BS ISO 45001:2018 Implementation
BS ISO45001:2018 What its not – Certification of Excellence No Grading System What it is – Process approach to compliance and continual improvement.
Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems
Guidance Documents
Updates BS OHSAS18001:2007 vs BS ISO45001:2018
Annex SL ISO 45001:2018, like most other ISO standards, has adopted the Annex SL High Level Structure (HLS). Annex SL is designed to simplify integration with other management systems like ISO 9001 and 14001 with consistent language and matching sub-clauses, making it easier for you to build and manage an integrated business management system.
Annex SL continued Understanding Annex SL isn't just crucial for ISO 45001 - it's the core of any modern ISO standard you can expect to accredit to in the future, so you should start your reading as soon as possible.
The role of the management representative Under OHSAS 18001, the operation of the occupational health and safety management system could be delegated by senior management to a representative. Under ISO 45001, the role of the management representative is permitted but strongly discouraged, for 3 main reasons:
The role of the management representative continued 1. On the other hand, divesting responsibility and buy-in to multiple employees should be recognised as an opportunity for continuous improvement 2. Most importantly, top management can no longer distance themselves from the operation of the health and safety management system by simply delegating a representative 3. Like all modern ISO standards, 45001 places a strong emphasis on risk. Investing control of the H&S system in a single employee should be recognised as a risky set-up, particularly for larger businesses
Health and safety culture Clause 5 of ISO 45001 pushes and encourages the incorporation of health and safety into the broader management system of your organisation. That means senior management are now expected to take a stronger top- down leadership role, driving performance improvements into action and taking responsibility for the protection of their employees. But what does this mean in practice - Engagement This can be demonstrated in several ways, including:
Health and safety culture Frequent management reviews of the health and safety system performance Management initiating and participating in safety audits, actively collecting feedback from employees for improvement and corrective/preventive action Adequate resources, such as the latest PPE or quality management tools, being actively invested in Issue-raising, hazard-spotting and constructive suggestions being encouraged, praised and rewarded
Health and safety culture continued Your transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001 should be designed to embed health and safety responsibility and engagement as widely as possible. A natural by-product of the removal of the management representative position and greater top-down focus should be a greater proportion of your staff understanding how they can support and contribute to a culture of health and safety.
Health and safety culture continued This goes beyond just training your staff on health and safety procedures and expecting them to stick to them. Instead, health and safety should be seamlessly part of 'business as usual', with all workers aware of the objectives and advantages of a safe and efficient workplace, and empowered to contribute to it.
Health and safety culture continued A robust health and safety culture should comprise: Integrating your H&S vision into recruitment Giving staff increased participation and consultation, testing new initiatives before implementation and building policies around staff feedback
Health and safety culture continued Utilising your workforce as 'moles', in the habit of flagging risks and opportunities alongside their day-to-day work Openly sharing accident investigation and enquiry results, as well as planned changes and developments
Risks, hazards and opportunities OHSAS 18001 focused on controlling hazards. ISO 45001 follows the general direction of recent ISO standards by encouraging 'risk-based thinking': a more proactive, flexible and preventative approach based on remedying a broader range of risks before they materialise. Chapter 6.1 of the standard discusses risks in the same breath as opportunities, encouraging businesses to scope, evaluate and address opportunities for continuous improvement just as they'd identify and treat risks. Rather than simply reacting to non-conformances, your HSMS should use them positively to drive your continual improvement cycle.
Risks, hazards and opportunities continued And the influence of Annex SL permeates into the risk focus of ISO 45001 - so the context and external influences on your organisation should be as much a part of your H&S risk register as a piece of machinery.
Risks, hazards and opportunities continued For instance, a regulatory or legal development that prompts you to change an ingredient or step in your manufacturing process might introduce a fresh risk to the workers following that process. ISO 45001 also includes an expanded section on preparing for and responding to emergency situations. In short, you should go beyond simple pinch points and slip hazards and adopt a more holistic understanding of health and safety risk.
Planning Closely connected to risk-based thinking is a stronger emphasis on planning and setting objectives. Your H&S objectives should take resource availability, responsible staff, relevant KPIs and timelines into account. And ISO 45001 is more explicit than OHSAS 18001 about formalising organisational goals, linking them to health and safety objectives, setting priorities and establishing documentation.
A new definition of 'health' Health and safety tends to make people think in purely physical terms. And while mental health isn't explicitly mentioned in ISO 45001, the standard is designed to be flexible enough to map onto your specific company needs. So if mental wellbeing is a concern for your business, there are several areas of ISO 45001 you can leverage for a more integrated HSMS protecting body and mind.
A new definition of 'health’ continued Clause 4.2 : the needs of workers and interested parties can include mental wellbeing, and can be included in your health and safety policy Clause 6.1.2.1 : as part of your hazard/risk identification, you can now consider factors such as employee stress and fatigue and how these might impact your business processes and functions
A new definition of 'health’ continued Clause 6.2 : mental health can be integrated into your H&S improvement objectives and plans, and tracked as a KPI through mechanisms like annual reviews and satisfaction surveys. Clause 8.1.2 : mental health risks can be treated and their residual risk scores lowered like any other risk. For instance, mentally taxing processes can be rotated and divided among employees to prevent excessive stress.
Terminology Of the 37 terms and definitions included in ISO 45001, only 3 are identical to those in OHSAS 18001. New definitions include ‘worker’ and ‘workplace’, while 'documents and records' are now 'documented information' to reflect the wider focus of a 45001 health and safety system
Terminology continued The following verbal forms are used: a) “ shall ” indicates a requirement; b) “ should ” indicates a recommendation; c) “ may ” indicates a permission; d) “ can ” indicates a possibility or a capability. Information marked as “NOTE” is for guidance in understanding or clarifying the associated requirement. “Notes to entry” used in Clause 3 provide additional information that supplements the terminological data and can contain provisions relating to the use of a term.
Terminology continued 3.1 organisation person or group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities and relationships to achieve its objectives (3.16) 3.2 interested party (preferred term) stakeholder (admitted term) person or organisation (3.1) that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision or activity
Terminology continued 3.3 worker person performing work or work-related activities that are under the control of the organisation (3.1) Note 1 to entry: Persons perform work or work-related activities under various arrangements, paid or unpaid, such as regularly or temporarily, intermittently or seasonally, casually or on a part-time basis.
Terminology continued Note 2 to entry: Workers include top management (3.12), managerial and non-managerial persons. Note 3 to entry: The work or work-related activities performed under the control of the organisation may be performed by workers employed by the organisation, workers of external providers, contractors, individuals, agency workers, and by other persons to the extent the organisation shares control over their work or work related activities, according to the context of the organisation.
Terminology continued 3.4 participation involvement in decision-making Note 1 to entry: Participation includes engaging health and safety committees and workers’ representatives, where they exist. 3.5 consultation seeking views before making a decision Note 1 to entry: Consultation includes engaging health and safety committees and workers’ representatives, where they exist.
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