Many companies find clause 10 of the ISO 45001 quite mystifying when reviewing their Occupational Health & Safety Management System. While the improvement given in the clause is important, the sub-clauses provided in clause 10 can often be quite confusing. Each sub-clause actually reviews different ways to get better and improve so, let’s take a look at each one of them.

Clause 10.1

This sub-clause necessitates the company to recognize opportunities that help in improving the OHS&MS in order for the standard to work towards achieving its intended results. You must take action in order to ensure these opportunities take place. Thus, the 10.1 clause explains that you must consider the OH&S evaluation and performance analysis results along with other data to recognize opportunities and work towards the ones you wish to achieve.

Completing and making plans to fully implement all these opportunities will significantly help in achieving the OH&S performance better and the way you want.

Clause 10.2

The clause includes all the requirements to take corrective action while an OH&S incident happens like an accident or when there is a process nonconformity. This means addressing that nonconformity by thoroughly investigating the systemic problem’s root cause, and then establishing plans for fixing the problem to avoid its recurrence. The clause ensures that process problems are solved accurately and you address all such hazards that may lead to various future incidents regarding the OH&SMS.

The clause is identical across various ISO management system standards, thus, in case you have an integrated management system; a common corrective action process can be used for process nonconformities.

Clause 10.3

The final clause relates to finding OH&SMS continual improvements for adequacy, suitability and effectiveness. To put in other words, it means that how you can make the OH&SMS better. While clause 10.1 is about improving the performance of OH&S, clause 10.3 is about OH&S process improvement. In other words, how you can improve the processes so that all of them function better being a part of your OHSMS and when you do so, how it makes your workplace culture more effective. Also, how you make the OH&S management process better.

For instance, you may find a new type of material that is a lot less hazardous and can replace the material that is in use currently. Many companies have established ISO 45001 in Jalajil as improvement is the key principle of all ISO management system requirements and seeking ways to make it better is ingrained in almost every process.