The ISO 45001:2018 solely focuses on the
occupational health and safety management system of an organization. Published
in March 2018, this standard works towards eliminating the chance of any
potential disease and injuries related to occupation. It also follows the
structure of ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015, so that it is easy to integrate
these standards in any organization if it has already received the ISO 45001:2018
certification.
This ISO standard is based on the OHSAS 18001
that also focuses on the OH&S assessments. The organizations that have
already acquired the BS OHSAS 18001 certification can easily migrate to the ISO
45001 till March 2021. Although the ISO 45001:2018 is mainly based on the
standards of OHSAS 18001, there are some differences in these two standards.
1.
The now-defunct OHSAS 18001
was mainly focused on managing the occupational health and safety hazards and
issues related to it. However, the ISO 45001 primarily focuses on the
interaction between the working environment and the organization. This helps to
minimize or eliminate the chance of any hazard.
2.
The new ISO 45001:2018
standard is a process-based certification while the old OHSAS 18001 is a
procedure-based certification. The first one focuses primarily on why the
hazard happens rather than solely concentrating on the solution part.
3.
The OHSAS 18001 is not
dynamic, but the new ISO 45001 truly is. Besides addressing all the OH&S issues
of any organization, it also gives it the much-required confidence in safety
management for efficient productivity and improved working conditions for all
the workers.
4.
The OHSAS 18001 certification
primarily focuses on the occupational risk of any organization while the ISO
45001 focuses on both the risk and opportunities. By doing so, it not only
eliminates the chance of future hazards and also finds opportunities to improve
the overall safety standard.
5.
OHSAS 18001 did not ever
include the views of interested parties of any organization. However, the new
ISO 45001:2018 contains all the aspects. With that inclusion, it not only
creates the engagement of all the parties but also creates a better working
environment.
With the upgrade from OHSAS 18001 to ISO
45001:2018, the global industry has witnessed a significant shift in the way
any organization perceived the health and safety management and other issues
related to it. And now, the occupational hazard and safety are not a standalone
issue for the organization; it has become an integral part of the whole
operational procedure to maintain a sustainable organization. Although the
approaches of these two standards are different, any organization can now
migrate to ISO 45001 easily, if it previously followed the guidelines of the
OHSAS 18001.
