What Is ISO 45001?

The ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It was developed to help organisations implement solid strategies for anticipating and proactively addressing any health and safety concerns that may arise in the day-to-day operation of their business. The ISO 45001 puts a strong focus on risk management, which involves identifying any factors that could potentially result in harm, illness, or even the death of employees. With this in mind, ISO 45001 serves to provide a framework for businesses to ensure that they are always carrying out the best practices when it comes to health and safety procedures, in order to minimise the chance that an employee could be injured when carrying out their duties.

What Are The Requirements?

ISO 45001 uses the specific “Annex SL” structure, which is common for many ISO standards. This is preferred to ensure consistency and compatibility with any other ISO standards that your business may wish to implement. There are seven key requirements that you will need to consider in order to begin the process of ISO 45001 certification. They are as follows:

• The context of the organisation, including any internal and external factors that may affect the operation of your business. This includes issues such as visitors to your business and any sub-contractors that are employed.
• Your leadership team will need to assume responsibility for the Occupational Health and Safety management system and ensure that your staff have the tools required to run the ISO 45001 successfully.
• The need for your business to adapt and react to changes through adequate planning. This includes evaluating both existing and new health and safety risks.
• Supporting your staff through providing ongoing training on health and safety procedures when necessary and providing personal protective equipment in all instances that it is required.
• Taking note of any existing legal obligations that emerge through the continued operation of your business. This also includes responding to emergencies and identifying new risks that emerge through risk-assessment procedures.
• Performance evaluation to monitor the implementation of the health and safety standards in order to ensure that they are being met and that they are working effectively to minimise risk in the workplace.
• A commitment to continual improvement in the realm of occupational health and safety and a lack of complacency in the pursuit of more efficient performance.

How To Achieve The ISO 45001 Certification

The ISO 45001 certification is awarded after the implementation of the health and safety requirements and the passing of a successful audit by a registered external body. The certification lasts three years once it has been awarded, subject to an annual audit to ensure that the procedures are being maintained to a satisfactory level. The specific requirements of the ISO 45001 certification can be extensive and time-consuming to implement, however, it is well worth it in order to demonstrate to your employees that their wellbeing is your priority. In order to successfully meet the requirements, it is common for businesses to employ the help of an expert advisor, in the form of an ISO 45001 consultant.

At JR Consultants, we can provide you with an expert who can guide you effortlessly through the process to achieving certification. Our ISO 45001 consultants work with clients from the very beginning of the process to provide consistent and knowledgeable guidance throughout the journey to achieving the certification that your business and your employees deserve.

If you would like to know more about the services we can provide, then contact JR Consultants today by calling 01268 758000 or emailing info@jrconsultants.co.uk to set up an initial conversation with the team.