The International Labour Organization estimates that more than 2 million deaths every year can be attributed to work activities. This single statistic clearly indicates the pressing need for occupational health and safety regulations, and the importance of a single standard to help organizations put into place processes to ensure compliance.
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In response, the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services (OHSAS) Project Group created the OHSAS 18001 specification in 1999. It was updated in 2007 to more closely align with the language and structure of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Now, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is hard at work crafting a brand-new standard, ISO 45001, which will replace OHSAS 18001. The new standard is scheduled for release in the fall of 2016.
Given that time frame, obviously much of the language of the standard is still in development; however, at this stage it’s possible to begin to understand the thinking of the standard’s framers. ISO 45001 is intended to function better with other ISO standards, allowing users to implement and manage multiple standards more easily. In addition, as compared to OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001 will focus more on management responsibilities and performance measurement and monitoring, using the high-level structure of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle familiar to users.
For some organizations, the transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001 may require a significant amount of effort. In particular, ISO 45001 presents additional requirements, not all of which are met by existing management systems using OHSAS 18001 as a framework. It is important to note that accreditation bodies such as ANAB and UKAS will not continue accrediting registrars to OHSAS 18001 after the release of ISO 45001. At this early stage, we are still waiting for all the transition rules to be issued, but we do know that there will be a transition period in which organizations will be allowed to upgrade to the new standard.
Given the length of time until ISO 45001 is ready for release, organizations that are seeking certification of their occupational health and safety system in the near term should utilize OHSAS 18001. Organizations that are earlier in the process might want to base their systems, or at least align their thinking, with the latest draft version of ISO 45001. Copies of the draft standard are available, but keep in mind that there will be changes, and some of them might be substantial. Again, an adequate transition period will be provided.
Moving forward, the plans for the launch of ISO 45001 is well-defined. The committee draft is out now for three-month review, and the next committee meeting is coming up this December. Out of that should come a draft international standard in the spring of 2015, followed by the final draft international standard in summer 2016, and the release of the standard itself in the fourth quarter of 2016.
For more information, you can watch the following video, in which I am interviewed in depth about this topic.
Rick Gehrke is the green services associate program manager for Intertek, a Quality Digest content partner.
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