ISO 45001: Occupational Health and Safety Management System

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is an international standard that sets out the requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. It was published in 2018 and replaced the earlier OHSAS 18001 standard, whose certificates are no longer valid. A 2024 amendment added a requirement for the organization to consider whether climate change is a relevant issue for its business.

The standard is intended for organizations that want to systematically protect employees' physical and mental health and prevent injuries and occupational illness, regardless of size and industry. The emphasis is on prevention, not corrective action after an incident.

ISO 45001 and legal obligations in Serbia

The Law on Safety and Health at Work requires every employer to adopt a risk assessment document and implement the prescribed protective measures. ISO 45001 does not replace these obligations but builds on them: it turns them into a system with clear objectives, responsibilities and audits that covers the whole organization, not just high-risk workplaces. A company with a good risk assessment document therefore already has a solid foundation for implementing the standard.

Key requirements of the standard

• Leadership — top management is directly accountable for occupational health and safety, not just the designated health and safety officer.
• Worker consultation and participation — employees take part in identifying hazards, assessing risks and choosing measures, because they know their workplace best.
• Hierarchy of controls — a hazard is first eliminated or substituted with a less dangerous one, then controlled with engineering and administrative measures, and personal protective equipment is the last line of defense.
• Risks and opportunities — planning is based on an assessment of health and safety risks, but also on opportunities to improve working conditions.
• Contractors and external personnel — the system also covers people who are not employed by the company but work at its sites.

Benefits of implementing ISO 45001

• fewer workplace injuries, occupational illnesses and sick days,
• protection for employees, as well as visitors and contractors at your sites,
• the ability to eliminate hazards in time, before they lead to an incident,
• work processes aligned with legal regulations and a lower risk of fines,
• better terms from insurers and better relations with inspectors,
• higher employee productivity and motivation,
• a better company reputation among customers, investors and future employees,
• new opportunities to work with large, especially international, companies that require OH&S certification from their suppliers.

What implementing ISO 45001 looks like

1. Gap analysis — we compare how the company currently manages occupational health and safety with the requirements of the standard, starting from the existing risk assessment document.
2. Hazards and risks — we identify hazards by process and workplace, assess risk levels and list the legal obligations the company must meet.
3. Plan and documentation — we define the occupational health and safety policy and objectives, responsibilities, control measures and emergency preparedness, tailored to the way you work.
4. Rollout and training — employees start following the new procedures, and we train them and monitor how the system works in practice.
5. Internal audit and management review — we check whether the system works as intended and resolve nonconformities, and management evaluates the results and decides on improvements.
6. Certification audit — an accredited certification body carries out a two-stage audit. We are with you throughout the audit and help you address any findings.

For most companies the whole process takes two to three months, depending on the size of the company, the type of risks and existing documentation. If you already have ISO 9001 or ISO 14001, ISO 45001 goes faster, because the standards share the same structure and can share documentation.

If you are interested in implementing an ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management system in your company, you can request a quote or contact us by phone or by email at office@eqsint.com.