.ISO 45001 is a new Occupational Health and Safety Management standard that will become the accepted international benchmark, replacing OHSAS 18001.

It will pose challenges to both organisations who are looking to transition from the existing OHSAS 18001 standard or who are adopting the new criteria from scratch. Ignoring the new standard may be possible in the short term, but as it becomes established, a failure to adhere to its principles could be a corporate governance red flag signalling that the Health & Safety of workers is not being taken seriously. Ignoring it could also jeopardise contracts where the customer specifies compliance.

Although not mandatory, it’s estimated that over 100,000 companies across the globe will have adopted the standard in the first year. This means top management in organisations will be under pressure to step up to the challenge.