The international standard ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems offers a workable approach to enhance the health and safety of both employees and other staff members. Any company can use this ISO 45001 standard, regardless of its size, kind, or industry. The ultimate objective of ISO 45001, which is particularly aimed at senior management, is to assist businesses in supplying a healthy and secure working environment for their employees and anybody else who enters the workplace. Controlling elements that can potentially cause harm, disease, or in the worst cases, even death, can help attain this goal. Besides that, ISO 45001 is concerned with eliminating any elements that could be hazardous to the physical or mental health of employees.
The edition of ISO 45001:2018 now includes new specifications for assessing risks and opportunities in the Occupational Health & Safety Management System. So, how does this differ from the earlier OHSAS 18001 standards for evaluating hazards and risks, and are those requirements still there in the standard? In general, the ISO 45001 standard address two distinct categories of risk for both individual processes and the overall OH&SMS, and both assessments are required for a successful OH&SMS.
The Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) must comply with the requirements of ISO 45001:2018, but how does this affect the organization? To create things more complicated, there are two sorts of hazards to consider in the standard; so, is there a best risk management methodology to address this? This evaluation of hazards and the risks associated with them is not new to the OHSMS. So, Let's look at the two kinds of risk management methodologies.
- Hazard identification: Two separate types of risk are discussed in clause 6.1.2, "Hazard identification and assessment of risks and opportunities," which is focused on the OHSMS. The organization must keep in mind the risks and hazards that are present in the organization's processes to comply with the first clause, 6.1.2.1 Hazard identification. This involves taking into account not only normal circumstances but also future emergencies and other elements, such as adjustments to the OHSMS.
- Assessment of OH&S risks: The second kind of risk is discussed in clause 6.1.2.2, "Assessment of OH&S risks and other risks to the OH&S management system," and it includes both hazards-related risks and other risks that are connected to the OHSMS. These additional hazards are brand-new to the OHSMS and could result from the internal and external issues originally described in the standard, from modifications to the law, or the demands of interested parties. Both types of hazards must be specified, proactive rather than reactive applied methodically, and documented.
What is the risk management process according to ISO 45001?
Once both types of risks have been assessed, the standard requires that actions be planned to address the risk (clause 6.1.4 Planning actions). During the evaluation of each risk listed above, a judgment is made on whether or not action is required to decrease or eliminate the risk, and if action is required, there are specific planning requirements for these actions. The following are some components of the process for planning necessary actions:
Plan actions. Planning the steps is necessary if an organization has decided that it must take action to lessen or eliminate the risks.
- How will they proceed?
- What actions are planned?
- When and who will perform them?
Prepare for emergencies. Having strategies in place to handle potential events is important if risk cannot be eliminated by changing what they are doing (such as by getting rid of a risky procedure from the business or removing a hazardous chemical from the operation).
- What emergency plans are necessary to develop?
- What kind of training is required for staff to handle potential situations in the company?
- Who will announce the incidents?
Integrate the actions into the processes. The controls that an organization thinks are necessary as part of its plan must be included in its processes. Any procedure worth completing is worth doing safely, thus controls are ineffective if they are treated as an afterthought by employees rather than as an essential component of the work they are doing.
The hierarchy of controls listed below should be followed by these integrated controls:
- It is best to remove a risk;
- The next best option is to use less dangerous procedures;
- Next, attempt to implement engineering controls;
- Administrative controls and ISO 45001 Awareness training come next.;
- Use personal protective equipment, and that's it.
Making sure that the appropriate risks are being controlled appropriately is the most crucial aspect of risk management. In addition to being a poor use of resources, taking extreme measures to eliminate a very tiny risk while simply using personal protective equipment controls on a much bigger hazard would not lower your company's total risk level. We evaluate the risks to decide how to allocate resources logically to enhance occupational health & safety inside the organization.
Source: https://ohsawareness.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/what-should-be-included-into-a-risk-management-process-according-to-the-iso-45001-2018-standard/
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