ISO 45001:2018 - Preliminary elements (Part 1)

 

With this post we begin an analysis of the ISO 45001: 2018 standard, and we will first be identifying what I have called “the context” of this standard, to later analyse the text of each of the specific requirements that comprise it.

If you are establishing, or intend to establish, an occupational health and safety management system (OH&SMS) in an organization in compliance with this standard, or more importantly, you are dedicated or wish to pursue a professional career in the field of occupational health and safety management system, supporting other organizations for using this ISO 45001:2018 standard, it is very important that you know and properly understand each of the requirements of this standard, either to comply with each of them correctly, or to can offer a valuable consulting service or technical support to organizations that work in one or some economic fields. Otherwise, you should rely on someone who can reliably support you.

I have mentioned in other posts that I have many people whose professional performance is related to ISO 9001, ISO 45001 or other management system standards and that in general, most of these people have been concerned with knowing and understanding only the requirements of the standard, but not more than that.

Also, I have repeatedly mentioned that if someone wants to use a standard in an adequate manner, it is important to know not only the requirements of that standard, but also its preliminary and complementary elements, which are what make up its context, because we they will help us to understand several of the fundamental elements of the standard itself.

Very few people take care to know and understand the context of said standard. That is, they know the text of the requirements of the standard, but not the context of the application of those requirements, which sometimes leads to costly mistakes in the development of an occupational health and safety management system.

Due to this importance, we will begin the analysis of that context of the ISO 45001: 2018 standard, starting from its preliminary elements, with the Foreword, which describes the organization that has issued this international standard, indicating what part of its structure, this It is the technical committee and its subcommittee responsible for the development of this standard, as well as some basic elements for its structure and drafting.

It tells us that ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. This element is important, in order to clarify that this standard is not a technical barrier to trade.

This document was prepared by Project Committee ISO/PC 283, Occupational health and safety management systems.

We then begin with the analysis of the Clause Introduction of the ISO 45001: 2018 standard.

Due to the large amount of information that has been placed in this clause, it is displayed in five sub-clauses, which are the following:

- 0.1 Background,

- 0.2 Objective of an OH&S management system,

- 0.3 Success Factors

- 0.4 Plan-Do-Check-Act Model

- 0.5 Content of this document

 

The first point that is worth mentioning about all the information contained in a standard such as this is that the texts should be as simple and clear as possible. The information that is placed there should not be duplicated or contrasted. It is not allowed to include what we colloquially call "padded", which are long descriptions of some element or requirement, or abundant explanations about it. The requirements are presented in a concise way, and in case any additional explanation is required, “clarifying notes” are used, in the simplest way that they can be described.

It is due to this way of presenting the information in a standard, that very commonly it is difficult for us to fully understand what some requirement establishes. Therefore, we must carefully read and understand what a standard establishes in each of its requirements. That is why there are organizations that offer courses to interpret the requirements of certain standards.

Subclause 0.1 Background, explains that an organization is responsible for the occupational health and safety of workers and others who can be affected by its activities. This responsibility includes promoting and protecting their physical and mental health.

The adoption of an OH&S management system is intended to enable an organization to provide safe and healthy workplaces, prevent work-related injury and ill health, and continually improve its OH&S performance.

Sub-clause 0.2 Aim of an OH&S management system, tells us that the purpose of an OH&S management system is to provide a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities. The aim and intended outcomes of the OH&S management system are to prevent work-related injury and ill health to workers and to provide safe and healthy workplaces; consequently, it is critically important for the organization to eliminate hazards and minimize OH&S risks by taking effective preventive and protective measures.

When these measures are applied by the organization through its OH&S management system, they improve its OH&S performance. An OH&S management system can be more effective and efficient when taking early action to address opportunities for improvement of OH&S performance.

Implementing an OH&S management system conforming to this document enables an organization to manage its OH&S risks and improve its OH&S performance. An OH&S management system can assist an organization to fulfil its legal requirements and other requirements.

Subclause 0.3 Success factors, explains to us that the implementation of an OH&S management system is a strategic and operational decision for an organization. The success of the OH&S management system depends on leadership, commitment and participation from all levels and functions of the organization.

The implementation and maintenance of an OH&S management system, its effectiveness and its ability to achieve its intended outcomes are dependent on a number of key factors, which can include:

a) top management leadership, commitment, responsibilities and  accountability;

b) top management developing, leading and promoting a culture in the organization that supports the intended outcomes of the OH&S management system;

c)  communication;

d) consultation and participation of workers, and, where they exist, workers’ representatives;

e)  allocation of the necessary resources to maintain it;

f) OH&S policies, which are compatible with the overall strategic objectives and direction of the organization;

g) effective process(es) for identifying hazards, controlling OH&S  risks and taking advantage of OH&S opportunities;

h) continual performance evaluation and monitoring of the OH&S  management system to improve OH&S performance;

i) integration of the OH&S management system into the  organization’s business processes;

j)  OH&S objectives that align with the OH&S policy and take into account the organization’s hazards, OH&S risks and OH&S opportunities;

k) compliance with its legal requirements and other requirements.

 

Demonstration of successful implementation of this document can be used by an organization to give assurance to workers and other interested parties that an effective OH&S management system is in place. Adoption of this document, however, will not in itself guarantee prevention of work-related injury and ill health to workers, provision of safe and healthy workplaces and improved OH&S performance.

The level of detail, the complexity, the extent of documented information and the resources needed to ensure the success of an organization’s OH&S management system will depend on a number of factors, such as:

In the Subclause 0.4 Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, this standard tells us that the OH&S management system approach applied in this document is founded on the concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA).

The PDCA concept is an iterative process used by organizations to achieve continual improvement. It can be applied to a management system and to each of its individual elements, as follows:

a) Plan: determine and assess OH&S risks, OH&S opportunities and other risks and other opportunities, establish OH&S objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization’s OH&S policy;

b) Do: implement the processes as planned;

c) Check: monitor and measure activities and processes with regard to the OH&S policy and OH&S objectives, and report the results;

d) Act: take actions to continually improve the OH&S performance to achieve the intended outcomes.

This document incorporates the PDCA concept into a new framework, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 — Relationship between PDCA and the framework in this document

In the last subclause of this Clause Introduction, the 0.5 Contents of this document, it explains that this document conforms to ISO’s requirements for management system standards. These requirements include a high level structure (HLS), identical core text and common terms with core definitions, designed to benefit users implementing multiple ISO management system standards.

This document does not include requirements specific to other subjects, such as those for quality, social responsibility, environmental, security or financial management, though its elements can be aligned or integrated with those of other management systems.

This document contains requirements that can be used by an organization to implement an OH&S management system and to assess conformity. An organization that wishes to demonstrate conformity to this document can do so by:

Clauses 1 to 3 in this document set out the scope, normative references and terms and definitions which apply to the use of this document, while Clauses 4 to 10 contain the requirements to be used to assess conformity to this document. Annex A provides informative explanations to these requirements. The terms and definitions in Clause 3 are arranged in conceptual order, with an alphabetical index provided at the end of this document.

In this document, the following verbal forms are used:

Information marked as “NOTE” is for guidance in understanding or clarifying the associated requirement. “Notes to entry” used in Clause 3 provide additional information that supplements the terminological data and can contain provisions relating to the use of a term.

(This topic continues in the post: ISO 45001:2018 - Preliminary Elements (part 2).

 

Author:

Ernesto Palomares Hilton