ISO 45001 is a consensus standard and is being developed through a rigorous process. We will endeavor to provide a description of the draft standard, discuss the performance expectations, and provide an overview of actions, processes, and procedures required for ISO 45001 alignment. The standard was written in customary business English. The terminology has been harmonized with other ISO standards. For example in ISO 45001 (safety), ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environmental) Section 4 relates to the “context of the organization”, Section 5 relates to “leadership”, and Section 6 relates to “planning”. This alignment of sections allows organizations to more easily adopt the fundamental framework used in all ISO business related performance standards. ISO 45001 has three sections of introductory material. These sections are the introduction, the purpose, and the terms and definitions. Then, there are seven major sections that contain the actual safety content. Sections 4 through 10 within ISO 45001 are as follow:
4. Context of the Organization
5. Leadership and Worker Participation
6. Planning
7. Support
8. Operations
9. Performance Evaluations
10. Improvement
At the conclusion of the standard there is an appendix that serves as a guide to implementation for each of the sections. The appendix is almost as long as the standard itself and provides a very comprehensive set of instructions about how the different elements of the standard can be implemented.
Goals of the Standard
As with the other safety management consensus standards, the goals of ISO 45001 are to provide guidance for the development of a framework where injuries, property damage, and other loss causing incidents can be mitigated. The stated goals of ISO 45001 are:
Develop an OH&S policy
Have leadership demonstrate their commitment to safety
Establish systematic processes for safety management
Conduct hazard identification efforts
Create operational safety controls
Increase awareness and knowledge for employees about safety
Evaluate OH&S performance and develop plans to improve continuously
Establish the necessary competencies
Create and foster an OH&S culture within the organization
Ensure employees participate fully and meaningfully in the safety process
Meet all legal and regulatory requirements
At the outset, ISO 45001 explains the founding principle of PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT (PDCA). This principle is the methodology which guides the various performance aspects of the standard. PDCA is the idea of continual improvement that was made popular by Edward Demin g, often considered the father of modern quality control theory, and fosters the standard of detailed actions that provide a platform for continual improvement across the organization. This is a critical concept as it establishes the model for continual, as opposed to continuous, improvement.
This concept of continual improvement is repeated throughout the standard. “Continual improvement” is an umbrella concept that incorporates elements of continuous improvement. The distinction between continual and continuous improvement is a fine, but important one. Continual Improvement is defined as “recurring activity to enhance performance”. Continual does not mean continuous, so the activity does not need to take place in all areas simultaneously. Continuous Improvement is defined as “on-going and endless without interruption.” By its very nature, business activities often have numerous starts and stops. Business activities are best managed by regular and routine evaluations. Thus the concept of continual improvement is better suited to an organizational environment than the concept of continuous improvement.
CLICK HERE for the ISO Committee report for more on this upcoming standard.
