New Global Workplace Safety Standard, ISO 45001, is Approved for Publication
Clarion Safety Systems, a member of the U.S. technical advisory group to ISO 45001, discusses the timing and impact of the new occupational health and safety management systems standard
MILFORD, PA. - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 - Clarion Safety Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of safety signs and safety labels, is pleased to share that ISO 45001 Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems has been approved for publication and is expected to publish in March 2018.
ISO 45001, the first global standard for occupational health and safety management systems, will give organizations in the U.S. and around the world a structure to plan, support, implement and evaluate their efforts to eliminate or reduce risks to workers. The standard has been in development by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for nearly five years, and is the result of a collaboration by more than 75 countries. According to ISO, nearly 95 percent of its members recently voted in favor of the standard, greatly surpassing the two-thirds majority needed for approval to publish.
“ISO 45001 is one of the most significant developments in workplace safety over the past 50 years, presenting an opportunity to move the needle on reducing occupational safety and health risks. The goal was to create a widely accepted standard that can produce a highly effective safety and health management system for an increasingly interconnected world, regardless of an organization’s size, location, supply chains or nature of work. It becomes a minimum standard of practice, and a good one at that,” said Vic Toy, the chair of the U.S. technical advisory group (TAG) for ISO 45001, in a recent statement.
Clarion is an active member of the U.S. TAG to ISO 45001, joining a number of occupational safety and health experts in their efforts to align the standard with a combination of other safety and health management systems – such as ANSI/ASSE Z10, OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, and guidelines from the International Labor Organization, as well as national standards – in order for organizations to be able to efficiently integrate ISO 45001 requirements into their existing management systems.
Both Clarion’s founder, Geoffrey Peckham, and Clarion’s Director of Standards Compliance, Angela Lambert, have made significant contributions to preparing U.S. TAG positions for each draft of ISO 45001. This is the feedback that was then reviewed at the international level following the standard’s various drafts, along with positions from the other member countries, in order to inform the final standard.
“We’re extremely proud to have been a part of these efforts to develop and finalize ISO 45001. It’s very gratifying to have worked together with our colleagues in workplace safety to support our shared goal: better management of risks in order to have safer and healthier workplaces across the world,” says Lambert.
ISO 45001 is set to replace OHSAS 18001, with a three-year transition period for registrants. As companies look to implement processes to continually improve workplace safety in line with ISO 45001 OH&S management system objectives, the ability to accurately communicate residual risks to workers, subcontractors and guests becomes critically important. Clarion specializes in providing cutting-edge facility safety communication through a guided, streamlined application of standards experience.
“Signage isn’t just a last line of defense. It can help to meet and exceed compliance requirements, risk objectives, and safety goals. We stand ready as a resource for today’s safety professionals to listen to their needs, and help identify their visual safety communication challenges and gaps. The end result is a facility safety system that’s up-to-date with today’s risk communication technology and ANSI/ISO best practices – for a more productive, safer work environment,” says Derek Eversdyke, Director of Facility Safety Products at Clarion.
For more information on ISO 45001, visit Clarion’s website https://www.clarionsafety.com/iso-45001-what-it-means-for-workplace-safety?utm_source=PR_Web&utm_medium=PR&utm_campaign=PR_2018.
ABOUT CLARION SAFETY SYSTEMS
Clarion Safety Systems, LLC, is the leading designer and manufacturer of visual safety solutions that help customers in more than 180 industries worldwide to make their products and premises safer. Clarion offers a full range of standard and custom products including machinery safety labels, environmental and facility safety signs, pipe and valve identification markings, lockout/tagout products, and safety-grade photoluminescent egress path-marking escape systems. Founded in 1990, the company continues to play a leading role in the development and writing of international and national standards for safety signs, labels, and markings. Clarion is headquartered at 190 Old Milford Road in Milford, PA, 18337, and online at http://www.clarionsafety.com.
ABOUT ISO
ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 161 national standards bodies. Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. To learn more, visit http://www.iso.org.
