Why Changing?

In October 2013 a project committee, ISO PC 283, met in London to create the first working draft of ISO 45001. Using OHSAS 18001 - the internationally recognized and adopted British Standard for Occupational Health and Safety – as the blueprint, the standard will also be aligned with ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management). There are currently 50 countries and international organizations, including the International Labour Organization, involved in this work. The new standard is expected in October 2016.

ISO/DIS Published January 2016, earlier than expected in quarter 2 of 2016, with ballot due May 2016. The ISO/PC 283 committee is responsible for ISO 45001’s development. TNV expect that despite publication of standards is scheduled in end of 2016 preferably in October 2016, bit it wll not be surprise if it may be published in June 2016 instead of October 2016. OHSAS 18001 will most likely be withdrawn at the time of publication.

Action Plan for ISO 45001:

Moving forward, the committee established a plan for the development and publication of the standard:

·  ISO/CD 45001 (first committee draft) was published in May 2014.

·        ISO/DIS 45001 (first draft international standard) could not be published in be published by February 2015 as planned, because the first committee draft failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority vote in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee developing it on 18 October.

·        ISO/CD 45001 A second Committee Draft was published in March 2015.

·        ISO/DIS Published January 2016 with ballot due May 2016. Read the DIS and comment http://www.iso45001assessment.com/registration.html

·        ISO 45001 to be published in October 2016.

Becoming a British Standard In July 2007, the OHSAS 18001 specification was updated and more closely aligned with the framework of other management system standards such as ISO 14001. This helped organizations to bring their existing management systems more easily in line with the standard. The UK then decided to adopt OHSAS 18001 as a British Standard and created BS OHSAS 18001.

It is hoped that ISO 45001 will attain more international recognition, aiding the response to published statistics showing poor health and safety management costs around 4% of global GDP. Similar to existing standards like OHSAS 18001, which will be withdrawn, and ILO-OSH, the new international standard’s impact has the potential to save lives, reduce work related ill-health and accidents and improve employee morale.

Main advantages:

1.     Enhanced compatibility of standards

2.     Easier to implement new standards

3.     Easier to integrate standards into a management system

4.     Increase value for users

5.     Increased effectiveness in standard development for the technical committees

Key Changes in ISO 45001:2018 Vs OHSAS 18001:2007:

·       Adoption of HLS

·       Systematic determination and monitoring of the business context (external and internal issues) (Ref. 4.1) and needs and expectations of workers and other interested parties (Ref. 4.2). This to identify and understand factors that can (potentially) affect the ability of MS to reach the intended results

·       Risks and opportunity management (Ref. 6.1) to determine, consider and, where necessary, take action to address any risks or opportunities that may impact (either positively or negatively) the ability of MS to deliver its intended results (including enhanced health and safety at the workplace).

·       Strengthened emphasis on “Leadership” and management commitment (Ref. 5.1), including to actively engage and take accountability for the effectiveness of the management system. (Ref. 5.1.1).

·       Strengthened focus on objectives as drivers for improvements (6.2) & performance evaluation (9.1)

·       More emphasis on control of planned changes and review of consequences of unintended changes (8.1)

·       Extended requirements related to Communications (7.4): More authoritarian in respect of the “mechanics” of communication, including determination of what, when and how to communicate.

·       No requirement for Occupational Health and Safety Manual. However still required to have documented information

·       “Documented information” is now the term used as replacement of ‘Documents’ and ‘Records’

·       The term “Management representative” is no longer used, however the responsibilities of role still explicitly addressed (5.3)

The ISO 45001 standard will utilize the same common structure, definitions and core text being used for the present revisions of ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, the environmental and quality management system standards. Which is in line with what is called "Annex SL"; the rules governing the development of all ISO management standards. This will mean the structure of the standard will be:

1.    Scope

2.    Normative references

3.    Terms and definitions

4.    Context of the organisation

5.    Leadership

6.    Planning

7.    Support

8.    Operation

9.    Performance evaluation

10. Improvement 

Transition for proposed ISO 45001:

TNV expect timeline of minimum 2 year and maximum 3 years from the date of the publication. For more details, please visit website of the IAF.

Certification: Once ISO 45001 has been accepted as an official standard, those organisations certified to OHSAS 18001, which will be withdrawn, will have to make a separate application to obtain a certification to ISO 45001, to ILO-OSH or to other accepted standards after expiration of their existing certification. The decision of an organization for a given standard usually is based e.g. on its own policy, on customer requirements etc. In some countries, certification schemes applied to OHSAS 18001 may be adapted to ISO 45001.

Who will benefit from ISO 45001? With an international standard in place, small, medium and large organizations in any sector can set the benchmark for their health and safety governance, policies and practices across different geographical areas, countries, cultures and jurisdictions. This will promote better communication on shared issues, principles and best practice in global trade. This standard will enable companies to comply with regulatory requirements, including accountability, ethical and corporate governance specifications, as well as practice audits. Once they have implemented a standardized framework, they can align their operations with national and international legislation and codes of conduct - improving risk management and emergency planning. ISO 45001 will also enable organizations to set and assess performance measures for service providers. As a result, companies will be able to reduce occupational health and safety accidents and their related costs, while promoting the wellbeing of their employees, site visitors and neighbours. ISO 45001 will also have a direct impact on society. With more internationally recognized occupational health and safety systems in place, the number of incidents and accidents will decrease, with less disruption to operational processes. This means fewer emergency treatments at the workplace and hospitals, less people being removed from sites and reduced long term care for those who are unable to return to work following an accident.

ISO 45001 Time for a global change: Even though various parties have expressed the need for an international health and safety standard for some time, many global organizations were concerned about how it would affect and work with their local regulations. To address these challenges and protect workers around the world, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is a key player in the development of ISO 45001. Why the world needs ISO 45001 Every day across the globe, horrific statistics for health and safety incidents, accidents and their related costs are recorded. Although companies tend to use generic health and safety guidelines or national and consortia standards, none of these demonstrate global conformity. A recent OHSAS Standards and Certificates Survey has shown a rapid increase in the use of OHSAS 18001 and equivalent standards over the last decade. With over 127 countries currently using these standards, there’s a worldwide need to harmonize health and safety management systems using an international standard and share best practices. Making a global difference The need for an international standard in this field can be seen at local, national, regional and global levels – applying to both developing and developed countries. With an international standard to refer to together with the right infrastructure and training, these organizations will be able to address their risks better in future. More and more companies also want detailed information about their suppliers’ occupational health and safety practices to protect their brands. This motivates suppliers to implement better and internationally recognized systems to establish good health and safety practices. Third party certification helps to demonstrate that a business is meeting its requirements effectively whilst the process of achieving and maintaining certification helps ensure that it is continually improving across all areas of the organization. ISO 45001 will support new areas of management systems to ensure better compatibility and systems governance, making the implementation within an organization a lot smoother. Once published, the standard will apply to any organization wishing to: • Establish and implement an internationally recognized occupational health and safety management system to reduce or minimize risks to personnel and other relevant parties • Maintain and constantly improve their health and safety performance • Keep all operations in line with their stated health and safety policies to an internationally recognized standard.

Publication Date: ISO 45001 is expected to be published in late 2016