ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management standards

ISO 45001 serves as the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems (OH&SMS). Published by the International Organization for Standardization in 2018, it replaced the British standard BS OHSAS 18001 and was recently updated in 2024 to include amendments regarding climate change.

As of late 2025, ISO 45001 is the third most widely certified management system globally, following ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with over one million certified sites. Italy ranks second globally in the number of certifications. In the food industry, the standard holds significant legal weight, as it serves as the technical reference for organizational models managing negligence-related crimes in workplace safety starting in 2025.

The standard requires detailed hazard identification down to specific job tasks, including irregular activities and outsourced work. Risk assessment is conducted using a matrix of severity and probability, following a hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally, personal protective equipment (PPE). Common audit findings often include inadequate hazard recording at the workplace level, insufficient training documentation, and the exclusion of temporary or subcontracted personnel from safety protocols.