The ISO 45001:2018 international standard was officially published March 2018. The new standard will help organizations to better manage their existing OH&S management systems. If there is no current system in place, adopting the standard can help companies develop and implement an OH&S management system with sound policy and processes to protect its employees.

The intention of ISO 45001 is to improve health, safety and wellness in the workplace for every employee in all organizations worldwide regardless of size, industry or nature of business. The new standard will have other organizational benefits as well, including a positive public reputation as a safe place, improved safety ROI, reduced cost of insurance premiums and reduced employee turnover rates.

The long-awaited ISO 45001 standard, originally proposed in October 2013, was developed under the ISO system with input by experts from more than 70 countries. It will replace OHSAS 18001:2007 by March 11, 2021. At that time, OHSAS 18001 will be officially withdrawn.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental organization that has published over 22 thousand international standards with the strength of experts in 162 national standards bodies.