ISO 45001-2018 5.3 Organizational roles

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ISO 45001:2018 Clause 5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities

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Clause 5.3 Breakdown

5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities

Top management should assign the responsibility and authority for:

a.Ensuring that the OH&S management system conforms to the requirements of ISO 45001;

b.Reporting on the performance of the OH&S management system to top management.

You got to love clause a, it's paramount to the indoctrination of the organisation's management team. Do it our way or...

Clause b is about reporting whether or not you've met clause a...

Management will need to ensure, 'as far as the ISO 45001 OH&S management system covers', that clear lines of responsibility and authority are assigned and communicated within the organisation and maintained as documented information. For sure, we are looking at document information that covers job roles and responsibilities, for example, Job descriptions (JDs) and how these JDs define responsibility for aspects of the 45001 OH&S management system requirements. Accountabilities and responsibilities can be further detailed in organisational O&HS manuals, procedures, work instructions, process maps, task sheets, and specific documents covering projects and developments.

Top management passes the day-to-day running to others, thus delegating OH&S system requirements throughout the organisation. It requires a clear understanding of who is responsible for what. Workers will assume the responsibility for areas of the 45001 OH&S management system they have control over and need to be fully aware of the scope and boundary of these responsibilities placed upon them.

While the concept diagram below shows a simplistic view of how general responsibilities flow from ground-level staff to top management, as far as ISO 45001 is concerned, it is predominately looking at how occupational health and safety responsibilities are allocated, shared, controlled, and documented. Staff at all levels will owe a duty of care to others so as not to recklessly endanger people or property. This general theme will flow through the countries higher-level OH&S acts and regulations to more generic guidance documents.

Synergies may exist where there are similar roles and responsibilities for other management systems that the organisation may be accredited to. This offers excellent opportunities for integrations of systems and thus reducing duplication. Example of a combined approach (some would refer to this as a TQM management system)

Useful integrated management system cross references

ISO 9001

•ISO 9001:2015 5.3 Organizational Roles

ISO 14001

•ISO 14001-2015 5.3 Organizational roles