Accel Safety
ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) management systems. Like other ISO management system standards it has ten clauses, and the requirements you will be audited against are in clauses 4 to 10. This checklist turns them into ten practical steps.
1. Start with a gap analysis
Compare what you do today with each clause. List what already exists (procedures, registers, training records) and what is missing. This becomes your project plan.
2. Define scope and context (clause 4)
Decide which sites and activities the system covers. Record the internal and external issues that affect safety, and the needs of interested parties such as workers, contractors, buyers and regulators.
3. Secure leadership and write the policy (clause 5)
Top management must own the system. Publish an OH&S policy, assign roles and responsibilities, and make sure leaders visibly take part in reviews and site walks.
4. Build worker consultation and participation (clause 5.4)
ISO 45001 puts strong weight on involving non-managerial workers. Safety committees, toolbox talks and easy hazard reporting all provide evidence here.
5. Identify hazards and assess risks (clause 6.1)
Walk every area and task. Record hazards, rate the risks, and agree controls using the hierarchy of controls: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, then protect.
6. Register legal and other requirements (clause 6.1.3)
List the laws, regulations and buyer requirements that apply, who is responsible for each, and how you check compliance.
7. Competence, training and awareness (clause 7)
Build a training matrix showing who needs what training, who has had it and when refreshers are due. Keep controlled documents up to date and easy to find.
8. Put operational controls in place (clause 8)
Implement safe systems of work, permits to work, contractor and visitor control, management of change and emergency preparedness, including regular drills (clause 8.2; our guide to emergency preparedness across many plants shows how to run it at group level). Clause 8.1.4.2 covers contractors; our guide to contractor safety management across many sites turns it into a practical process.
9. Monitor, measure and audit (clause 9)
Run inspections, track KPIs such as near-miss reporting and lost days, and carry out internal audits against every clause before the certification body does. Clause 9.2 asks for an audit programme with a set frequency, methods, responsibilities, consultation, planning and reporting; audits must be objective and impartial, so people should not audit their own work. Report results to the managers concerned and the relevant results to workers and their representatives, and retain the audit records as evidence. Running audits across several sites? See our guide to the ISO 45001 internal audit programme for multi-site groups.
10. Improve, review and go for certification (clauses 9.3 and 10)
Investigate incidents and nonconformities, track corrective actions until they are closed and effective, hold a management review, then book your stage 1 and stage 2 audits with an accredited certification body.
Frequently asked questions
How long does ISO 45001 implementation take?
It depends on the size of the organization, the number of sites and what already exists. The gap analysis in step 1 is the best basis for a realistic plan. Leave time for internal audits (clause 9.2) and a management review (clause 9.3) before you book the certification audit.
Do we need an internal audit before the certification audit?
Clause 9.2 requires internal audits at planned intervals, so the certification audit will look for them. For multi-site certification, IAF MD 1:2023 requires every site to be in the internal audit programme, and certification bodies such as GUT CERT ask for the full internal audit at all sites and the management review before the initial certification audit.
Who can carry out ISO 45001 internal audits?
Trained internal staff or external auditors, as long as the audit is objective and impartial. In practice, people should not audit their own area; groups often use auditors from other sites.
Keeping it all in one place
The hardest part of ISO 45001 is not writing procedures, it is keeping the evidence current across every site. AccelSafety's ISO 45001 software groups your daily HSE work by clause, so you can see where evidence is thin long before the auditor arrives. Book a free demo to see it. Choosing a system for many certified sites? Use our enterprise EHS software RFP checklist.