Background
Over 7,600 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases – that’s over 2.78 million every year. The burden of occupational injuries and diseases is significant, both for employers and the wider economy, resulting in losses from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums. To combat the problem, ISO developed a new standard, ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems requirements, that will help organizations reduce this burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, all over the world.
The standard that was published in March 2018 follows other generic management system approaches such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. It takes into account other International Standards in this area such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions. ISO 45001 contains a number of requirements for which specific skills related to occupational health and safety are required to audit it effectively, such as those relating to terminology, principles, concepts, tools and techniques.