Moving ahead with ISO 45001 for safety and health at work

Today is World Day for Safety and Health at Work and the ideal time to consider a new International Standard due out early next year – ISO 45001 – ISO’s first standard for occupational health and safety management systems.

Latest estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO) show that more than 6 300 people die each day (that’s over 2.3 million a year) as a result of work-related activities and, in total, over 300 million accidents occur on the job annually. The burden to employers and employees alike is immense, resulting in losses to the wider economy from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums.

The ILO’s awareness-raising campaign, held annually on 28 April, is intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.

How ISO 45001 can help

This new voluntary standard currently under development will help organizations around the world improve their health and safety performance by creating a secure work environment where injuries and illness are prevented and lives are saved.

ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, will provide the requirements for implementing a management system and framework that reduces the risk of harm and ill health to employees.

The standard is being developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts and will follow in the footsteps of ISO’s other management systems approaches, such as ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 9001 (quality). It will take into account other International Standards in this area including OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions.

Who is it for?

ISO 45001 is intended for use by any organization, regardless of its size or the nature of its work, and can be integrated into other health and safety programmes such as worker wellness and well-being.

When will it be available?

The second Draft International Standard (DIS) of ISO 45001 will be published on 19 May 2017 and the ballot period will end 13 July 2017. This voting stage enables ISO members involved in its development to vote on the current draft before moving closer to publication (expected February 2018). Anyone interested in commenting on the second draft can do so through their national ISO member.

For further information on ISO 45001 and what stage it has reached in its development, see our page on occupational health and safety. 

www.iso.org/iso-45001-occupational-health-and-safety.html