ASSP Publishing ISO 45001 Implementation Handbook This Year
The handbook will provide small and medium-sized businesses with detailed guidance on how they can apply the voluntary consensus standard to increase employee safety, reduce workplace risks, and improve business outcomes.
The American Society of Safety Professionals announced that it expects publication of an ISO 45001 implementation handbook by the end of the year as a follow-up to the global occupational safety and health management system standard released in 2018. A working group recently met as part of a five-day ISO Technical Committee (TC-283) meeting in Dallas.
ASSP's release said the handbook will provide small and medium-sized businesses with detailed guidance on how they can apply the voluntary consensus standard to increase employee safety, reduce workplace risks, and improve business outcomes. The ISO 45001 standard can produce an effective safety and health management system for an increasingly interconnected world, regardless of the organization's size, location, supply chains, or type of work.
"It's important for us to improve the usability of this groundbreaking standard," said Barbara Libowitzky, head of the Austrian delegation to ISO TC-283 and a member of the implementation handbook working group. "More companies around the world need a better understanding of ISO 45001 in order to best integrate it to improve workplace safety and their overall business performance."
During the five-year development of ISO 45001 that began in 2013, ASSP served as the administrator of the U.S. technical advisory group. The process included input from more than 75 countries. "Through global teamwork, we are better positioned to amplify the voice of ISO 45001 and move occupational safety and health forward," ASSP President Rixio Medina said at the meeting, which was held March 4-8 at the headquarters of ISN, which sponsored the event. "We need all corporate leaders to recognize that this valuable standard aligns with their business strategies."
ISO TC-283 is responsible for the ongoing development and enhancement of ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, Requirements with Guidance for Use, and the development of supporting standards. The international meeting in Dallas involved more than 80 safety and health delegates from more than 30 countries. The next meeting of ISO TC-283 will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, in October.
"Our committee and the associated working groups are shaping the future of safety management systems, making it easier for companies to create safe work environments," said Martin Cottam, the TC-283 chair.