New white paper lifts the lid on the world’s first global standard for health and safety

To support the adoption of ISO 45001:2018 the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), which has fed into and closely monitored the standard throughout its near five-year development, has created a free to access white paper.

The report details the key changes required by organisations that are already compliant with OHSAS 18001, as well as providing a guide for those embarking on certification for the first time. It also provides an in-depth look at the implications for those who manage and audit occupational health and safety management systems

According to the white paper, some of the major changes include: the need for senior management to be actively involved in occupational health & safety management systems, and an increased requirement for worker consultation and participation. The new standard also extends the responsibility of organisations to cover outsourced processes, procurement and contractors.

Estelle Clark, Director of Policy at the Chartered Quality Institute, said: “Occupational health and safety is morally and economically critical to the success of any organisation. The UK has been leading the way in this field, having overseen a 79% drop in work-related fatalities since 1974.

The introduction of ISO 45001, which has received input from more than 70 countries across all continents, demonstrates a worldwide recognition of the need to act and behave differently when it comes to health and safety. It is not, and never has been, justifiable that safety at work is dependant entirely on the country in which you happen to be working. ISO 45001 will require organisations to ask more of their international supply chain and provide the tools with which to do so.

Estelle Clark, Director of Policy, Chartered Quality Institute