Occupational health & safety
ISO 45001 certification
The occupational health and safety management standard. ISO 45001:2018 is current, the climate amendment applies, and a revision is in progress — ISO's own listing says the 2024 amendment is expected to be replaced by ISO/DIS 45001.
- 5.4Worker participation clause
- 2018The version to certify to
- OHSAS 18001Withdrawn predecessor
- In draftNext revision status
ISO 45001:2018 is the current certifiable version. A revision is underway — ISO's catalogue entry for the 2024 climate amendment states it is expected to be replaced by ISO/DIS 45001. No publication date or transition rules are confirmed.
- ISO 45001:2018 — current and certifiable
- Climate amendment in force since February 2024
- Revision at draft stage, timing unconfirmed
- Certify to 2018 now; transitions follow publication
Most safety systems are designed by managers. ISO 45001 asks a harder question: can the people doing the work show they were consulted about the hazards they face? That single requirement, worker participation, is where more 45001 audits come unstuck than anywhere else.
The standard sets the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system: identifying hazards, assessing and controlling risk, involving workers in the process, investigating incidents and improving performance.
It replaced OHSAS 18001, which was withdrawn. If any of your documentation still references OHSAS 18001, it's out of date.
Who needs it
Choose ISO 45001 if
Safety certification is often triggered by an event or a customer, and the trigger shapes what the system has to prove.
- Incident rates or insurance premiums are a problem. A functioning system is the argument to an underwriter.
- You're being prequalified as a contractor. Increasingly a gate on tendering, particularly on larger sites.
- Safety is managed reactively. Responding well to incidents is not the same as identifying hazards before they happen.
- You need an EH&S system under R2v3. Commonly 45001 alongside ISO 14001. R2v3 prerequisites.
What auditors look for in a safety system
Internal audit, management review and documented information behave the same way here as in ISO 9001, because the clause structure is shared. These are the ones specific to safety.
Clause 4.1 & 4.2 — In force since February 2024
Climate change is already a requirement
The Amd 1:2024 climate amendment was applied to 31 ISO management system standards on 23 February 2024 with no transition period. Clause 4.1 requires you to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue for your context. Clause 4.2 adds a note that interested parties may have climate-related requirements. The trap is documentation: record the assessment even where your conclusion is that it is not relevant, because auditors want evidence you considered it.
Clause 5.4
Worker participation and consultation
The requirement most distinctive to ISO 45001, and the one most often thin on evidence. Auditors look for records that non-managerial workers were genuinely consulted on hazard identification and controls, not a safety committee that meets on paper.
Clause 6.1.2
Hazard identification covering actual work
Registers that describe the operation as designed rather than as performed. Auditors walk the floor and compare.
Clause 8.1.4
Contractor and outsourcing control
Contractors on site are frequently outside the system entirely. Their activities are in your scope, and their induction and controls are your evidence.
Clause 8.2
Emergency preparedness actually tested
A written plan is not the requirement. Evidence that it was tested, reviewed and improved is.
Clause 10.2
Incident investigation to root cause
Incidents recorded and corrected, but not investigated to root cause with an effectiveness review. A correction closes an incident; a corrective action stops it recurring.
These reflect general audit experience across health and safety systems rather than a formal review of our own client nonconformity data, which we hold for ISO 9001.
How we work
Three to six months to certification
Single-site, from scratch. Safety systems often move faster than expected because the underlying activity already exists. The gap is usually evidence and worker consultation records rather than practice.
Readiness call and scope. first, Sites, contractor arrangements, and what's driving certification.
Gap analysis. then Clause by clause, weighted toward worker consultation, hazard identification and contractor control.
Build and document. after that, Hazard registers, risk assessments, consultation mechanisms, emergency procedures, incident investigation process, training records.
Internal audit, then certification. finally, Full internal audit and management review, findings closed, then Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Integration
Usually built alongside 9001 or 14001
ISO 45001 shares its clause structure with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, so one system can carry all three. One document control system, one internal audit programme, one management review, one audit visit.
For electronics recyclers, 45001 with 14001 is the common route to the EH&S management system that R2v3 Core 3 requires.
Common questions
Which version should we certify to?
ISO 45001:2018. It is the current certifiable version. A revision is in draft, but no publication date or transition rules are confirmed, and 2018 certificates will remain valid through whatever transition window follows.
Is OHSAS 18001 still valid?
No. OHSAS 18001 was withdrawn and replaced by ISO 45001. If your documentation, templates or any supplier's paperwork still references OHSAS 18001, it is out of date.
What makes ISO 45001 different from other ISO standards?
Worker participation and consultation. The standard requires evidence that non-managerial workers were genuinely involved in identifying hazards and determining controls. It is the requirement most often weak on evidence, and it cannot be satisfied by a policy statement.
Do contractors on our site fall inside our system?
Generally yes, where you control or influence the work. Contractor activities, inductions and controls are a common source of findings precisely because they sit outside the day-to-day system.
Does the climate amendment apply to ISO 45001?
Yes. The same February 2024 amendment applied to 31 ISO management system standards including ISO 45001, with no transition period. You must determine whether climate change is relevant to your OH&S management system and document that assessment.
Next step
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