ISO 45001: 2018 is here!

The ISO 45001 occupational health and safety standard, published in March 2018, replaces OHSAS 18001. Companies have 3 years to make the transition, until March 12, 2021.

Marie Faucon
EHS Consultant
Update : 
12.09.2025
Publication: 
10.04.2018
Contents
Example H2
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After five years of work,ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems was published on March 12, 2018. The French version is already available.

A look back at a long and difficult adoption process

The introduction of an international standard for occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems has been discussed on numerous occasions by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), notably in 2000 and 2007. It wasn't until June 2013, however, that ISO's member national standards bodies voted in principle to develop an international OHS standard, named ISO 45001.

As with all ISO standards, a project committee made up of experts in the field of OHS is set up. This committee, ISO/PC 283, then meets regularly to prepare and validate the various versions of the future standard.

The DIS version is submitted to public inquiry in the various countries and is voted down in May 2016. After around 3,000 comments were taken into account, a DIS 2 was submitted for public inquiry in the summer of 2017. After consideration of almost 1,600 comments, the FDIS version was approved in November 2017, and the standard was published in its final version on March 12, 2018.

France has always been opposed to international standardization of occupational health and safety, on the grounds that a standard would compete with national regulations, that OHS would fall within the scope of industrial relations, and that the development of international standards would risk leading to certification, which would entail additional costs with no added value.

How do you compare with other OHS standards?

The development of standards for OHS began with the publication of BS 8800 in 1996, a guide providing guidance and recommendations that could not be used for certification purposes. ISO having concluded at the time that the development of an international OHS standard was not appropriate, a working group of some fifteen organizations from different countries was set up by the British Standards Institute (BSI) in the late 1990s, and published the OHSAS 18001 specification in 1999 and its OHSAS 18002 guidelines in 2000.

Other standards have followed, with some thirty OHS standards listed around the world, with two main families cohabiting:

  • Generic" standards such as OHSAS 18001, ILO OSH 2001, BS 8800, etc.
  • Sector or local standards such as MASE, VCA, etc.

OHSAS 18001 was revised in July 2007 to become BS OHSAS 18001: 2007, and has become the benchmark for OHS management systems, with implementation in over 127 countries and certification of some 16,000 companies.

The 2018 ISO 45001 retains requirements from the 2007 OHSAS 18001:

  • Principle of continuous improvement according to PDCA, "Plan, Do, Assess, Improve",
  • Risk assessment process to identify and prioritize OHS risks,
  • SST risk prevention imperatives,
  • Commitment to compliance with legal and other requirements, with periodic assessment obligation,
  • Freedom for the organization to define its objectives and performance levels.

Firstly, ISO 45001 is structured according to the new HLS ("High Level Structure") format now imposed by ISO for all management system standards (NSM), whatever their field of application (Quality, Energy, Information Security...). This harmonized format was defined in 2012 as part of the "Annex SL" attached to the ISO/IEC directives, which set out the rules and procedures to be followed when drafting international standards.

In addition to the HLS structure, this SL appendix contains basic terms and definitions (e.g. Organization, Stakeholder, Policy, Objective, Competence, Compliance), as well as common requirement wordings (e.g. "Management shall ensure that responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles are assigned and communicated to all levels within the organization"), to be used in all NSMs. The aim is to encourage the implementation of integrated management systems.

ISO 45001: How long does it take to adapt your management system?

ISO 45001 will replace OHSAS 18001, with the transition rules set by the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) (see Requirements for the Migration to ISO 45001: 2018 from OHSAS 18001: 2007, published January 18, 2018). With a three-year transition period, organizations have until March 12, 2021 to have their management system certified to the new standard.

In addition, any organization can continue to apply for certification of its occupational health and safety management system, in line with the ILO-OSH 2001 guidelines drawn up by the ILO (International Labour Office).

ISO 45001: 2018 is therefore intended for use by organizations wishing to manage their OHS responsibilities in a systematic way, and contributes to the social pillar of sustainable development.

As a reminder, ISO 26000: 2010, the ISO standard for corporate social responsibility, was confirmed in December 2017; in fact, a revision will probably not be initiated until 2020 at the earliest, and a new version will therefore not be available until 2023.

Initial feedback one year after publication.

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