ISO 45001 Receives 93% Approval, Will be Published March 15

ISO 45001, the long-awaited new international standard for occupational safety and health, will be published March 15, after receiving 93 per cent approval in the final ballot.

Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IOSH UK, Richard Jones, said the result was ‘great news’ and that 93 per cent represented ‘overwhelming’ support in favour of publication.

It has been a long road for ISO 45001, which was first proposed in March 2013, and has since undergone various stages of development. The complex development process has involved a series of meetings, numerous iterations and hundreds of hours of deliberations among an international group of safety and health experts.

For over four years, representatives from over 70 countries have deliberated over the best way to manage occupational health and safety on a global scale, and now it seems we finally have consensus. 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.

How will ISO 45001 be used?

The new standard will align with ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environment Management) and builds on OHSAS 18001, which is a framework aimed at controlling risks.

The system is designed to work with any organisation, large or small. The framework identifies and controls health and safety risks, reduces potential accidents, aids legislative compliance and improves overall performance. The standard also demonstrates how to develop and implement a policy with the right objectives for organisations of all types and sizes. More and more companies also want detailed information about their suppliers’ occupational health and safety practices to protect their brands.

You can learn more about ISO 45001, here.