Has your Health and Safety Department updated to ISO 45001?
Has your Health and Safety department updated to ISO 45001?
Did you know that during 2020 alone, the HSE statistics reported 111 fatal injuries, 693,000 non-fatal injuries, 29% of non-fatal injuries were as a result of slips, trips, and falls, 1.6 million people are suffering from work-related ill-health and 347,000 people suffering from a new case of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. It is therefore extremely evident that the importance of health and safety in the workplace simply cannot be underestimated.
Health and Safety guidelines over the years have been adapted towards the OHSAS 18001 Standard, however this was replaced in 2018 with the ISO 45001 Standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) with the solution to better manage health and safety risks. It may be 3 years old, but it is extremely important to encourage all organisations within Northern Ireland/Ireland to ensure their Health and Safety Certifications are up to date and the new standard of ISO 45001 has been employed.
According to ISO, “Organizations already certified to OHSAS 18001 will have three years to comply with the new ISO 45001 standard, although certification of conformity to ISO 45001 is not a requirement of the standard.”
So what is ISO 45001?
“ISO 45001 provides a strong and effective set of processes to help organizations of all sizes and industries to reduce workplace risks to improve employee safety” (ISO)
QMS International have highlighted the top benefits of using the ISO 45001 framework:
Establish controls to ensure legal compliance – ISO 45001 can help you to establish operational controls which take into account risks and opportunities, as well as legal and other requirements
Increase Health and Safety Awareness – the OH&S management system helps organisations to increase employee awareness of Occupational Health and Safety risks, ensuring workers take an active role in health and safety matters
Enhance your Reputation – Achieving certification to this standard is recognition that you have achieved an international benchmark, getting you noticed by customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities
Reduce Absenteeism – by better managing H&S risks in the workplace you will be able to protect employees, reducing absenteeism and turnover rates
Reduce Insurance Premiums – By demonstrating that you have an effective occupational health and safety management system in place, many businesses can go on to benefit from reduced insurance premiums
Improve Management of H&S Compliance Issues – ISO 45001 helps to improve your ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues, reducing the overall costs of incidents and downtime
Better Manage Health and Safety Risks – the standard will help you to determine hazards and the health and safety risks associated with your activities; seeking to either eliminate them or put controls in place to minimise their effects
