Definition · Plain-language
ISO 45001
ISO 45001 is the international standard for an occupational health and safety management system, used to manage workplace risks and protect workers.
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What ISO 45001 is for
ISO 45001:2018 specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety management system, giving organisations a framework to improve worker safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions. It applies to any organisation regardless of size, sector or activity. Rather than prescribing specific safety measures, it sets out how to build a system that identifies hazards, assesses risks, complies with legal requirements and continually improves OH&S performance. The aim is to prevent work-related injury and ill health and to provide healthy workplaces proactively rather than reactively.
Structure and key requirements
ISO 45001 follows the common High-Level Structure shared with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, making it straightforward to integrate with other management systems. It requires leadership commitment, worker participation and consultation, hazard identification and risk assessment, determination of legal and other requirements, operational controls, emergency preparedness, monitoring and measurement, internal audit and management review. A distinctive emphasis is the active involvement of workers at all levels, reflecting the principle that those exposed to risks should help shape how those risks are managed.
Relationship to OHSAS 18001
ISO 45001 was the first ISO standard for occupational health and safety management, published in March 2018, and it replaced the long-used British-origin standard OHSAS 18001. Organisations previously certified to OHSAS 18001 were given a transition period to migrate. While the two share intent, ISO 45001 adopts the modern High-Level Structure, strengthens leadership and worker-participation requirements, and places greater emphasis on the organisational context and on managing risks and opportunities, aligning occupational safety with the wider family of ISO management-system standards.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: requirements for an occupational health and safety management system
- Published: 2018 (ISO 45001:2018)
- Purpose: reduce work-related injury and ill health, provide safe workplaces
- Structure: High-Level Structure, integrates with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
- Distinctive: strong emphasis on worker participation and consultation
- Replaced: the earlier OHSAS 18001 standard
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: ISO 45001 lists the specific safety measures an organisation must put in place.
Actually: ISO 45001 specifies how to run an OH&S management system, not which exact controls to use. It requires hazard identification, risk assessment and continual improvement, but leaves the specific safety measures to the organisation and applicable law.
Often heard: OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 are still both current and interchangeable.
Actually: ISO 45001 replaced OHSAS 18001 from 2018, and organisations were given a transition period to migrate. OHSAS 18001 has been withdrawn, so ISO 45001 is the current international OH&S management-system standard.
Often heard: ISO 45001 certification guarantees an organisation will have no accidents.
Actually: Certification shows an organisation has an effective OH&S management system that identifies and controls risks and improves continually. It reduces and manages risk but cannot guarantee that no incidents will ever occur.
Going deeper
