When Being Compliant Is Not A Choice, It Is A Duty

Occupational health and safety's main goal is to support and uphold the maximum level of mental and physical well-being for employees in any profession be it in the construction site, food and beverage field, logistics, or service providers. Due to the rise in unintentional work accidents, injury and death rates on the job, it became imperative to set some rules and regulations to save the workers.

ISO 45001 was initially created based on the need for an international standard for OH&S to have a unified process approach in implementing safety in the workplace in any country, in any field. It was built on previous guidelines and standards such as OSHAS 18001 which is known to be reactive and now replaced by the ISO standard which is a proactive system. The ISO 45001:2018 standard is extensive, practical and applicable to companies of all sectors and sizes.

Implementing the OH&S standard does not only put the company on a cutting edge, since being ISO 45001:2018 certified is a modern system following a risk-based thinking approach it also allows the employers to increase their working capacity by maintaining and promoting their workers’ health. It provides a structure to enhance the general workplace health and safety, lower risks, and create a better work environment at all levels.

1- Understanding the Risks and Mitigating them:

When starting the ISO 45001 implementation, most of the OH&S risks will be easier to detect. The ‘How’ of doing things will be clearer and hazards will be identified faster thus this will lead to better prevention and control measures. Accidents and incidents are being avoided before they happen by the proactive approach that is used.

2- Complying with Legal, Regulatory and Statutory Requirements

Each country has its own regulation regarding workers laws, yet, the standard implies having internal policies and procedures in addition to applying local, national and international regulations. As a rule of thumbs, every firm that encounters an incident or fire must notify the Ministry of Labor within the shortest period of time. It must also send a register of the work accidents to the Ministry on a regular basis.

3- Enhancing employees wellbeing and boosting their morale

“Your safety is our priority”, whenever a new joiner reads this sentence or feels this being implemented in house, he will automatically be more productive since he is indeed valued as a person. ISO 45001 ensures that incidents are reduced to a maximum. Employee retention rate is a main key performance indicator, the higher it is the better.

4- Gaining stakeholder trust and confidence

A small business, franchise, or multinational corporation operating in any industry can benefit from having the ISO 45001 certification. Nowadays, being committed to health and safety and employees well-being is a passport like no other, it reflects sustainable business strategies. Everyone is now looking to collaborate with respective business partners. This being said, having a robust system can also lead to reducing the insurance premiums, thus company expenses.

5- Implementing an Integrated Management System (IMS)

With the ISO updates, all the standards now are becoming compatible with each other, they all apply a high level structure which allows any organisation to implement different certifications at once. The most common IMS is a combination of ISO 9001 (quality management), 45001 (occupational health and safety management) and 14001( environmental management), ensuring an efficient and effective system in place. This also shed the light on the continuous improvement of an organisation.

Soon, obtaining an ISO 45001 accreditation won't be exclusive to certain businesses. In fact, it gives the implementer a sense of security and assurance. It fortifies resistance to dangers and emergencies and develops instruments for managing internal hazards. It's a sustained effort for success and continuous improvement.