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ISO 45001 requirements
ISO 45001 is the ISO standard for OHS management systems. Many businesses choose to comply with this standard to ensure their workplace is as physically, mentally and emotionally safe for its staff as possible while also safeguarding their business from workers’ compensation payouts and bad press. But what ISO 45001 requirements are needed to achieve compliance and certification?
There are 10 clauses in ISO 45001, however, the first three clauses are only there to define the standard itself and provide context and scope for the OHS management plan. The ISO 45001 requirements you need to adhere to are in clauses four to 10, and we’ll cover what each of them entails.
Clause 4. Context
Clause four of ISO 45001 deals with the context of your organisation and where your OHS management system fits within it. ISO 45001 is designed to be integrated with your company’s values and processes rather than as a separate entity. This clause requires you to:
4.1 Understand the context of your organisation
4.2 Clarify the needs and expectations of stakeholders
4.3 Define the scope of your OHS management system
4.4 Set up your OHS management system
Clause 5. Leadership
Clause five covers the leadership responsibilities of various members of your organisation. ISO 45001 stipulates that top management must be directly responsible for the implementation of the company’s ISO 45001 OHS management plan along with ensuring that all employees are actively involved in the OHS process. To comply with this clause your organisation must:
5.1 Accept responsibility for health and safety
5.2 Establish your organisation’s OHS policy
5.3 Assign authority and responsibility for OHS
5.4 Encourage employee participation and input
Read more about encouraging employee participation in OHS compliance.
Clause 6. Planning
At this stage, your organisation needs to assess existing OHS hazards and identify any risks associated with the OHS management system. To comply with clause six your company must:
6.1 Formulate actions to address risks and opportunities
6.2 Set OHS objectives and form plans to reach them
Clause 7. Support
Achieving ISO 45001 compliance isn’t as simple as designing an OHS management system, it also has to be correctly implemented with adequate support to ensure it works properly. To comply with this clause you need to determine what support is required and provide the resources necessary for the OHS management to achieve its objectives. At this stage you will need to:
7.1 Provide resources to support your OHS management system
7.2 Promote OHS competence
7.3 Raise employee awareness of OHS
7.4 Control communication
7.5 Manage documentation
Learn more about the ISO 45001 framework and how to implement ISO 45001.
Clause 8. Operations
ISO 45001 complaint OHS management systems are designed to adapt to change and grow with your organisation. With this in mind, clause eight looks at operations and the impacts of changes on your organisation. You’ll look at both risks and opportunities at this stage and establish safe and sustainable processes. You’ll be required to:
8.1 Establish processes to meet OHS management system requirements
8.2 Create emergency preparedness processes
Clause 9. Evaluation
ISO 45001, like all ISO standards, operates on a philosophy of continuous improvement. Clause nine looks at the ongoing assessment and evaluation of your OHS management system and how you can ensure it is working as required. At this stage, you’ll need to develop evaluation processes based on the plan, do, check, act cycle and ensure these evaluations are completed at regular intervals. You will need to:
9.1 Monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate your OHS management system
9.2 Establish audit needs and responsibilities
9.3 Review the effectiveness and suitability of your OHS management system
Clause 10. Improvement
Your OHS management system will never be completely “finished” as you’ll need to continually update and optimise it to keep up with your organisation’s changing needs. To comply with this clause you’ll need to:
10.1 Identify opportunities for improvement in your OHS management system
10.2 Address OHS non-conformities and incidents
10.3 Improve the effectiveness and suitability of your OHS management system
How to ensure your organisation meets its ISO 45001 requirements
To make sure your company meets its ISO 45001 requirements and is able to become certified, the best thing to do is engage the help of experienced ISO 45001 consultants. At BusinessBasics our ISO 45001 consultants have helped countless organisations across a diverse range of industries to become ISO 45001 and we can help you, too.
Get in touch with our trained ISO 45001 consultants today to make fulfilling your ISO 45001 requirements easy
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