Occupational Health & Safety the new standard

Shockingly, 6300 people per day lose their lives from work-related accidents or diseases. Yes, you read that statistic correctly.

According to the International Labour Organisation 2.3 million people die every year because of work. Although high standards are sought and maintained by many employers, it is obvious that a new standard must be carefully decided upon and put into action.

The current standard in use is OHSAS 18001. The new standard will use the Annex SL approach. This will aid companies who implement multiple ISO management strategies, because they will no longer have the issues of similar or identical requirements, but differing definitions.

In sourcing from the International Labour Organisation’s guidelines, national standards and other international standards, the new ISO 45001 hopes to cut occupational injuries, absences due to illness, or injury and early retirements. The latest update from the ISO states the standard is delayed and still in development.

Good Guidance

ISO 45001 should provide excellent guidance for any size of organisation. A small to medium business will need a much simpler system than a large corporation. The requirements of the standard should integrate seamlessly with processes already suitable and in place. There is no prescriptive directive or checklist of criteria. The organisation should implement as applicable, but will have an oversight of whether they have covered the wellbeing of employees and all needs are being met correctly. There will be no legal requirement, the document will be a management tool for voluntary use, which will help minimise any risks. In preventing harm business reputation will be enhanced.

The Benefits

The benefits of the standard are obvious. Any company utilising the recommendations will gain the reputation of being a safe place to work. If implemented, costs associated with illness and injury will be reduced, regulations and compliance checklists will be far easier to manage and administrate. Productivity should be boosted and there may even be the financial gain of lower insurance premiums.

Many large companies that frequently rely on a supply chain, insist on ISO certification. Gaining the standard advertises the fact that you are a responsible employer and this can only be a beneficial influence on potential clients. As mentioned earlier, the standard is currently being developed and we will report on the progress as it becomes available.

Do you require certification from your suppliers? Wish there was an autonomated way to evaluate certificates? Contact us for more information about Rallivo. We significantly help with ISO-related decisions, due to automated supplier validation.