The burden of occupational injuries and diseases is significant, both for employers and the wider economy, resulting in losses from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums. To combat the problem, ISO has developed a new standard, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems that will help organisations reduce this burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, all over the world.
The standard was developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts, and follows other generic management system approaches such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. It takes into account other International Standards in this area such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization's ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO's international labour standards and conventions.
