Organizations already certified to OHSAS 18001 will have three years to comply with the new ISO 45001 standard, although certification of conformity to ISO 45001 is not a requirement of the standard.

An Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management System provides a framework for an organization to identify and control its health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, comply with legislation and improve operational performance.

ISO 45001 requires an organization to formally document the areas that are covered by their OH&S policy and to keep evidence that it is operating according to the requirements of the standard. It is relevant to any organization that wants to conform to legislation and demonstrate to staff and stakeholders that it has systems in place to minimize and eliminate risks.

Combined with the adverse publicity and subsequent loss of reputation arising from incidents, it makes good commercial sense to formalize any existing health and safety management system and opt for independent third-party certification to the occupational health and safety management systems- ISO45001.