By Luke Irwin
ISO 45001 is the international standard that contains best practices for OH&S (occupational health and safety). Its goal is to reduce injuries and diseases in the workplace, including the promotion and protection of physical and mental health.
It’s an issue that’s more important than ever. In addition to the 2.78 million deaths and 374 million injuries each year from workplace incidents, countless others face mental health issues.
COVID-19 helped put some of those problems into relief, but it’s something organisations must continue to be vigilant about as the pandemic subsides.
In this blog, we look at the mandatory documentation and records you must complete to comply with ISO 45001 – as well as non-mandatory documents that can support your compliance activities.
Mandatory documentation
- Clause 4.3 Scope of the OH&S management system
- Clause 5.2 OH&S policy
- Clause 5.3 Responsibilities and authorities within OH&SMS
- Clause 6.1.1 OH&S process for addressing risks and opportunities
- Clause 6.1.2.2Methodology and criteria for assessment of OH&S risks
- Clause 6.2.2 OH&S objectives and plans for achieving them
- Clause 8.2 Emergency preparedness and response process
Mandatory records
- Clause 6.1.1 OH&S risks and opportunities and actions for addressing them
- Clause 6.1.3 Legal and other requirements
- Clause 7.2 Evidence of competence
- Clause 7.4.1 Evidence of communications
- Clause 8.2 Plans for responding to potential emergency situations
- Clause 9.1.1 Results on monitoring, measurements, analysis and performance evaluation
- Clause 9.1.1 Maintenance, calibration or verification of monitoring equipment
- Clause 9.1.2 Compliance evaluation results
- Clause 9.2.2 Internal audit program
- Clause 9.2.2 Internal audit report
- Clause 9.3 Results of management review
- Clause 10.2 Nature of incidents or nonconformities and any subsequent action taken
- Clause 10.2 Results of any action and corrective action, including their effectiveness
- Clause 10.3 Evidence of the results of continual improvement
Non-mandatory documents
In addition to mandatory documentation, there are many other parts of ISO 45001 that organisations may find relevant. This includes:
- Clause 4.1 Procedure for determining context of the organization and interested parties
- Clause 5.4 Procedure for consultation and participation of workers
- Clause 6.1.2.1 Procedure for hazard identification and assessment
- Clause 6.1.3 Procedure for identification of legal requirements
- Clause 7.4.1 Procedure for communication
- Clause 7.5 Procedure for document and record control
- Clause 8.1 Procedure for operational planning and control
- Clause 8.1.3 Procedure for change management
- Clause 9.1.1 Procedure for monitoring, measuring and analysis
- Clause 9.1.2 Procedure for compliance evaluation
- Clause 9.2 Procedure for internal audit
- Clause 9.3 Procedure for management review
- Clause 10.1 Procedure for incident investigation
- Clause 10.1 Procedure for management of nonconformities and corrective actions
- Clause 10.3 Procedure for continual improvement
Establishing an OH&S management system
Those looking for more advice tackling occupational health and safety may be interested in Establishing an occupational health & safety management system based on ISO 45001.
This book, written by consultant and trainer Naeem Sadiq, explains how organisations can use ISO 45001’s requirements to create a safer work environment.
You’ll find out the purpose and requirements of each clause in ISO 45001, learn how to build an OH&S management system in a step-by-step approach and receive real-world examples of health and safety issues along with the ideal way to handle that situation.
