Five Step Action plan for ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System

ISO 45001 is an international standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems that delivers a practical solution to improve the safety and health of both employees and other people. This ISO 45001 standard has been considered to apply to any organization regardless of its size, type and nature. The ISO 45001 Auditor training permits the organization to expand its occupational health and safety performance to stop injury and ill-health.

It helps to create a global foundation of worker safety standards and examinations that can be used in global supply chains across all industries. This standard delivers a framework from which OHS objectives can be efficiently managed. Just as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 have provided consensus solutions to questions of quality management and environmental protection in the global marketplace, ISO 45001 helps drive solutions for refining worker safety across the globe. The steps below outline the measures that can take to implement ISO 45001.

• Understand ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System:

Start by building knowledge on what a management system is and how can leverage it to advantage workers as well as the organization to enhance safety and health performance and risk management. Then, take time to familiarize with the requirements of ISO 45001. The standard delivers 11 success factors for the implementation of an OHS management system that can guide. With deeper knowledge of OHS management systems and ISO 45001, organization can develop a strong business case for why organizations should implement the ISO 45001 standard. By understanding ISO 45001 requirements, gain insight into the effect the standard could have on company’s bottom line and can communicate that to executives. OHS professionals require to understand the business impact of the combination of this standard on commercial excellence. "It is a competitive benefit, and organizations that understand how to leverage it will outperform their competitors."

• Examine Current System:

To understand how ISO 45001 will fit into a safety management system, it is significant to inspect what standards and systems are already in place. Some organizations have implemented ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which contain the similar core language as ISO 45001. If organization is already using ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 and is familiar with this management system method, combination of 45001 becomes much less complex and the transition can be made more seamlessly.

• Engage Stakeholders:

Applying ISO 45001 could lead to organizational change. And as with any modification, individuals and groups will be affected in a variety of ways. Some may be in favour of the change, while others may be different. Gather input from the entire organization and understand the different perspectives that people have about safety and health risks. Based on an understanding of different perspectives, "organization will have a good place to start to conduct a gap analysis based on not just the necessities in the standard but objectives." Beyond assembly information on different perspectives, engaging with stakeholders also helps foster a culture where everyone feels a sense of ownership in the safety management system. This is a chance to grow leaders within an organization, "From the employee who is building the bridge, or the electrician execution the lockout, all the way up to the board of directors, ISO 45001 establishes that everyone has a role, a responsibility and ownership of safety through an accountability system." It is also critical at this stage to involve leadership and educate them on why they may want to execute ISO 45001. Explain to executives the operational and financial effects of implementing such a system so they can make an informed decision.

• Determine Priorities and Create Goals:

With the information gathered from engaging stakeholders, begin to determine priorities for organization’s OHS management system, as well as the safety and business performance goals the organization hopes to accomplish through the implementation of ISO 45001. Organizations can then align the implementation of the ISO 45001 standard with business objectives. Classifying business objectives in terms of occupational safety and health and aligning them to ISO 45001 permits business to classify metrics by which they can measure the success of their OHS management system, and make adjustments and improvements over time.

• Establish ISO 45001 OHS Management System:

By following these first four steps, organization can develop an OHS management system that is modified to organization or enhance on an existing system. This process will also help organization bring together a team that can implement the plan. With ISO 45001 in place, team can then track performance against the goals and objectives that have been recognized to constantly improve both safety and business performance across entire organization.

Source:

https://iso45001procedure.wordpress.com/2022/06/24/five-step-action-plan-for-iso-45001-occupational-health-and-safety-management-system/

Ian Colin has published many articles regarding ISO Certification. Ian has rich experience as a online publisher and prepared various Certification documents as per ISO guideline since large amount of years in his professional career.