Work place accidents occur every day throughout the UK. Latest statistics from HSE show that within the last year, there have been a reported 689,000 injuries and 137 deaths. These situations can be prevented by implementing Health & Safety processes into the workplace. Luckily a new standard aims to help organisations do just that, and it has now reached one of the final stages in its development.
ISO 45001 will be the first global standard of its kind, giving organisations a universally accepted framework for improving employee health and safety, reducing workplace risks and creating healthier, safer working conditions. The new standard has just reached the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) stage; it is expected to be published in March 2018.
ISO 45001 will follow a similar structure to other management systems approaches, such as ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 9001 (quality). It will also replace the British Standard OHSAS 18001.
David Smith, Chair of the ISO committee, comments: “ISO 45001 is a significant improvement on OHSAS 18001, which has established that standardisation using the risk-based approach works across the world and business sectors,” he added. “Effective application of ISO 45001 will reduce the risk of harm in the workplace.”
Learn more about ISO 45001
