ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Standard Guide
Download the Smithers ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Standard Guide to improve your knowledge base around ISO 45001, its structure, key elements, and its most important clauses.
5 Benefits of Integrating ISO 45001 with ISO 9001
The importance of having a quality management system (QMS) in place to ensure that your operations are running efficiently and effectively cannot be overstated. A common cornerstone in building a strong QMS lies within the ISO 9001 standard, which helps organizations achieve those goals by providing a framework for managing quality.
However, managing occupational health and safety is just as important as managing quality. This is where ISO's international standard, ISO 45001 comes in. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of integrating these two standards, and how it can improve your overall organizational performance, while making the overall certification process more efficient.
Integrating ISO 45001 and 9001 standards to create an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) not only confines with international standards but also forms a basis for sustainable and continuous improvement of employee safety in the workplace. By analyzing common areas and creating an integrated management system, an organization can create a strong Occupational Health and Safety, and Quality Management System under one umbrella.
Below are 5 common benefits that can be realized by integrating ISO 45001 into your ISO 9001 quality management system:
1. Streamlined Management System
Integrating ISO 45001 with ISO 9001 brings together the management systems of two critical areas of the business. This creates a streamlined management system that takes into account both the quality and safety aspects of the organization. By combining these systems, you will have a more seamless and straightforward approach to managing the two areas, reducing the risk of conflict and duplication.
2. Improved Occupational Health and Safety Performance
ISO 45001 is designed to help organizations identify and manage occupational health and safety risks. Integrating it with ISO 9001 ensures that these risks are being managed effectively alongside quality management. By implementing a robust occupational health and safety management system, you will be able to identify and address potential hazards proactively, reduce accidents and incidents, increase employee safety, and improve overall occupational health and safety performance.
3. Increased Efficiency and Reduced Costs
Integrating these two standards also promotes greater efficiency and cost savings. By reducing duplication of activities in managing quality and safety, you can save significant resources. For example, training programs can be combined, simplifying the process and reducing the cost of providing the training multiple times. By implementing an integrated system, you can streamline processes and optimize resources, ultimately reducing the cost of doing business.
4. Competitive Advantage
Organizations that have integrated ISO 45001 with ISO 9001 have a competitive advantage. Customers, employees and stakeholders are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of strong quality and safety management systems. Having an integrated system in place shows a commitment to both, giving stakeholders confidence in your business's ability to meet their needs while ensuring employee safety.
5. Simple Certification Process
Certification to both ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 separately can be time-intensive and costly. By integrating the two systems, the certification process can be simplified and streamlined. Instead of going through two separate audits, you only have to go through one audit, saving time and cost.
Integrating ISO 45001 with ISO 9001 is a smart decision for any organization. It brings together the management of three critical areas of the business, improving overall performance, safety, and creating a competitive advantage. An integrated system promotes greater efficiency, saves costs, and simplifies the certification process. Integrating ISO 45001 with ISO 9001 provides benefits that far outweigh the costs of implementation, making it a smart choice for anyone concerned with organizational performance, quality, and safety.
To get started with integrating ISO 45001 into you ISO 9001 quality management system, request a quote, or contact us to learn more.
