ISO 45001
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▷ 0.1 Background
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.3 million people die every year from work-related accidents and diseases. Organizations are responsible for the health and safety of their workers, as well as those under their control performing work on their behalf. This includes promoting and safeguarding both their physical and mental health. Adopting an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system is intended to help organizations enhance their OH&S performance, improve workplace health and safety, and manage OH&S risks.
▷ 0.2 Purpose of an OH&S Management System
The primary objective of an OH&S management system is to offer a framework for preventing fatalities, work-related injuries, and ill health. The goal is to prevent work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses while ensuring a safe and healthy environment for workers and other individuals under the organization’s control. Since an organization’s activities can expose workers to risks, it is crucial to eliminate or reduce OH&S risks through effective preventive measures. By implementing these measures through its OH&S management system (backed by appropriate controls, methods, and tools at all organizational levels), an organization can enhance its OH&S performance. Early actions to address opportunities for improving OH&S performance can be more effective and efficient.
An OH&S management system can help an organization improve its OH&S performance by:
- Developing and implementing an OH&S policy and objectives.
- Ensuring top management demonstrates leadership and commitment to the OH&S management system.
- Establishing systematic processes that consider the organization’s context (see A.4.1) and assess its risks and opportunities.
- Identifying hazards and OH&S risks linked to activities, aiming to eliminate them or applying controls to reduce their effects.
- Setting operational controls to eliminate or minimize OH&S risks.
- Increasing awareness of OH&S hazards, risks, and controls through training, information, and communication.
- Evaluating OH&S performance and striving for continual improvement.
- Establishing and developing required competencies.
- Supporting a culture of occupational health and safety within the organization.
- Ensuring workers and, where applicable, their representatives are informed, consulted, and engaged.
An OH&S management system also helps organizations comply with applicable legal requirements.
▷ 0.3 Key Success Factors
The implementation of an OH&S management system is both a strategic and operational decision for an organization. The success of this system relies on leadership, commitment, and participation from all levels and functions within the organization. The system’s effectiveness and its ability to meet its objectives depend on several key factors, including:
- Leadership and commitment from top management.
- Top management’s role in developing, leading, and promoting a culture that supports the OH&S management system.
- Involvement of workers and, where applicable, workers’ representatives.
- Effective communication and consultation processes.
- Allocation of necessary resources to sustain the system.
- Clear OH&S policies aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives.
- Integration of the OH&S management system into business processes.
- Continuous evaluation and monitoring of the system to enhance OH&S performance.
- OH&S objectives that are consistent with the OH&S policies and reflect the organization’s specific hazards and risks.
- Awareness of applicable legal and other requirements.
- Efficient processes for identifying OH&S hazards, controlling risks, and capitalizing on OH&S opportunities.
This International Standard, like other such standards, is not designed to alter or increase an organization’s legal obligations.
Demonstrating successful implementation of this International Standard can provide assurance to workers and other stakeholders that an effective OH&S management system is in place. However, simply adopting this standard will not guarantee optimal outcomes.
The level of detail, complexity, and documented information, as well as the resources required for the success of an OH&S management system, will vary depending on several factors.