ISO 45001 Certification
ISO 45001 sets the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system that reduces risk to workers.
- Standard
- ISO 45001:2018
- Indicative timeline
- 8-14 weeks, depending on scope and readiness
- Discipline
- ISO Standards
- Assessment type
- Independent third-party assessment
The standard
Overview
ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It requires hazard identification, assessment of health and safety risks and opportunities, and controls applied through the hierarchy of controls. It places particular weight on worker participation and consultation, on the duties of top management, and on the control of contractors, procurement and outsourced work.
Certification shows that an independent assessor has examined the arrangements and found them in use rather than only written down. Principal contractors, clients and insurers ask for it as evidence of competent safety management. In the UK it sits alongside duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it; it does not replace them.
UKCert reviews your risk assessments, legal register and consultation arrangements first, then audits the system where the work happens. Speaking to workers and their representatives is a required part of the audit.
Who this is for
- Construction contractors and subcontractors working on managed sites
- Manufacturers with machinery, hazardous substances or manual handling risk
- Logistics, warehousing and transport operators
- Facilities, maintenance and engineering service providers
- Organisations asked to evidence safety management at prequalification
What it gives you
Why organisations certify
What a certified ISO 45001:2018 assessment gives you once the certificate is issued.
Fewer incidents
Systematic hazard identification and the hierarchy of controls address causes rather than symptoms, which is what reduces injuries, lost time and repeat events.
Worker participation
The standard requires consultation with workers and, where they exist, their representatives, so controls are designed with the people who face the hazard.
Legal duties mapped
Applicable regulations, approved codes of practice and permits are identified, assigned and evaluated, which supports the duty to manage health and safety under UK law.
Contractor control
Procurement, contractor selection and shared site arrangements are treated as part of the system, closing the gap where responsibility between employers is often unclear.
Prequalification evidence
Client prequalification and principal contractor vetting routinely ask how safety is managed. Certification answers with an audited system and the records behind it.
Insurer and board confidence
Documented risk assessment, incident investigation and management review give insurers and directors a clear view of how safety risk is being controlled.
Scope
What the assessment covers
The areas an assessor works through. Your final scope is confirmed in writing before any audit is booked.
- Hazard identification and OH&S risk assessment
- Hierarchy of controls applied to significant risks
- Worker consultation and participation arrangements
- Legal and other requirements register
- Safe systems of work and permit to work controls
- Contractor, procurement and outsourcing controls
- Incident reporting, investigation and corrective action
- Emergency preparedness, response and drills
How it runs
The assessment, stage by stage
From first enquiry to certificate. Each stage is agreed with you before it starts.
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Scope and quotation
We confirm activities, sites, worker numbers including agency and subcontract labour, and shift patterns. Risk level and headcount determine audit duration, and the quotation follows from that.
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Gap review
An optional review of risk assessments, the legal register, consultation arrangements and incident records against the standard, identifying what needs work before formal assessment begins.
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Stage 1 assessment
We examine scope, the hazard identification method, the legal register, objectives and mandatory records, and confirm that internal audit and management review have taken place.
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Stage 2 assessment
An audit at the workface. We observe work in progress, examine permits and controls, and interview workers and their representatives about consultation, training and how concerns are raised.
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Certification decision
Findings are closed with corrective action and evidence. Anything indicating immediate risk to workers must be dealt with first. An independent reviewer then takes the certification decision.
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Surveillance and renewal
Surveillance audits during the three-year cycle examine incidents, investigations, consultation, changes to activities and legal updates, with observation on site each time. Recertification follows before expiry.
Questions
ISO 45001:2018 — frequently asked
Anything here that does not cover your situation, put it to an assessor rather than guessing at it.
Same discipline
Other schemes in ISO Standards
Certifying against more than one standard?
Where you hold several standards, shared clauses are assessed once in a combined visit rather than as separate audits. Talk it through with an assessor before you decide what ISO 45001:2018 should sit alongside.