ISO 45001 – Everyone Has To Be Upgraded By September 2021

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ISO 45001 is an international standard for health and safety that is due to replace OHSAS 18001. This means that organisations with OHSAS 18001 certification in place need to ensure that they make the necessary arrangements to migrate over to ISO 45001 if they want to maintain their certification.

What is ISO 45001?

Applicable to organisations across all industries of various sizes and operational scope, this robust management system works by enabling businesses to incorporate essential health and safety processes and procedures through their OHS. Not only does this provide the vital framework that is needed to ensure that effective structures are put in place, but it helps to identify, manage and reduce potential risks, working to prevent accidents and verify legal compliance.

The structure of ISO 45001 allows for a simple and straight forward integration with existing management systems which means that business operations are simplified, improving the overall health, safety and wellbeing of employees.

When Is The Migration Deadline?

The original deadline for businesses with OHSAS 18001 to transition over to ISO 45001 was originally set for March 2021. However, due to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had across all industries the world over, the IAF has now extended the transition period and pushed back the migration deadline by 6 months to 30th September 2021.

This gives those that have not yet had the chance to complete the migration process the opportunity to make the necessary arrangements to ensure that when the deadline comes and OHSAS 18001 is withdrawn, they are certified to the new standard.

What Are The Key Differences Between ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001?

Although the overall aims and objectives of ISO 45001 may not have changed from OHSAS 18001, there are notable differences in the way that they approach occupational health and safety with the new standard working to provide a better, healthier, happier work environment for all.

Some of the notable differences between the two standards include;

  • ISO 45001 focuses more on organisational context, widening the scope to integrate health and safety throughout all aspects of the business whereas OHSAS 18001 is directed more towards managing OH&S hazards.
  • Where OHSAS 18001 is procedure-based, ISO 45001 is process-based.
  • When it comes to risk management, unlike OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001 takes into account both risk and opportunities thus making it much more effective. It also establishes several new requirements for eliminating hazards, defining the hierarchy of control according to HSE and best practice and risk control.
  • ISO 45001 ensures that everybody at all levels within an organisation is engaged with health and safety in some way and involves them in the process with meetings, forums, inspections and open communication that encourages staff involvement.
  • ISO 45001 is big on communication in a way that wasn’t prevalent in the previous standard. This is clear throughout with the expectations of staff working together in key areas from training and management to policies, processes, investigations and risk assessments. There is a clear focus on the need for open and clear communication in order to achieve the goals needed to meet the standards requirements.
  • ISO 45001 uses clear guidelines and requirements for more extensive documentation that works to define objectives and measure their effectiveness. It is also beneficial when it comes to the planning, execution and evaluation of systems, procedures and processes which helps with the continuous improvement and compliance of the business.

ISO 45001 Migration With JR Consultants

At JR Consultants we have been busy helping organisations with OHSAS 18001 to transition over to ISO 45001 in order to ensure their compliance to the replacement standard.

If you have any questions regarding OHSAS 18001 or ISO 45001 certification then please do not hesitate to get in touch and one of our knowledgeable experts will be happy to help.

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