As one of the first international standard, ISO 45001 is known as the milestone. It deals with the health and safety of employees at the workplace and provides a clear and single framework for all companies who wish to improvise their OH&S performance.

Since ISO 45001 draws on the former OH&S benchmark, i.e. OHSAS 18001, it is a distinct and new standard and not any updated or revised version. Therefore, organizations need to revisit and change their existing work practices and thinking to maintain organizational compliance.

Understanding the difference between ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001

Well, both the standard projecting health and safety of employees have many distinctions. However, the main difference is that ISO 45001 projects and concentrates on improved interaction between a company and its business environment. On the other hand, OHSAS 18001 is mainly focused on controlling and managing OH&S hazards, among other internal issues.

In addition to that, both the standards diverge in various other ways too. Let’s take a look;

• ISO 45001 is mainly process-based whereas, OHSAS 18001 is usually procedure-based
• OHSAS 18001 Is not dynamic in terms of all clauses whereas, ISO 45001 is dynamic
• OHSAS 18001 particularly deals with risk, whereas, ISO 45001 takes into account both opportunities and risks
• ISO 45001 incorporates the views of all interested parties whereas, OHSAS 18001 doesn’t

All these points reflect a significant shift in the manner the management of health and safety is now perceived. Also, OH&S is not treated as some ‘stand-alone’ but is now viewed within the defined perspective of establishing and running a sustainable and sound organization.

With that being said, it is apparent that both the standards significantly differ in their approach. Indeed, a management system that is established as per the OHSAS 18001 provides a stable platform to migrate to ISO 45001 completely.

With that, it is also essential to ensure that several steps need to be taken in order to prepare the migration ground. For this, the best approach is to follow the given sequence;

• Perform a thorough analysis of all the interested parties, including organizations or individuals who may affect the organization’s activities. This also includes internal and external areas that can impact the organization’s business
• Establish a complete scope of the system, considering what the management system is likely to achieve
• Lastly, use this information for establishing all processes, the risk assessment and majorly to decide on the key performance indicators for such procedures.

Hence, the approach is used by many renowned organizations, including companies practicing ISO 45001 in Dammam. While the method is a bit different, the primary tools remain the same.