OHSAS 18001

OHSAS 18001 has been withdrawn and replaced by ISO 45001

OHSAS 18001 has been replaced by ISO 45001 the new international standard for occupational health and safety management. Organizations who are already certified to OHSAS 18001 will need to migrate to ISO 45001 by the end of March 2021. If COVID-19 has disrupted your business and you have not been able to migrate, you now have an extra 6 months to complete your migration (until the end of September 2021).

Much of the DNA from HSAS 18001 can be found in ISO 45001, so you'll recognize the principles but many enhancements are delivered in ISO 45001 including stronger leadership, better worker involvement and a focus on health, particularly mental health.

What am I missing if I don’t implement ISO 45001?

By not implementing ISO 45001 you are missing out some important opportunities and benefits including:

bidding on contracts, especially internationally
encouraging shareholder investment, as ISO 45001 demonstrates commitment to social sustainability (as part of ESG benchmarking)
demonstrating commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
attracting and retaining talent
enhancing workplace health and well-being
enhancing your organizations reputation
and of course, providing a safe and healthy workplace free from injury and disease

How do I prepare for migration?

It is important that you start preparing for migration now; leaving it until the last minute will put your certification at risk. Completing a gap assessment will tell what you need to prioritize.

Then you need to ensure that you have had the right training. Finally, you have to show that you have implemented ISO 45001 for at least 3 months before your migration audit and completed internal audits and a management review.

You'll also need time after the migration audit to implement any corrective actions before a recommendation for certification can be given. Remember to consider festive holidays and that winter is peak audit season, so securing audit dates at the last minute may not be possible.