Management systems are the backbone of exceptional health and safety, providing organizations with a structured framework to systematically identify, assess, and control workplace risks. For years, companies have relied solely on industry standards to determine how to best manage onsite safety issues, demonstrating a commitment to employee well-being. However, existing standards that help organizations manage occupational health and safety, such as ISO 45001, are often not enough to meet the unique needs of an organization.
Recent studies show that these have a positive impact on processes and operational performance.
Harvard Business School (HBS) recently analyzed propriety certification data from some of the world’s largest certification companies and injury microdata from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to answer this question: do management system standards and certification really improve performance? The outcome is astonishing. Companies that proactively adopted the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001) – before its formal accreditation – and subsequently migrated to ISO 45001:2018, saw a 20% decline in overall injury and illness rates. This provides empirical evidence that early adoption of a safety management system implementation leads to greater and improved operational performance.
In a more recent study of 26,000 companies with ISO 45001 certification, an average reduction of 22.6% in the frequency of workplace accidents was noted. In addition, the severity of these accidents, measured by the impact of serious and fatal incidents on the overall number of accidents, was reduced by 29.2%.
So how do you expand your safety management system beyond the ISO 45001 standard?
The key is maintaining the core principles of standardization that drive safety improvement, while tailoring the implementation to meet your business goals.
For example, while you must have a policy to train employees according to the standard, you can educate beyond just the rules to make a bigger impact. Taking training beyond the basic requirements of the standard allows organizations to develop a stronger safety culture and achieve better outcomes.
Another crucial element is ensuring suppliers are following the same procedures and meeting your brand expectations and values. When your entire supply chain is aligned with your safety philosophy, you create a consistent approach that reinforces your commitment to workplace safety across all operations.
A Plan-Do-Check-Act risk-based model combined with elements such as robust risk and opportunities analysis, management leadership engagement, worker training and communication, and a systematic approach for continuous improvement, change management and performance measurement provide the framework for effective implementation and, ultimately, safer workplaces.
Safer working environments result in:
- Better employee recruitment, retention, and satisfaction.
- Less employee downtime.
- Reduced workers' compensation claims and insurance premiums.
- Less time spent retraining personnel and repairing damaged equipment because of an accidental incident.
Workers can proactively avoid and prevent incidents from occurring when safety best practices are applied across all departments and facilities within an organization. Through job hazard analysis and risk assessments, safety risks will vastly decrease, allowing for more time to be spent on areas that have the highest threats.
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