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ISO 45001: 2018

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

ISO 45001:2018 - Achieve the Global Standard For Occupational Health and Safety

Implement the right framework for occupational health and safety management and safeguard your workplace by achieving ISO 45001.
Get certified to ISO 45001 with Blue Wolf, a business associate to various accredited certification bodies. A professional, friendly and helpful certification body.

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Application
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Maintaining certification
Maintaining certification
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Re-Certification
What is ISO 45001

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. The standard gives guidance for an organization that wants a safe and healthy workplace for their workforce. Lack of management focus on the health and safety needs of workers is a major reason for employee injuries and deaths. In addition, there will be costs, including possible legal costs, disruptions, low morale and many other unwanted outcomes. Every company is accountable for taking strict precautionary measures to protect the workforce and others. After all, the workforce should be treated as an asset and should be protected with the utmost priority.

The fundamental idea behind ISO 45001 was originally established in the year 2013 and was shaped into the standard we know now in 2018. It replaced the previous standard known as BS OHSAS 18001.

By achieving ISO 45001 certification, a company exhibits its constant effort to safeguard its human resources from workplace accidents and hazards with both fatal and non-fatal circumstances. The standard includes identification and monitoring compliance with legal rules and regulations for maintaining a safe workplace for employees. Therefore, an organization avoids committing any illegal or unethical acts that would breach their duty of care.

What are the main benefits of achieving ISO 45001?

The top advantages offered for ISO 45001 implementation and certification include the following:

1. Strengthen health and safety management protocols:

The system helps to strengthen and maintain a set of health and safety management frameworks. The system improves the present control methods to improve the health and safety of personnel, increase employee awareness and reduce workplace hazards too.

2. Promotes accountability of management towards personnel safety:

The standard involves management in directing and leading personnel to optimal health and safety outcomes. The standard encourages management to exhibit appropriate behaviors and awareness and take appropriate measures to minimize hazardous situations. Also, to improve the relationship between management and employees.

3. Increase management and control to ensure legal compliance:

The lack of Occupational Health & Safety measures towards employees often force the government to intervene. In such cases, companies may face major penalties. Alongside financial losses, companies can face public backlash and loss of reputation.

4. Reduces employee absenteeism:

A strict and coherent occupational health and safety management system increases employee morale and reduces absenteeism. Companies are therefore more able to successfully retain their human resources.

5. Reduce insurance premiums:

If an employee is injured or becomes ill, whether fatal or nonfatal, while carrying out their work responsibilities, the company will pay higher insurance premiums and recruit temporary or permanent replacements. The additional costs in such cases can be very high and long-lasting. A proper health and safety management system helps to prevent these extra costs.

6. Enhances reputation:

Getting certified by ISO 45001 means a company values its workers and takes all the possible actions to keep them safe while working. It increases the company's reputation, strengthens brand image, and gives a competitive edge.

What Are The Main Requirements For ISO 45001?

  • 1. Context of the organization:

    The context the organization operates in, including strengths and weaknesses and the needs and expectations of interested parties needs to be taken into account when considering content and flow of the Occupational Health & Safety management system. This exercise can also lead the organization to identify risks and opportunities that may affect the organization (positively or negatively) in the near and distant future. These should be documented, and actions determined and implemented. The organization will be in a better position through this process. Sometimes this process is referred to as strategic planning.

  • 2. Leadership:

    The leadership team should identify and communicate all the roles and responsibilities within the organization, and those which other stakeholders need to take. The leadership team should also take responsibility for Occupational Health & Safety outcomes as well. Good Occupational Health & Safety outcomes can never be realized if management is not committed it.

  • 3. Planning:

    Proper step-by-step planning should be documented and carried out. Planning includes identification of responsibilities and time frames when needed. The additional perspective of monitoring, evaluation and improvement should be taken into account when determining plans.

  • 4. Risk management:

    Risk management is one of the critical aspects needed to prevent injury or illness. A proper risk management program includes identifying hazards, assessing the seriousness of the hazard including considering likelihood and consequence, and determining actions to help reduce or remove the risk. Risk management is a preventative process and should be seen as a great benefit to the running of any organization.

  • 5. Consultation and communication:

    The leadership needs to communicate with employees and other interested parties, including the public where appropriate, to ensure they are aware of programs, rules, and guidelines that will keep them safe. Communication can be in the form of signs, meetings, supervisors, barricades, etc. to keep everyone safe. A key component of ISO 45001 is consultation. Traditionally consultation is seen as safety representatives and safety committees. Whatever consultation program is implemented, employees need to be involved in their own Occupational Health & Safety, including involving them in risk assessments, incident investigations, inspections, etc. Leadership cannot operate an Occupational Health & Safety management system successfully without the support and input of employees. Consultation is also good for employee morale.

  • 6. Constant evaluation and continual improvement:

    There should be enough resources and leadership to monitor the performance of the system and evaluate its effectiveness in terms of Occupational Health & Safety. A required but natural outcome of constant and/or regular monitoring and measurement is continual improvement. All companies must continually improve their occupational health safety outcomes in the face of changing circumstances, changing workforce and changing legislation.

Certification Process

The certification process is as follows:

Commit - A trusted certification body is chosen, engaged, and an audit date is set.

Pre-assessment - If clients wish, an assessment before the stage 1 and 2 audits is performed.

Stage 1 Audit - The management system and documentation are reviewed to ensure everything is in place for the stage 2 audit, including determining whether internal audit and the management review have been performed. An audit report is prepared and issued by the auditor for review. If everything looks good, the auditor confirms the stage 2 audit.

