An Overview of ISO 45001

ISO 45001 is a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that outlines requirements for occupational health and safety management systems. The standard has ten clauses in total, which are as follows (sub-clauses bullet listed below each main clause):

Context of the Organisation: 

Requires an organisation to understand its internal and external context, including its stakeholders and the needs and expectations of interested parties.

  • Understanding the organisation and its context
  • Understanding the needs and expectations of workers and other interested parties
  • Determining the scope of the occupational health and safety management system
  • Occupational health and safety management system

Leadership and Worker Participation:

Requires top management to demonstrate leadership and commitment to the occupational health and safety management system, and for workers to participate in the system.

  • Leadership and commitment
  • Policy
  • Organisational roles, responsibilities and authorities
  • Consultation and participation of workers

Planning:

Requires an organisation to plan its occupational health and safety management system and identify hazards and risks.

  • Actions to address risks and opportunities
  • Hazard identification
  • Assessment of occupational health and safety risks
  • Determining legal and other requirements
  • Planning to achieve objectives

Support:

Outlines the requirements for resources, competency, awareness, communication, and documented information to support the occupational health and safety management system.

  • Resources
  • Competence
  • Awareness
  • Communication
  • Documented information

Operation:

Outlines the requirements for implementing and controlling the occupational health and safety management system.

  • Operational planning and control
  • Hazard controls
  • Management of change
  • Procurement
  • Contractors
  • Emergency preparedness and response

Performance Evaluation:

Requires an organisation to monitor, measure, and evaluate the performance of the occupational health and safety management system.

  • Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation
  • Internal audit
  • Management review

Improvement:

An organisation must continually improve the occupational health and safety management system through nonconformity and corrective action processes.

  • Nonconformity and corrective action
  • Continual improvement