Benefits of ISO 45001 Certification
Achieving ISO 45001 Certification helps create a safer work environment by identifying and mitigating risks, reducing workplace incidents, and ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. It enhances employee well-being, boosts productivity, and strengthens your company’s reputation. Additionally, certification can improve operational efficiency, lower insurance costs, and demonstrate your commitment to a proactive safety culture.
ISO 45001 Key Elements
LEAD
- Governance & leadership
PLAN
- Strategic & OHSMS planning
- Risk management: Identify, assess, and control hazards
- Compliance: Meet legal and industry safety standards
- Change management
SUPPORT
- OHSMS Policy: Commitment to workplace safety
- Objectives: Clear, measurable safety goals
- Processes & Procedures: Standardised safety practices
- Resource management
operations
- Implementation of safety controls
Evaluate
- Monitor & measure safety performance
- Internal audits & management reviews
Improve
- Incident management & corrective actions
- Continuous improvement for safer workplaces
Education
A schoolteacher tripped and fractured her ankle while crossing a pedestrian sidewalk with a large group of students. The teacher had not noticed or reported cracking/holes in the concrete.
The school tendered, for its defense, an audit report completed by an external Construction WHS auditor that made no note of the cracked concrete or the safety hazards associated with it.
These audits, however, were general in nature and not intended to be a comprehensive safety audit as stated within the limitations of the audit: “…it is not a formal compliance inspection, audit or survey relating to health and safety, building codes and regulations, fire safety, or any other fitness-for purpose issues”.
The district court of Queensland found the inspections were adhoc, and that no appropriate safety inspections were completed. The court ordered the plaintiff receive $241,210 (including a Workcover refund) for pain and suffering, future economic loss and other costs related to her fractured ankle.
This case highlights the need for PCBU’s to ensure thorough systems are in place for:
- Fair and transparent governance
- Planning
• Risk management including assessment (hazard identification, risk analysis , control, and evaluation), and reporting
• Compliance and change management - Support
• Work/OHS Management System
• Human Resources – Induction; Initial and Refresher Training - Performance Evaluation
• Monitor and measure
- Health surveillance
- WHS Inspections
• Analysis and evaluation
• Internal audits
• Management review
- Improvement
• Report incidents
• Raisie nonconformities
• Action corrections
• Continually improve OHSMS
