ISO 45001 is a globally recognised standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It provides a comprehensive framework for organisations to improve their safety performance, reduce health and safety risks, and demonstrate their commitment to legal and regulatory compliance.
By achieving ISO 45001 certification, businesses can enhance their reputation, improve employee well-being, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. This FAQ section addresses common questions about ISO 45001, helping organisations understand its significance and the benefits of implementing this international standard.
What does ISO stand for?
What is ISO 45001:2018?
What did ISO 45001 replace and why?
Which types of companies could benefit most from migrating to ISO 45001?
How does ISO 45001 align occupational health and safety systems with business strategies?
How difficult is it to achieve ISO 45001?
How much does it cost to obtain an ISO 45001 Certification?
Given the time and investment required, why would someone bother with ISO 45001 certification?
How do I get an ISO 45001 Certification?
How do you maintain an ISO 45001 Certification?
What are the benefits of an ISO 45001 certification?
How can Make UK support my organisation to achieve ISO 45001?
Why should I choose Make UK to help?
What does ISO stand for?
ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.
An independent non-governmental organisation, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is made-up of members from across the world. The organisation develops and publishes international standards, of which ISO 45001 is one.
What is ISO 45001:2018?
ISO 45001 is an international standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. It provides a framework for organisations to manage risks and improve OH&S performance.
The standard establishes criteria for an OH&S policy, objectives, planning, implementation, operation, auditing and review. Key elements include leadership commitment, worker participation, hazard identification and risk assessment, legal and regulatory compliance, emergency planning, incident investigation and continual improvement.
ISO 45001 utilizes the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology to systematically manage health and safety risks. It applies to organisations of all sizes and can be integrated with other ISO management system standards.
The standard was published by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) in 2018 following a very extensive consultation period that utilised organisations, including Make UK, to liaise directly with UK businesses and input into the standard.
What did ISO 45001 replace and why?
The idea behind the creation of 45001 was to establish one global standard that everyone could work to.
The previous standard was called BS OHSAS 18001, but the problem was that it was only recognised in a small number of countries so consequently standards differed. 18001 ceased to exist in 2021 and was replaced entirely by ISO 45001.
ISO 45001 has huge benefits for organisations trying to establish a consistent standard in different geographical locations. Additionally, with the old standards, organisations could just tick a box and produce a form that said they passed the audit. With ISO 45001, the evidence of engagement on every level must be there so it brings a new focus on safety culture that the old standards just don’t have. It also emphasises the importance of adhering to safety regulations, ensuring compliance with government and industry-specific standards.
Which types of companies could benefit most from migrating to ISO 45001?
It might be a bit predictable, but all organisations could benefit from ISO 45001.
For global organisations, ISO 45001 is extremely beneficial because it’s an international standard. For example, if you’re based in the U.S., but you have locations in China, you’ll be able to compare the safety metrics of your location in the U.S. with those of your location in China and get consistency across your organisation.
For small and medium-sized businesses an ISO certification may give an edge when it comes to competing for contracts. As large organisations turn their attention to managing their supply chains (as required by the standard) many first and second tier suppliers will be required to gain certification in order to continue working as an approved supplier.
How does ISO 45001 align occupational health and safety systems with business strategies?
ISO 45001 includes something called the Annex SL. It provides a top-level structure for managing risk. It asks you to look at your organisation holistically and determine your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Importantly, it positions health and safety as a factor that can present business strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. It forces organizations to be strategic about health and safety as a business interest. The companies that implement these standards talk about commercial risks and opportunities in the same conversation as health and safety.
How difficult is it to achieve ISO 45001?
The difficultly and length of time to achieve certification depends on several factors, such as:
- Size of organisation
- How many employees
- Organisation’s risk-profile
- What is your starting point? (How good is your current management system?)
- What resources do you have? (Do you have in-house competence? Are senior leaders bought in?)
How much does it cost to obtain an ISO 45001 Certification?
It’s not easy to say exactly how much it costs to obtain certification. But, there are four main considerations that will help you get closer to a reasonably accurate estimate.
Firstly, you need to consider the size of your organisation and how many sites you have. Each individual site will probably need a separate initial visit. These will take at least one day, perhaps more depending on the complexity of the site. Make UK can support you with this.
Once this initial visit is completed, a list of “gaps” will be produced. The cost of closing these will depend on who you assign to do them. Make UK can support you as much or as little as you need, but it’s worth considering that allocating internal resources also carries significant costs.
You may then want to be reassessed to ensure all gaps are closed. How long this takes depends on how many gaps there were.
Finally, you will need to instruct a UKAS accredited body to assess you against the standard and award your certificate. You may already have a partner, but if not, we’d suggest our trusted partner, ISOQUAR.
Given the time and investment required, why would someone bother with ISO 45001 certification?
Being certified to ISO 45001 can only be done by an external accredited organisation. You only receive certification once you’ve passed a rigorous and totally impartial assessment. This provides all your stakeholders with a high level of assurance that your OH&S management system is actually compliant to the standard. This means that your organisation is a safe place to work, which enhances your reputation and, in doing so, can provide access to new markets, customers, and help you to attain ‘preferred supplier’ status.
How do I get an ISO 45001 Certification?
Certification is undertaken by organisations that are ‘accredited’ (usually by UKAS in the UK) to award a certificate of conformance to the standard.
The journey to certification usually has three stages.
- Initial assessment – the accredited organisation will perform an initial gap analysis to identify where an organisation currently meets the standard and where there is still work to do.
- Closing the gap – the organisation is free to close these identified gaps at whatever pace they like using either their own competent resource or an external partner, like Make UK.
- Assessment and certification – when the organisation is ready it can apply to be re-assessed by the accredited organisation. If successful, the accredited organisation would then award a globally recognised certificate.
It’s important to note that accredited organisations are not allowed to help close the gaps and expert consultancies that help close the gaps are not allowed to award certification.
Make UK focusses on providing the expertise to help close the gaps and works with a trusted partner to certificate organisations.
How do you maintain an ISO 45001 Certification?
To maintain your ISO 45001 certification, you need to do a few things.
Firstly, you need to carry out a series of regular internal audits. We’d recommend that you use your own staff to do this, but they must be qualified and have attended a course such as our ISO 45001: 2018 Internal Auditor Course
Secondly, your UKAS accredited partner will need to carry out an external audit on an annual basis.
It is important to remember that these activities should not be seen as box-ticking exercises and instead are an opportunity for your organisation to continually improve.
What are the benefits of an ISO 45001 certification?
There are several benefits to implementing ISO 45001:
- Reduces cost – implementation reduces the occurrence of workplace incidents, which can be costly, and also lowers insurance premiums
- Enhanced reputation – certification shows your commitment to health and safety which can help win business
- Boosts productivity – organisations with efficient management systems have fewer accidents and improved health of your workforce
- Supports the attraction and retention of talent - certification shows you have adopted a strong safety culture, which can be a powerful tool when it comes to recruitment and retention
How can Make UK support my organisation to achieve ISO 45001?
If you would like to know more about how Make UK can support your organisation to achieve this international standard for occupational health and safety, please visit our ISO 45001 services page or contact us [email protected] or 0808 168 5874.
Why should I choose Make UK to help?
Make UK were one of the organisations consulted during the creation of ISO 45001, from 2015 to 2018, and were were instrumental in ensuring that the new standard focussed on the importance of safety culture and involved leadership.
Because they helped write the standard, Make UK consultants have a unique understanding of ISO 45001. Not only will they help you implement the standard and gain certification quickly, but also support you to establish a deep-rooted and long-lasting safety culture.