Let’s get to know about the OSHAS 18001 and ISO 45001, the most discussed topics regarding Occupational Health and Safety!
Click here to know why in India is it necessary to get Health and safety audits done
First things first,
What is OSHA 18001?
OSHA stands for the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series
These guidelines were basically British Standard for occupational health and standard.
It constitutes the framework for the effective management of Occupational Health and Safety which also includes all the legal requirements that are to be complied.
Legal requirements compliance framework of effective management of Occupational Health and Safety.
It basically speaks about occupational health rather than any specific safety of any course, division, or any product.
Why OSHA 18001?
According to the Health and Safety Executive Statistics (HSE) for 2008/2009,
180 people lost their lives and over 130,000 employees were injured at work.
Since OSHA is an internationally recognized standard which enables to measure and demonstrate the organization’s commitment to occupational health and safety.
There are many benefits;
Safe working environment,
Healthy employees,
Mitigate and control health and safety concerns,
Better efficiency,
Better results,
Helps to save lives,
Avoid hefty penalties in particular situations,
And much more
OSHA 18001 has been replaced by ISO 45001
Now ISO 45001 is the new international standard for occupational health and safety management.
OSHA 18001 was suspended in 2018. Companies with OSHA 18001 shall migrate to ISO 45001 by March 2021 within the period of 3 years.
Why this change from OSHAS 18001 to ISO 45001
Much of the DNA from OSHA 18001 can be traced in ISO 45001.
There are many enhancements delivered by ISO 45001 which includes focuses on health(mainly mental health), better working environment/better involvement which leads to better results, stronger leadership, and much more.
There are many reasons behind why the ISO 45001 replaced OSHA 18001 which includes
OSHA only spoke about risks associated with Organizational Health and Safety whereas ISO speaks about managing other risks and even mitigating risks mentioned in the former regulations.
For more detailed explanation about the change from OSHAS 18001 to ISO 45001 click here!
Advantages from this move:
Managerial oversight improvement ISO ensures that the ownership lies with any top-level management or with safety management personnel.
- Global positioning of the company
It makes you stand out from the crowd (other organizations) your organization shall be internationally recognized.
- Much lower insurance premiums
By obtaining ISO 45001 your organization will be paying much lesser premiums as it speaks about your management taking string due diligence in maintaining employee’s health.
- Increases return on investment (ROI)
Implementation of ISO 45001, the efficiency of the staff increases, recovery time from an injury reduces, and as mentioned in the earlier blog
Every $1 spent on organizational health and safety saves up to $4 in an organization.
- Organizational focus
Improves staff morale which is the key element for the effective and efficient working of an organization.
When physical and most importantly mental health will be in place which also plays an important role here.
What is ISO 45001(2018)?
ISO 45001(2018) is an international standard for Occupational Health & Safety management system.
It helps to establish, implementing, maintaining, and improving an OH&S management system for organizations.
Non-implementation of this in an organization leads to
Workplace accidents and diseases,(we suggest you to take our First Aid Training program for your organization employees)
Lawsuits,
Cost overruns etc.
Why ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 specifies the guidance for its use.
ISO 45001 Helps to provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing work-related injury.
Guides to avoid ill health in an organization.
Helps to increase the Occupational Health and Safety performance.
Provide a healthy and safe working environment /workplaces.
Proactively monitor and improve occupational health and safety performance.
Eliminate hazards and minimize risks.
Fulfill legal and other requirements.
Achieve OH&S objectives.
Integrate other aspects of health and safety including worker’s wellbeing.
ISO 45001 is a Plan-Do-Check-Act
Planning happens at several stages in the framework for the OH&S management system.
At various stages, there will be a need to ‘plan’ again to refine the system metrics.
Which needs periodic planning and measuring of the implementation of the plan and carefully plan the next course of action.
Every time a plan is made, it shall be better than the older version aligning closer to the organizational goals and try achieving it every time.
Prepare for ISO 45001(2018) Certification in 5 easy steps
- Obtain a copy is ISO 45001.
- Find gaps in the existing OH&S management system by conducting gap analysis.
- Development and implementation using the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
- Define organization’s competency and training requirements for ISO.
- Ensure competence needs are met.
ISO 45001 Compliance Checklist
- Context of the organization.
- Leadership
- Planning
- Support
- Operation
- Performance evaluation
- Improvement
For more detailed information about the checklist click here!