Stage 2 Audit - After addressing any concerns or opportunities for improvement from the stage 1 audit, the stage 2 audit is conducted by the auditor. The auditor checks that the management system is implemented and is compliant with ISO 45001. If there are any non-conformities, these are shared by the auditor. Once non-conformities are addressed and the auditor can confirm that the standard is being met, the auditor recommends the company for certification.

Issuing the certification - With the successful completion of the two stages of audits, the certification body issues the certification.

Surveillance Audits - Every certification lasts for 3 years. The certification body organizes annual audit programs to determine and ensure ongoing compliance.

How Can Blue Wolf Certification make your certification journey smoother?

Blue Wolf is a business associate of various accredited certification bodies that offers a recognized third-party certification program with an annual surveillance audit to ensure 100% ongoing compliance.

Our audit programs are designed to ensure that your management system successfully conforms to the clauses of ISO 45001 as well as the policies and objectives of your company.

Our auditors are friendly, professional, conscientious, efficient, knowledgeable and helpful. Our auditors are respectful and help you have a positive auditing and certification experience.

Our service includes:

  • Pre-audit if needed
  • Stage 1 and 2 Audits
  • Issuing certification
  • Surveillance Audit

Our Clients seem to really like our auditors and our audit process.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is a global standard for occupational health and safety management systems. The standard ensures a company’s ethical conduct in protecting the health and safety of its workforce by implementing a well-developed and effective course of action. By achieving ISO 45001, a company is given the opportunity to exhibit its constant effort to safeguard its human resources from workplace accidents, illness and hazards with both fatal and non-fatal circumstances.

2. How long does it take to complete the process?

It depends on the type and size of your company. Generally, it takes up to six months and in some cases one year to get ready for ISO certification.
Audit days are determined from other standards and industry mandatory documents. Factors that increase or decrease the number of audit days include the number of personnel, the level of risk, the type of industry your organization belongs to, and consideration of various factors (simplifications or complications) that help to understand the complexity or your organization. All of this to ensure there is adequate audit time to determine compliance to ISO 45001.

3. What are some of the benefits of ISO 45001 certification?
  • Employee protection and employee retention
  • Strengthen risk management systems
  • Employee awareness
  • Management accountability
  • International recognition and reputation
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Reduced absenteeism.
4. How much does it cost?

The cost to get certified depends primarily on the number of audit days as previously addressed above.

Each certification body determines their own day rate. The rates can vary depending on the standard, the availability of auditors and the amount auditors charge the certification body. Additional factors that affect cost are the certification body’s accreditation fees, admin costs, and other costs as outlined in their proposal. It is important to be aware of additional fees as they can add up. In some cases, a certification body’s day rate may be low, but additional fees can be high, so do your due diligence. Some certification bodies you may notice will charge premium pricing based on how they perceive themselves in the marketplace, however all certification bodies have the same credibility anywhere in the world because of their accreditation. Before choosing an accreditation body, it may be necessary to check with your customers if they care about the name of the certification body. It is very unlikely your customer cares about the name however as long as it is an accredited certification body.

Other costs can be the cost of travel including food, accommodation, etc. for the duration of the audit.

What Do Our Client Say

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“One of the best business decisions I think we’ve made in the entire time we’ve been here in the company.”

Gary Gestring
Founder, Art Advertising
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“Blue Wolf streamlined the entire process. They were very easy to communicate with and work with, very cordial, and just an all-around good experience.”

Kris Gachassin
Quality Manager, Unity Tactical
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“Blue Wolf makes a great partner for not only getting but maintaining your ISO certifications.”

Brandon Izquierdo
Director of Operations, Integrity BioChem
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“The service provided by Blue Wolf has been second to none.”

Carl Redpath
Quality Manager, Lowe Rental
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“I found Blue Wolf to be the Cheapest and most experienced in my eyes ‘cause all of the price ranges were higher than Blue Wolf, so I stuck with Blue Wolf. Their quality was very high as well.”

Chris Alvarez
CEO, Alvarez Wind Energy Services LLC
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“Would give them a 10 out of 10 and would highly recommend them to anybody looking to get ISO certification in the future”

Brett Quarmby
President, Electrical Contact International.
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“The auditor was very knowledgeable, very understanding, very helpful.”

Joe Collins
Founder, Elite Wind.
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“It’s a very smooth and very clear process. Definitely recommended.”

Timothy Zeng
CEO, HQS Automotive.
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“Our experience has been that this process in working with the auditors has shown us more ways to improve internally than what we expected”

Stacy Gestring
Founder, Art Advertising
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“There was so much going on at the time of the audit that I just wanted to go back to the audit, it was more relaxing”

Eva Judge
Affordable Staff
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“Your approach [to the audit process] is by far superior than any other audit I’ve ever been through. The contrast was night and day”

Joseph Shushok
Imerys
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“I don’t ever want to experience an audit a different way”

Jama Morrison
Quality Manager, Imerys
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“If everybody could have an audit experience like this, more and more people would actually consider an ISO certification”

Milo Fruk
National EMS Director, CHS Broadbent
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“What seemed like a very intimidating process … was made simple … and [has] elevated our quality and safety program to another level.”

Nick Maes
Operations manager, Automated Wellhead
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“What seemed like a very intimidating process … was made simple … and [has] elevated our quality and safety program to another level.”

Cynthia Sayer
Safety Administrator, Clark Bros, Inc.
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“…our staff feel comfortable talking to [the auditor]… makes you feel like you are working together”

Kerry Ashby
Senior Director, PEO/HR + Payroll Operations, Choice Employer Solutions, Inc.
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“…Relaxed, didn’t feel pressured…”

Andrew Stewart
Inks Production Engineer, NovaCentrix
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“Would give them a 10 out of 10 and would highly recommend them to anybody looking to get ISO certification in the future.”

Brett Quarmby
President, Electrical Contact International