ISO 45001 – Definition, requirements and certification

What is ISO 45001 – a clear explanation

ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems. It helps your organisation create safe, healthy workplaces. The standard helps prevent work-related injuries and illnesses and continually improve OHS performance. Like ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, ISO 45001 addresses not just individual protective measures but the entire system behind them. It focuses on responsibilities, processes, objectives, worker participation, monitoring and improvement.

Important: ISO 45001 is a management system standard, not a standard that sets workplace OHS rules. These remain governed by legislation, regulations and the rules issued by statutory accident insurance institutions. The ISO 45001 standard complements this framework.

Who does the ISO 45001 standard apply to?

The standard applies to organisations of all sizes, types and industries. It covers OHS risks (occupational health and safety) within the organisation’s sphere of influence. It takes into account the organisation’s context as well as the needs and expectations of workers and other interested parties.

What are the specific objectives of the ISO 45001 standard?

The standard’s primary objective is to provide a framework for managing risks and opportunities in occupational health and safety. The main intended outcomes are:

• Prevent work-related injuries and illnesses
• Provide safe, healthy workplaces
• Continually improve occupational health and safety
• Fulfil legal obligations and other requirements
• Achieve the defined occupational health and safety objectives

What are the key requirements of ISO 45001?

The key requirements of ISO 45001 are set out in clauses 4 to 10. They cover the context of the organisation, along with leadership and worker participation, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. These clauses explain how to establish an occupational health and safety management system, embed it in day-to-day operations, review it regularly and continually improve it. Clauses 1 to 3 of ISO 45001 cover the introduction, scope and terminology.

Clauses 4 to 10 of ISO 45001– at a glance

Clause 4 – Context of the organisation:

• The organisation must understand its internal and external context and the expectations of relevant interested parties.
• You must define the scope of the occupational health and safety management system and establish the necessary processes.

Clause 5 – Leadership and worker participation:

• Top management is responsible for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses and providing safe, healthy workplaces.
• You must establish an OHS policy and objectives, integrate them into business processes, provide the necessary resources, consult workers and actively involve them. Appropriate processes must be established and maintained to support this.

Clause 6 – Planning:

• You must identify risks and opportunities that are relevant to the intended outcomes of your occupational health and safety management system.
• This focuses in particular on OHS risks, OHS opportunities, legal obligations and hazards, which you must identify proactively and on an ongoing basis.

Clause 7 – Support:

• Your organisation must determine which resources it needs and provide them.
• The standard requires competence, awareness, structured communication and documented information so that workers can contribute to continual improvement.

Clause 8 – Operation:

• You must plan, implement and control occupational health and safety measures. For example, you should eliminate hazards, reduce risks and prepare for emergencies.
• It is important to consider procurement, materials and external providers so that you can implement protective measures effectively in your day-to-day operations.

Clause 9 – Performance evaluation:

• Your company must monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate its occupational health and safety management system. This means evaluating compliance, conducting internal audits and regularly reviewing the effectiveness of your processes.
• The standard makes it clear: An OHS management system is only effective if you regularly verify its performance rather than simply assume it is working.

Clause 10 – Improvement:

• You must respond to incidents and nonconformities, take corrective action and continually improve your OHS management system.
• This involves responding to problems, identifying their causes, taking appropriate action and improving the system in a lasting way.

Why is ISO 45001 relevant to you?

ISO 45001 matters to your company because it provides an internationally recognised framework for systematically managing occupational health and safety (OHS). It also helps your company manage hazards and risks transparently, keep track of legal requirements and continually improve occupational health and safety.

What benefits does ISO 45001 certification offer your company?

Certification to ISO 45001 not only brings structure to occupational health and safety but also demonstrates this to others. It shows workers, customers and other stakeholders that health and safety at work are managed systematically.

It also helps your company manage hazards and risks transparently, keep better track of legal requirements and continually improve occupational health and safety processes.

Important: A certificate alone does not improve occupational health and safety. The standard itself makes clear that adopting it does not automatically guarantee the prevention of injuries and illnesses or the provision of safe, healthy workplaces. The real value comes from effective implementation in day-to-day operations.

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ISO 45001 certification offers these benefits:

• ISO 45001 certification builds trust with customers, business partners and other stakeholders.
• ISO 45001 certification strengthens your credibility and reputation in occupational health and safety.
• You can address legal requirements more systematically and make your compliance processes more robust.
• ISO 45001 certification helps you continually improve occupational health and safety in your company.
• Certification can serve as relevant evidence in a competitive environment, for example when dealing with customers and clients or participating in tenders.
• ISO 45001 certification helps you achieve greater legal certainty and better assess liability risks.

Revision of ISO 45001

ISO 45001 has been the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems since 2018. It is now being revised to better reflect current developments in the world of work. The first official draft of ISO 45001:2027 – the draft international standard (DIS) – has been available since June 2026. The revision and publication of the revised standard are expected in 2027. Companies are then likely to have a transition period of around three years.

The key changes at a glance:

• Mental health is receiving greater attention.
• Psychosocial factors such as stress, work pressure and conflict are to be given greater consideration.
• Hybrid and remote work are addressed more comprehensively in the standard.
• Climate-related risks are gaining importance, with climate change increasingly recognised as an occupational health and safety issue.
• Higher expectations are placed on top management.
• The effects of new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are given greater consideration.

ISO 45001 certification – The process

The standard does not prescribe an official certification process. In practice, however, the path to ISO 45001 certification usually involves several consecutive steps. First, you define the framework and assess your starting point. You then assign responsibilities, assess hazards and risks, and put measures into practice. Before seeking external certification, your company should conduct an internal audit to assess the effectiveness of its occupational health and safety management system.

As with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, the path to ISO 45001 certification can be summarised in five key steps:

1. Define the framework and scope

First, determine which areas, locations and activities the OHS management system will cover. You must also consider the organisation’s context, working conditions and the expectations of workers and other interested parties.

2. Establish responsibilities and worker participation

Next, define leadership, roles, responsibilities and OHS objectives. Top management must actively support the system and integrate it into business processes.

3. Assess hazards and risks

Then systematically identify and assess hazards, risks, opportunities and legal requirements.

4. Implement measures in day-to-day operations

Embed the system in everyday work with appropriate resources, clear communication, documented information and effective protective measures.

5. Review effectiveness and obtain certification

Before certification, you must check that your system works effectively, for example through monitoring, internal audits and management reviews. An external audit by a certification body then follows.

In summary: ISO 45001 software – in leadity

An ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management system cannot rely on folders and individual files alone. It only works when measures, responsibilities and evidence come together in day-to-day operations. For many companies, this can quickly become difficult to manage. This is especially true when information is stored in different places and teams need extensive coordination to understand the current status.

With leadity, you can manage the complex requirements of the ISO standard in a structured way, all in one place. The software brings requirements, measures, responsibilities and evidence together in one place. This gives you a structured, transparent way to manage your day-to-day ISO activities. You can see at a glance which topics are already covered, where gaps remain and which measures are due next.

This is particularly important for ISO 45001: The standard requires more than documented processes. It calls for occupational health and safety practices that companies effectively implement, review and improve. leadity helps you put this into practice in day-to-day operations – with transparency for your teams, efficient audit preparation and reliable processes in ongoing operations.