Every day, manufactory workers are in constant threat of work-related accidents and injuries. To prevent any of it occurring, it is essential for companies to establish a safety culture.
According to Indeed, a safety culture refers to “positive attitudes toward keeping employees safe while they do their job”. Safety culture is especially important to be encouraged and developed within work environments that have a high safety and health hazards rate, such as in paper manufacturing.
Workplace safety should be maintained adequately through a program that acknowledges both parties’ rights and responsibilities and establishes responses that effectively manage risks, and it could only be achieved through solid teamwork between the management and the employees.
To get the management or leaders involved in a safety program, it is necessary to get them to recognize the value of safety for company improvement. Proper health and safety management could boost overall business performance, and leaders could position it as a tool to achieve greater success for the company.
It is also crucial for leaders to take an active role in encouraging workplace safety through directly participating in workplace inspections and regular safety meetings, holding safety trainings, maintaining open communication on workplace health and safety with employees, as well as obtaining ISO certifications, such as ISO 45001:2018.
What is ISO 45001:2018?
ISO 45001:2018 is an international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It aims to drive actions within an organization or a company to improve workplace health and safety and prevent workplace accidents. It is relevant and could be applied in various types of organization or company, with requirements that are to be integrated with the applicable laws.
ISO 45001:2018 replaced OHSAS 18001, which was effectively drawn on March 12, 2018. Essentially, the two standards are similar as they use the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” model which provides a work frame to device risk management strategies. Nonetheless, in addition to it has integrated OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001:2018 has greater focus on leadership responsibility and the importance of employee participation, more comprehensive and modern, and more admissible. Moreover, it is designed to be compatible with other ISO standards, especially the ones that have implemented Annex SL, such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.
ISO 45001:2018 is comprised of 10 clauses:
Scope
Normative references
Terms and definitions
Context of the organization
Leadership
Planning
Support
Operation
Performance evaluation
Improvement
ISO 45001:2018 does not only aim to create a healthy and safe workplace, but also brings some benefits such as:
1. Improve the quality of OHS management systematically and measurably
ISO 45001:2018 provides the tools to prevent injuries and protect employees from harm. The possibility of operational disturbances that threaten employees’ safety and health could be reduced.
2. Increase employee effectiveness and productivity
Injured workers might not be able to return to work until their condition improves. As a result, productivity suffers, and time is lost from hiring and training replacements. ISO 45001:2018 could prevent all that.
3. Become more proactive in OHS
Unlike OHSAS 18001 that merely focuses on controlling known hazards, ISO 45001:2018 drives companies to proactively identify situations and sources that are potentially harmful to employees.
4. Boost customer and stakeholder confidence
Compliance with ISO 45001:2018 is a way to demonstrate a company’s safety commitment and compliance with law to customers and stakeholders. Subsequently, they would trust the company and are more likely to do business with it.
5. Gain competitive advantage
Companies that gain ISO certifications are viewed more favorably in several countries, giving the business that adopts it an advantage in the international market.
ISO 45001:2018 systematically and comprehensively approaches workplace health and safety. All departments become points of interest, thus it could aid leaders in making the right decisions regarding employees’ health and safety in the workplace.
Now, how did BMJ manage to achieve ISO 45001:2018 certification?
BMJ’s ISO 45001:2018 Journey
Occupational health and safety is a top priority at BMJ. To show our commitment, we took all the steps needed and followed the ISO 45001:2018 certification process from the beginning until the end.
As mentioned above, ISO 45001:2018 is a derivative of OHSAS 18001. During the migration, the first step that we took was making adjustments for the occupational health and safety policy at BMJ, such as on safety routines that must be carried out regularly. We also performed Risk Assessment, Risk Management, and Risk Opportunity and adapted them with the new standard.
Next, ahead of certification, BODs and relevant PICs were trained and given consultation sessions on ISO 45001:2018 by professional consultants. These consultants provided several teaching systems, such as GAP Analysis to identify the gaps in the OHS management system implemented by the company and what needs to be met, as well as special training. They also aided in the ISO 45001:2018 renewal registration until BMJ was certified.
We prepared ourselves before BMJ obtained the certification. Internal preparations and pre-audit with the certification party were done. We fixed what needed to be fixed. We were then eligible for the certification when all steps have been done and all requirements have been met.
By being proactive about safety, BMJ establishes a safe and healthy workplace for all of our employees. We are able to mitigate hazards and gain the benefits from a safe working environment. Most importantly, we are delighted to see our employees work their best in a space with little to zero harm.
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