Past editions of HETI Horizons have discussed the elements contained within a combined Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Management System – based upon the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Standard for environmental management systems and the old guidance on occupational health & safety management systems contained within the British Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001. OHSAS 18001 has been superseded with the publication of ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems) in March 2018. In this newsletter, we look at the major similarities and differences between OHSAS 18001 and the updated ISO 45001.
Similarities
The overall intent of both the old OHSAS 18001 and the new ISO 45001 systems is/was to create a framework for managing the prevention of employee injuries, illnesses, and especially fatalities, while also identifying and controlling health and safety risks. The overarching approach of the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” model remains the fundamental operating principle in both standards. ISO 45001 focuses on identifying and controlling risks rather than hazards, as is currently required in OHSAS 18001.
Many of the elements and requirements covered in OHSAS 18001 are incorporated into ISO 45001, including:
- Occupational health & safety policy requirements
- Identification of legal and other requirements
- Goals and objectives
- Awareness and competency requirements
- Resource requirements
- Requirements for measuring and monitoring
- Analyzing OHS performance and improvement
- Management review
Primary Differences
Structure: The high-level structure of ISO 45001 is based on Annex SL, which is the framework used in other ISO management system standards – including both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. This is purposefully designed to make implementation easier and more efficient. It is a change that would, in theory, make a combined EHS Management System – based upon applicable elements of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 (and even ISO 9001) – easier to implement.
The new high-level structure is:
- Scope
- Normative references
- Terms and definitions
- Context of the organization
- Leadership
- Planning
- Support
- Operation
- Performance evaluation
- Improvement
Worker Involvement: ISO 45001 requires employee training and education to identify risks and help create a successful safety program, allowing broader employee participation.
Management Commitment: In the past, organizations have often delegated health and safety responsibilities to a safety manager or department rather than integrating the system into the organization’s operations. ISO 45001 requires the incorporation of health and safety aspects into the overall management system of the organization – thus driving top management to have a stronger leadership role with respect to occupational health & safety.
Risk vs Hazard: ISO 45001 follows a preventative process, requiring hazard risks to be evaluated and remedied before they cause accidents and injuries. This is unlike OHSAS 18001, which focused only on hazard control.
Suppliers and Contractors: The new ISO 45001 contains a specific clause dedicated to contractor risk management. It requires organizations to take into consideration how both suppliers and contractors are assessing and managing their OHS risks.
Organizational Context: The new standard places a stronger focus on the organization’s context. With ISO 45001, organizations have to look beyond their own internal health and safety issues and consider what their interested parties expect from them regarding occupational health & safety. Outsourced functions that the organization relies upon need to be taken into account.
New Definitions: ISO 45001 includes new definitions of terms such as monitoring, measurement, effectiveness, occupational health & safety performance and process. In addition, the terms “document” and “record” have both been replaced with the term “documented information”.
Additional Resources
In this newsletter, we are only able to briefly outline the similarities and differences between OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems). For a more in-depth table, comparing the old and new standards, please go to: https://surgicalunits.com/comparison-matrix-on-iso-450012018-ohsas-180012007-461.html.
In addition, for previous issues of HETI Horizons, including a number on EHS Management Systems, please visit our website (www.hetiservices.com) or contact us.
HETI…Here to Help
The EHS professionals at HETI can provide guidance and valuable technical support on the implementation and continuous improvement of EHS Management Systems. Whether it’s helping establish a new System…or performing a gap assessment on a mature one…HETI is available to support those efforts.