According to the International Standards Organization (ISO), Over 6300 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases – that’s nearly 2.3 million every year. The related costs to employers and the economy are also significant, with work time losses, lawsuits and increased insurance premiums.
The ISO 45001 standard, currently in development by a committee of occupational health and safety experts, is focusing on Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements, that will help organizations reduce this burden by providing a processes and procedures to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions.
ISO 45001 is based on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards, assuring a high level of compatibility with the new versions of ISO 9001, Quality management systems, and ISO 14001, Environmental management systems. It uses a simple Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model, which provides a framework for organizations to plan what they need to put in place in order to minimize the risk of harm.
Who is it for?
ISO 45001 can be applied by organizations of all sizes and in all industries and can be integrated into other health and safety programs.
Timelines
The chart below, from the ISO organization, lists the various stages of development of the ISO 45001 standard.
The Approval Stage timeline was recently met and ISO 45001, one of the world’s much anticipated standards for occupational health and safety (OHS), has been approved as a Draft International Standard. It is anticipated that the approval and publication of the standard will occur in late 2016 as planned, or in early 2017.
“Implementing a strong occupational health and safety management system helps organizations reduce accidents and ill health, avoid costly prosecutions, perhaps even reduce insurance costs, as well as create a culture of positivity in the organization when its people see that their needs are being taken into account,” explains David Smith, Chair of the committee. “Wide adoption of ISO 45001 should reduce the horror stories in the media of poor OHS management leading to loss of life, injury and large-scale disasters, as seen in the factory buildings around the world.”
This video, https://youtu.be/LcNtwQYmYKo, discusses the benefits that ISO 45001 will bring for workplace safety.
The image below, also from the ISO website, is a simplified representation of how ISO 45001 will improve workplace safety.
By: Tony Diamantidis, Sr. Director
Chemical Safety Software
www.chemicalsafety.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydiamantidis