ISO 45001 - Occupational health and safety

Over 6300 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases - that’s nearly 2.3million every year.

The burden of occupational injuries and diseases is significant, both for employers and the wider economy, resulting in losses from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums.

To combat the problem, ISO is developing a new standard, ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems - Requirements, that will help organizations reduce this burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, all over the world.

The standard is currently being developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts, and will follow other generic management system approaches such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. It will take into account other International Standards in this area such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization's ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO's international labour standards and conventions.

Who is it for?

ISO 45001 is intended for use by any organization, regardless of its size or the nature of its work, and can be integrated into other health and safety programmes such as worker wellness and wellbeing. It also addresses many, if not all, legal requirements in this area.

When will it be available?

The drafts will be available through your local ISO member once it reaches the public enquiry (DIS) stage and Final Draft (FDIS) stage later this year, before the standard is published in October 2016.