ISO 45001:2018 Is Published: The End of OHSAS 18001
ISO 45001 was published in March 2018 as the first ISO standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It replaces OHSAS 18001, and certified organisations have three years to migrate.
Key points
- ISO 45001:2018 was published on 12 March 2018.
- It replaces OHSAS 18001, with a three-year migration period.
- The biggest changes are leadership accountability, worker participation and the organisation’s context.
More than a new number
OHSAS 18001 was written around hazard control. ISO 45001 keeps that and places it inside the same structure as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, so that occupational health and safety becomes part of how the organisation is managed, not a separate programme.
What is different
- Leadership: top management is accountable for preventing work-related injury and ill health.
- Worker participation: non-managerial workers must be consulted and involved in specific decisions.
- Context: the needs of workers and other interested parties shape the system.
- Risks and opportunities: both OH&S risks and risks to the system itself are addressed.
- Procurement and contractors: outsourced work and contractors come under explicit control.
Migration
Organisations certified to OHSAS 18001 should run a gap analysis, strengthen the mechanisms for consultation and participation, and plan the migration audit with their certification body. Integrated systems can combine it with the next ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 audit.