Occupational Health and Safety

3.3 ISO 45001: 2018 Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management System Lead
Auditor Course

The ISO 45001 Lead Auditor course trains individuals to audit Occupational Health and Safety
Management Systems (OHSMS) based on the ISO 45001:2018 standard. The course prepares auditors to assess workplace safety, identify hazards, manage risks, and ensure compliance with health and safety
laws.

Course Contents

Clause 1: Scope

• Defines the purpose and applicability of the ISO 45001:2018 standard.
• Specifies the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system (OH&S MS) to enable an organization to provide a safe and healthy workplace by preventing workrelated injury and ill-health, and by proactively improving OH&S performance.

Clause 2: Normative References

• Lists the reference documents necessary for understanding and applying the standard.
• The only normative reference is ISO 45000, which outlines the fundamentals and vocabulary for occupational health and safety management systems.

Clause 3: Terms and Definitions

• Provides definitions for key terms used throughout the standard such as:
  • Hazard: A source of potential harm or a situation with potential for harm.
  • Risk: The likelihood and consequences of the exposure to a hazard.
  • Workers: People performing work under the organization’s control, including employees, contractors, and others who may be affected by the organization’s activities.

Clause 4: Context of the Organization

• 4.1 Understanding the organization and its context: The organization must identify internal and external factors that could affect its ability to achieve the intended outcomes of the OH&S management system.
• 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of workers and other interested parties: The organization must determine the needs and expectations of stakeholders such as workers, regulatory bodies, contractors, and suppliers, regarding health and safety.
• 4.3 Determining the scope of the OH&S management system: Defines the boundaries and applicability of the OH&S MS in relation to the organization’s context and the identified needs and expectations of interested parties.
• 4.4 OH&S management system: The organisation must establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve an OH&S MS in line with its context, ensuring it covers all significant OH&S risks and impacts.

Clause 5: Leadership

• 5.1 Leadership and commitment: Top management must demonstrate leadership and commitment to the OH&S management system by integrating it into the organization’s overall processes and by ensuring adequate resources for implementation and continual improvement.
• 5.2 OH&S policy: Top management must establish, implement, and maintain an OH&S policy that demonstrates commitment to worker health and safety, prevention of work-related injuries and ill-health, and continual improvement.
• 5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities, and authorities: Top management must assign roles, responsibilities, and authorities for managing and overseeing the OH&S MS to ensure that workers are involved in health and safety and that all necessary resources are available.

Clause 6: Planning

• 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities: The organization must assess occupational health and safety risks and opportunities that could affect the ability to achieve the intended outcomes of the OH&S MS, and take actions to address them. This should include both preventative and corrective actions.
• 6.2 OH&S objectives and planning to achieve them: The organization must establish specific, measurable, and time-bound OH&S objectives that are consistent with the OH&S policy. These objectives should address the prevention of injuries and ill-health and should be integrated with the organization’s strategic goals.
  
  • 6.2.1 OH&S objectives: Objectives must support the OH&S policy and be measurable so the organization can track progress and outcomes.
  • 6.2.2 Planning actions: The organization must determine actions to achieve these objectives, allocate responsibilities, establish timelines, and identify resources.
• 6.3 Planning of changes: The organization must ensure that any changes to the OH&S MS (e.g., changes in processes, technology, or workforce) are planned and controlled to ensure that they do not negatively impact worker health and safety.

Clause 7: Support

• 7.1 Resources: The organization must ensure that necessary resources (human, financial, technological) are provided to establish, implement, maintain, and improve the OH&S MS.
• 7.2 Competence: The organization must ensure that workers at all levels are competent based on education, training, experience, or other factors. This includes providing workers with training on health and safety risks.
• 7.3 Awareness: The organization must ensure that workers are aware of the OH&S policy, their roles and responsibilities, and the impact of their actions on health and safety.
• 7.4 Communication: The organization must establish processes for both internal and external communication regarding health and safety matters. This includes informing workers, contractors, and interested parties about health and safety issues.
  • 7.4.1 General: The organisation must define what information will be communicated, to whom, when, and how.
  • 7.4.2 External communication: This includes communication with external stakeholders, such as regulatory bodies or the community, regarding health and safety matters.
• 7.5 Documented information: The organization must ensure that the documentation required for the OH&S MS is controlled. This includes keeping records of health and safety incidents, risk assessments, training records, and other relevant information.

Clause 8: Operation

• 8.1 Operational planning and control: The organisation must establish processes for planning, implementing, and controlling activities that could impact worker health and safety. These activities must be managed to prevent incidents and ensure that OH&S risks are minimised.
• 8.2 Risk assessment and control of risks: The organization must establish processes for assessing OH&S risks in the workplace and implementing controls to eliminate or reduce risks to acceptable levels.
• 8.3 Management of change: The organization must manage changes in the workplace that may introduce new risks or hazards to worker health and safety.
• 8.4 Procurement: The organization must ensure that health and safety considerations are incorporated into procurement decisions, including evaluating suppliers for their ability to meet health and safety requirements.
• 8.5 Contractor management: The organization must ensure that contractors or third parties working on its behalf comply with its OH&S management system and practices.
• 8.6 Emergency preparedness and response: The organization must establish processes for preparing for, responding to, and recovering from potential emergencies that could affect workers’ health and safety, such as accidents, natural disasters, or chemical spills.

Clause 9: Performance Evaluation

• 9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation: The organization must establish processes to monitor and measure its OH&S performance, evaluate the effectiveness of the OH&S MS, and ensure compliance with legal and other requirements.
  • This includes the tracking of incidents, near misses, safety audits, and compliance with safety regulations.
• 9.2 Internal audit: The organization must conduct internal audits at planned intervals to determine if the OH&S MS conforms to the ISO 45001:2018 standard and if it is being effectively implemented and maintained.
• 9.3 Management review: Top management must conduct regular reviews of the OH&S MS to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness, based on inputs like audit results, incident reports, and overall OH&S performance.

Clause 10: Improvement

• 10.1 Nonconformity and corrective action: The organization must establish processes to identify nonconformities (e.g., incidents, near misses, or deficiencies in health and safety controls) and take corrective actions to eliminate their causes.
  • The organisation must also ensure that corrective actions are taken to prevent recurrence.
• 10.2 Continual improvement: The organization must continually improve the OH&S management system by using the results from monitoring, audits, and reviews to increase the effectiveness of the system and improve worker safety performance.

Your Benefits:

• Prepares auditors to lead audits in health and safety-critical environments.
• Enhances the safety culture within organizations, reducing accidents and injuries.
• Provides the tools to identify, mitigate, and manage health and safety risks.
• Improves compliance with health and safety laws and regulations.

 Importance:

• ISO 45001 helps organisations create safer workplaces and reduces the risk of occupational accidents.
• It ensures businesses meet legal health and safety requirements, avoiding penalties.
• Contributes to employee well-being and overall organisational productivity.