Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use
On March 12, 2018, a new ISO 45001 standard was published, which will replace OHSAS 18001 after three years from the date of publication.
Standards that define the requirements for management systems in the field of Occupational Safety and health are increasingly used all over the world. The Working Committee on standards development in this area is represented by national certification bodies, control and supervisory authorities, practitioners in the field of Occupational Safety and health around the world, including the United States, South America, Europe, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and China.
OH&S standards summarize global management experience in the field of occupational safety and health. They are aimed at both health protection and safety of conditions. The reason for the growing demand for standards is the conscious understanding that occupational health deterioration is becoming equally a cause of human suffering and costs for organizations, society and the country’s economy.
The standards recognize that in each country there are legislative requirements in the field of occupational health and safety, which must be taken into account when developing a management system and which the requirements of the standard must not contradict. The standard uses an approach based on risk management, which includes the identification of losses that may be incurred and the determination of the probability of an adverse event occurring. The organization must take into account risks in the field of occupational safety and health when developing, implementing and improving the management system.
OH&S standards apply to any organization regardless of its field of activity, size and geographic location. Moreover, the scope of the system should include all interested parties, including contractors and visitors.
Taking into account the fact that the basis for building a management system in the field of Occupational Safety and health is the PDCA cycle, which is the basis for Quality Management Systems, Ecology, food safety, etc., it is well compatible with these management systems, which will allow organizations to develop and implement integrated management systems.
On March 12, 2018, the new international standard ISO 45001:2018 “Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use” was published for the first time. After three years from the date of publication, it will replace OHSAS 18001 “Management systems in the field of occupational safety and health – Requirements”.
The standard, focusing on the interests of employees, is not limited to the requirement to take into account only their interests, but aims the organization to take into account its interaction with other interested parties in the field of Occupational Safety and health. This interaction should be based on mandatory compliance with legal requirements.
The ISO 45001 standard, setting uniform requirements for organizations when building a management system in the field of OH&S, provides more freedom in choosing a specific model, the degree of documentation, mechanisms for implementing requirements, and so on.
Benefits of implementation and certification:
- improvement of working conditions, prevention and reduction of industrial injuries and occupational diseases;
- increasing the loyalty of employees, improving the psychological climate;
- reduction of downtime and associated costs;
- reduction of direct and indirect costs of business;
- ensuring compliance with the requirements of legislation in the field of labor protection, industrial and fire safety;
- improving interaction with supervisory bodies;
- demonstration to buyers and investors of management’s commitment to requirements in the field of occupational safety and health;
- additional opportunities in obtaining national and international grants and participation in specialized programs;
- increasing employee involvement in occupational safety and health management processes;
- reducing the likelihood of incidents, accidents, accidents, and occupational diseases
- reduction of non-production costs, including payment of fines for violation of legislation in the field of labor protection, industrial and fire safety and insurance premiums;
- reduction of time loss, increase in labor productivity due to the creation of favorable and safe working conditions;
- increasing trust in management decisions of top management, reducing staff turnover;
- improving the corporate and production culture of the organization;
- improving the image of the organization in the eyes of interested parties.