emphasis on the responsibility of senior management. This aspect has already been implemented in the revised ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.
ISO 45001 explicitly includes persons who are not permanently employed, but are in other ways working under the responsibility of the organization/company, such as subcontractors, as well as processes that have been outsourced in their entirely.
The standard also introduces the term “opportunities”, as a new aspect in the field of occupational health and safety. This covers issues that go beyond the mere elimination or minimisation of occupational health and safety risks. ISO 45001 will provide new impetus for occupational health and safety practices in organisations. Even experienced health and safety professionals will find that the new regulations provide new incentives for further process enhancements. This translates into additional opportunities for protecting and promoting employees' health and performance, as well as a sustainable improvement of employee motivation.
Learn more about the ISO 45001 requirements on the ISO website.
How will this impact current Occupational Health & Safety Management System certificates?
After the publication of ISO 45001:2018, the OHSAS 18001/18002 standards will be withdrawn. Organizations certified will be allotted a 3-year transition period. The steps to migrate from your current OHSAS 18001 certificate to the ISO 45001:2018 standard will follow the rules defined by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Depending on your current certification, transition will take one of the following routes:
- An accredited OHSAS 18001 certificate will be migrated through a seamless process to ISO 45001:2018 during the 3 years after publication as described by IAF.
- A non-accredited OHSAS 18001 certificate will follow a specific procedure which will make the transition to ISO 45001:2018 as smooth as possible.
ISO 45001:2018 is the new international voluntary standard for occupational health and safety which like OHSAS 18001 also aims at reducing unacceptable work risks and consistently enhancing the OHS performance. ISO 45001:2018 is a generic standard and can be applied to all kinds of organizations and set ups irrespective of their nature, type and size of business. It lays a set of guidelines that establish a framework by specifying requirements for your organization's OHSMS. Aligning your organization's OHSMS with ISO 45001:2018 can significantly mitigate risk by enhancing safety and lowering the incidents of injury and disease in workplace.
- Reducing absenteeism and employee turnover rates
- Reducing the overall costs of incidents
- Improving organization's ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues
- Reducing downtime and the costs of disruption to operations
- Reducing the cost of insurance premiums
- Recognition for having achieved an international benchmark (which may in turn influence customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities)
TÜV SÜD is accredited by DAkkS and other European Accreditation Bodies under the European co-operation for Accreditation Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA), and by ANAB (U.S.) and JAS-ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) under the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Agreement (IAF-MLA). This ensures that ISO 14001 certification is conducted with the highest degree of professionalism and conformance to international guidelines and standards. Leveraging TÜV SÜD as your certification partner not only allows your company to lean on our experience and know-how but also lends your brand the distinction of the TÜV SÜD certification mark.
Our international network of subsidiaries on every continent enables us to serve organisations worldwide and certify their compliance to ISO 14001 on a global scale. TÜV SÜD’s experts hold various international and national accreditations to satisfy local requirements for combined auditing exercises. In addition, our auditors are required to follow a strict code of conduct that assures both you and your customers of our complete independence and professionalism.
Although ISO 45001 constitutes a fully new standard, its foundations already exist and are formulated in OHSAS 18001. Companies that have already implemented an occupational health and safety management system in accordance with OHSAS 18001, and actively apply it in everyday company practice, can therefore expect a smooth transition to ISO 45001.
Nevertheless, there are some fundamental differences, such as:
ISO 45001 implements the ‘High Level Structure’ (HLS), giving it a common framework with other management systems, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
ISO 45001 places great emphasis on the responsibility of senior management. This aspect has already been implemented in the revised ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.
ISO 45001 explicitly includes persons who are not permanently employed, but are in other ways working under the responsibility of the organization/company, such as subcontractors, as well as processes that have been outsourced in their entirely.
The standard also introduces the term “opportunities”, as a new aspect in the field of occupational health and safety. This covers issues that go beyond the mere elimination or minimisation of occupational health and safety risks. ISO 45001 will provide new impetus for occupational health and safety practices in organisations. Even experienced health and safety professionals will find that the new regulations provide new incentives for further process enhancements. This translates into additional opportunities for protecting and promoting employees' health and performance, as well as a sustainable improvement of employee motivation.
Learn more about the ISO 45001 requirements on the ISO website.
How will this impact current Occupational Health & Safety Management System certificates?
After the publication of ISO 45001:2018, the OHSAS 18001/18002 standards will be withdrawn. Organizations certified will be allotted a 3-year transition period. The steps to migrate from your current OHSAS 18001 certificate to the ISO 45001:2018 standard will follow the rules defined by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Depending on your current certification, transition will take one of the following routes:
- An accredited OHSAS 18001 certificate will be migrated through a seamless process to ISO 45001:2018 during the 3 years after publication as described by IAF.
- A non-accredited OHSAS 18001 certificate will follow a specific procedure which will make the transition to ISO 45001:2018 as smooth as possible.