Today, ISO 45001 will be officially released. ISO 45001 is the world's first ISO occupational health and safety standard. It will help companies provide their employees and others with a safe and healthy working environment, prevent death, occupational injury and health problems, and contribute to Continuously improve occupational health and safety performance. When the ISO 45001 standard is published, it will supersede the OHSAS 18001 standard. Organizations currently holding OHSAS 18001 certification will have three years to transition to ISO 45001 certification.

According to the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO 45001 standard will be officially released today. So, how is it different from OHSAS 18001? Why should OHSAS 18001 be converted into an ISO standard?

Why convert OHSAS 18001 into an ISO standard?

Universal, more authoritative, easier to integrate, easier to manage

First of all, according to the survey, about 45 countries currently use the OHSAS 18001 standard framework to manage their occupational safety and health (occupational health management, safety management, hygiene management for short) systems. Although the scope of application is very wide, it is not universal, and it is converted into an ISO standard, and its members have nearly 70 countries, which only expands the scope of application. At the same time, the ISO standard is a globally recognized standard, which not only further expands its application scope, but also makes it more authoritative.

Second, ISO has international expertise. Through ISO member organizations, nearly 70 national participants or observers have participated in the development of ISO 45001.

Third, many organizations are now using ISO management system standards, which will make it easier to integrate with other OH&S standards. At the same time, for many small businesses there may be only one person managing safety and environmental matters, so the committee also paid more attention to the possibility of integrating with ISO 14001.

The difference between ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001

The construction of ISO 45001 is based on the existing specifications of OHSAS 18001, and its main goals are the same, which are to improve the occupational health and safety performance of the organization. At the same time, through comparison, there are also the following differences:

Using the high-level structure of the ISO management system

More focus on "organizational environment"

Emphasizes the responsibility and leadership of top management

Greater focus on management responsibilities

Emphasizes risk-based thinking

Greater focus on monitoring and measuring performance