Occupational Health & Safety Management
System Certification
ISO 45001 is the international standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems — providing a framework to eliminate work-related injury, ill health and death while demonstrating legal compliance and continual improvement.
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 is the first truly international standard specifying requirements for an Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management System. Published by ISO in March 2018, it replaced OHSAS 18001 and is applicable to any organisation, regardless of size, sector or the nature of its activities, wishing to proactively manage occupational health and safety risks.
The standard takes a worker participation approach — requiring organisations to consult and involve workers and their representatives at all levels in developing, planning, implementing and improving the OH&S management system. This distinguishes it from earlier standards and reflects modern understanding that safety culture depends on engagement, not just procedure.
A key concept in ISO 45001 is the distinction between hazard identification, risk assessment and opportunity identification. Organisations must systematically identify all hazards in their workplace and activities, assess the risks, and eliminate or control them in a hierarchy: eliminating hazards first, then substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and finally PPE.
Like all modern ISO management system standards, ISO 45001 uses the High-Level Structure (HLS), making it straightforward to integrate with ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environmental) and ISO 27001 (Information Security) into a unified Integrated Management System.
Systematically identify all workplace hazards, assess risks and apply the hierarchy of controls — from elimination through to PPE.
Consult and actively involve workers and their representatives in OH&S planning, implementation and continual improvement.
Establish a process to identify, access and evaluate compliance with applicable OH&S legislation and regulations.
Set measurable OH&S objectives, monitor incident rates and near misses, and drive ongoing improvement in safety performance.
Fully aligned with ISO HLS — integrate with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001 and others in a single management system.
Benefits of ISO 45001 Certification
Third-party certification by RBA Registrars provides independent, credible verification that your management system meets international requirements.
Systematic hazard identification and risk control reduces the frequency and severity of workplace accidents, near misses and occupational diseases.
A formal compliance register and evaluation process demonstrates due diligence to enforcement authorities and reduces the risk of prosecution.
Improved safety performance directly reduces costs associated with lost-time incidents, compensation claims, investigation time and insurance premiums.
Many public sector contracts, large corporates and international clients require ISO 45001 certification as a supply chain pre-qualification condition.
Demonstrably investing in worker safety improves morale, productivity and retention — and strengthens employer brand in recruitment.
Independent certification demonstrates that safety commitments are verified, not self-declared — protecting reputation with clients, communities and media.
Certification contributes to achieving multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supporting your organisation's sustainability commitments and ESG reporting.
Why Certify with RBA Registrars?
RBA Registrars provides ISO 45001 certification services to organisations across the UK, Bangladesh, Asia and internationally — delivered by practising auditors with genuine sector competence and understanding of local and regional regulatory frameworks.
Our auditors are assessed for technical competence across specific NACE/EA sector codes prior to assignment, ensuring that every audit is conducted by someone who understands the management system requirements relevant to your industry.
Whether your organisation is implementing a system for the first time or transferring your existing ISO 45001 certificate from another body, RBA Registrars offers a clear, transparent and professionally conducted certification pathway.
All auditors assessed for NACE/EA sector knowledge before assignment.
Local knowledge, internationally recognised certification processes.
Impartial, consistent and integrity-driven certification operations.
Transfer your existing certificate to RBA Registrars via a streamlined process.
RBA Registrars can support your staff training alongside certification.
Implementing Your Management System
ISO 45001 follows the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) cycle. The eight stages below map the standard's clauses to a logical implementation sequence.
Understand the organisation, internal/external issues, workers and interested parties. Define the OH&S management system scope. (Cl. 4)
Top management leads the OH&S MS, establishes the OH&S Policy, and assigns roles. Worker consultation processes established. (Cl. 5)
Identify hazards and assess OH&S risks, compile legal requirements register, set objectives, and plan actions for risks and opportunities. (Cl. 6)
Provide resources, establish competence, raise OH&S awareness, define communication processes and control documented information. (Cl. 7)
Implement hierarchy of controls for identified risks. Manage outsourced processes, contractors and visitors. Apply emergency preparedness procedures. (Cl. 8)
Monitor OH&S performance indicators — incident rates, near misses, compliance. Evaluate legal compliance. Calibrate measurement equipment. (Cl. 9)
Conduct planned OH&S management system internal audits. Raise nonconformities, investigate incidents and implement corrective actions. (Cl. 9.2)
Top management reviews OH&S performance, makes decisions on change, resources and improvement priorities. Continual improvement embedded. (Cl. 9.3, 10)
ISO 45001 Certification Process
RBA Registrars's certification pathway is transparent, structured and aligned with ISO/IEC 17021-1 — from initial enquiry through to certificate issue and ongoing surveillance.
Contact RBA Registrars to discuss your organisation's activities, the proposed ISO 45001 scope, number of sites and relevant NACE/EA sector codes. We confirm auditor competence for your sector and issue a tailored, no-obligation quotation.
Complete the RBA Registrars Application for Systems Certification and sign the Certification Agreement setting out the audit programme, fees, surveillance schedule, certification mark rights, confidentiality and rights of appeal.
An RBA Registrars auditor reviews your ISO 45001 management system documentation to assess readiness for the Stage 2 implementation audit. The Stage 1 report identifies any significant gaps to address before Stage 2 proceeds.
A comprehensive on-site or remote audit assessing the full implementation and effectiveness of the management system against all normative clauses of ISO 45001. Nonconformities must be closed before certification is granted.
An independent technical reviewer — not involved in either audit — reviews the complete audit file and makes the certification decision. On approval, RBA Registrars issues a ISO 45001 certificate valid for three years.
At least one surveillance audit per calendar year verifies continued conformity with ISO 45001, monitors system performance and checks progress on objectives and corrective actions.
Before certificate expiry, RBA Registrars conducts a full recertification audit. On successful completion, the certificate is renewed for a further three-year cycle.
The RBA Registrars Certification Mark
Once certified to ISO 45001, RBA Registrars will issue your certificate and authorise use of the RBA Registrars certification mark on your communications, tenders, website and marketing materials — in accordance with our Logo Use Guidelines. The mark demonstrates to clients, regulators and workers that your OH&S management system has been independently assessed and certified to the international standard.
Enquire About Certification →ISO 45001 — Edition & Transition
ISO 45001:2026 is currently under revision. Organisations certified to ISO 45001 should monitor ISO and IAF communications for the transition timeline. RBA Registrars will provide transition gap analysis, training and combined transition audit options once the new edition is published.
Ready to achieve ISO 45001 certification?
Contact RBA Registrars for a no-obligation scoping call and tailored quotation.