What is ISO 45001?

Our certification under ISO 45001 demonstrates our commitment to safety in the workplace.

What is ISO?

ISO certifications are awards given to organisations that meet international standards of best practice. They cover key areas such as quality management, information security, the environment and health and safety, and many more besides.

ISO standards are all about doing things the right way, every time. They ensure consistency and set minimum requirements in a range of areas across a business’s processes. That makes the business more efficient and improves the quality of its services and products, and gives its clients the reassurance of a robust third-party certification.

Businesses attain ISO certifications by developing their own policies and procedures in a particular area. Then, an external auditor visits to inspect their work and confirm that they meet the requirements of a standard, and they are awarded their certification. After that, the firm must undergo a triennial re-certification audit to confirm that they’re still compliant, during which they must show that they’re making continuous improvements.

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 details the requirements for an Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) management system. It’s recognised around the world as a sign that an organisation is committed to keeping its people safe at work.

ISO 45001 was originally developed by a committee of experts to bring together several existing OH&S standards, including OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions.

ISO 45001 is all about maintaining a safe and healthy workplace by preventing work-related injury and ill-health. Our ISO 45001 policies set out how we’ll manage all the health and safety risks in our own premises, to ensure all our team members are safe while they’re at work.

To gain ISO 45001 certification, we had to identify all the internal and external issues that might affect our OH&S management system. We had to understand the strategic context for the system, including how it meets the needs of everyone involved and the role of senior management.

ISO 45001 doesn’t cover product safety, property damage or environmental impacts, beyond the risks to our employees and other relevant parties. (Product quality is covered under ISO 9001, while ISO 14001 relates to the environment.)

The benefits of ISO 45001

For us at Computer Service Centre, the main benefit of ISO 45001 is simply keeping everyone safe. It helps us prevent accidents at work, which allows us to keep staff absences to a minimum and maintain our high standards of services. It also ensures that we comply with all the relevant legislation on health and safety in the workplace.

Our customers benefit from ISO 45001 too. Many of them appreciate our commitment to social responsibility because they hold similar values themselves. They like the reassurance that we have safe working practices – particularly when we’re working away from our premises, potentially in isolated and dangerous environments such as offshore oil platforms. Since we have already been audited by a third party, there’s no need for customers to spend resources on auditing us themselves.

How we use ISO 45001

Operating within ISO 45001 helps us promote a positive culture towards health and safety. A big part of that is communication. For example, we make sure everyone understands that health and safety isn’t just a job for one person – it’s everyone’s responsibility. 

We encourage the reporting of ‘near misses’. These are accidents that ‘nearly’ happened – incidents that didn’t actually result in anyone being hurt or property damage but could do in the future. By noticing and recording new misses, we can take every opportunity to prevent serious accidents.

Overall, ISO 45001 helps us find ways to improve so we can keep our workplaces healthy, happy and safe, and ultimately deliver better service to our customers too.

Do you share our commitment to OH&S?

If you’d like to work with an IT service provider who has a strong commitment to workplace safety, get in touch with us on 01603 431200 or email solutions@computerservicecentre.com.

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