The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a new standard, ISO 45001 “Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Requirements” to aid in further preventing work-related accidents.
Providing a framework to improve conditions and employee safety in the workplace, the new standard is centred around the idea of reducing possible risks. The standard follows other industry standards such as OHSAS 18001, and its expected full publication is in mid-2018. Regardless of company size and stature, the new ISO 45001 standard aims to fulfil objectives for any type of organisation by:
- Improving the organisation’s ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues.
- Reducing the overall costs of incidents.
- Reducing downtime and the costs of disruption to operations.
- Reducing the cost of insurance premiums.
- Reducing absenteeism and employee turnover rates.
One of the ways in which ISO 45001 aims to address industry problems and improve the Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) field is by its integration with management systems. Today this is possible by implementing technology in the hands of companies, safety inspectors and the workforce – giving them a modern and accurate risk management system.
Safety inspections through the use of mobile devices (tablets /mobile phones) are particularly beneficial, with all data and records able to be streamlined and synchronised with in-depth dynamic analysis. Paperless inspection software is becoming a powerful tool for both the safety inspector and the back-end team. This is highlighted by the important benefit of paperless safety inspection checklists providing quick updates over-the-air using internet connectivity.
Paperless safety applications using mobile devices can include reference material and relevant extracts from documents (such as the ISO 45001), meaning there can be a rapid uptake of new standard and regulations. Implementing digital inspection software and mobile devices alongside ISO 45001 is a sure-fire way to modernising safety inspections.
