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Writing policies to ISO 45001 standard

Discuss management systems in here, including - HS(G)65; ISO 45001; ISO 45003; ISO 14001

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MrsPeacockinthestudy
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Writing policies to ISO 45001 standard

Post by MrsPeacockinthestudy »

Good afternoon everyone, hope you are all staying well and managing in the current situation!

As all on-site activities have ceased for us at the moment, I have been tasked with creating new H&S policies (I'm new in post, and this is an organization that doesn't have any written policies at the moment besides a H&S policy statement). My boss is determined to apply for ISO 45001 status within the next two years (realistically I can't see that happening but this is the target), so has told me to write all our policies in the ISO 45001 'format'.

I've been given a template to use by my boss with the 45001 headings - e.g. Risk identification, Risk Control, Procurement and Contractor management, but am finding it incredibly difficult to know what to put under each heading for each policy. How do you make that fit a first aid policy, a manual handling policy etc. I admit I've never worked for an organization that had ISO 45001 standard and as I'm creating the policies from scratch it's doubly difficult. I have a copy of the 45001 standard itself and I understand the principles but translating that to a living, breathing, workable policy for people within the organization to use is proving fruitless and I'm getting frustrated.

I've asked multiple questions of my boss on various sections but have simply been told to 'follow the standard' and I feel I'm now just coming across as incompetent.

Help please?
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Re: Writing policies to ISO 45001 standard

Post by andybz »

I suggest the way you look at this is you are simply being asked to document what the company already does. You are not creating the system just documenting it. I am sure in the long run you will find that current practices are not good enough in some areas, but don't worry about that for now.

The only way to find out how things are done is to ask the people who do them. So go and ask procurement what they do to make sure the things the company buys are safe. Keep it as simple as possible - don't write more than you need to to describe what they do. Do the same with the manager who heads up contractor management, the person who organises the first aiders etc.

It's not your fault if current systems are not up to scratch. But writing down what is done currently is the best way of developing an improvement plan.
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MrsPeacockinthestudy
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Re: Writing policies to ISO 45001 standard

Post by MrsPeacockinthestudy »

Thanks Andy, much appreciated :)
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Re: Writing policies to ISO 45001 standard

Post by Blackstone »

Hi Mrs P,

As Andy says, never tailor the business to fit the standard, make the standard fit the business.
Write out procedure for what you do, then compare them to the standard to find what gaps you have.

Might be worth doing an internet search to find implementation gap analysis tools. Many of the top certification bodies have these on websites. They should help you for what gaps you might have.

Glen
'Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough that they don't want to!' - Richard Branson
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