ISO 45001 Certification

The ISO 45001 Standard uses a structure of ten clauses known as Annex SL. To successfully achieve ISO 45001 certification, you will need to consider the following requirements:

1. Context of the Organisation – The context of the organisation refers to internal and external factors that affect your business. For your occupational Health & Safety management system to be relevant and practical for the people responsible, these internal and external factors need to be determined. To meet this requirement, you will also need to know who will be affected by these issues and how. This includes visitors and sub-contractors.

2. Leadership – To work towards OH&S objectives in a practical way, you will need to communicate roles and responsibilities clearly. Your leadership team needs to assume responsibility for the OH&S management system and ensure your staff have the tools and resources they need to run it successfully.

3. Planning – This requirement highlights your business’ need to adapt and react to changes. To do so, you will need to set out a clear plan for spotting, evaluating and managing OH&S risks. You will also need to demonstrate how this will be communicated to key personnel and how you will manage the relevant documentation.

4. Support – To meet this requirement, you will need to provide the tools and resources needed to implement, run and maintain your OH&S management system. This could include providing training to key staff, buying personal protective equipment (PPE) and clearly communicating your goals.

5. Operation – This requirement prompts you to assess existing procedures and take note of legal obligations. Once you have the knowledge, you will need to plan how to identify and respond to emergencies, risks and opportunities. Regular, formal risk assessments can be a key part of this requirement

6. Performance Evaluation – To know if you are performing well, you will need to monitor and evaluate your occupational health & safety performance by creating criteria for measuring it. This evidence will then show that your OH&S management system is working.

7. Improvement – Continual improvement is a key requirement of the ISO 45001 Standard. This shows that you have an eye on the future and are always in pursuit of a better performance. This can be achieved through regular monitoring and evaluation as well as appropriate corrective actions.