The importance of employee participation in occupational safety and health within ISO 45001

More than 200,000 occupational accidents still occur each year. Because of this, attention for improvements regarding safe and healthy working conditions remains necessary. Certification Advice Netherlands guides companies towards ISO 45001 certification; the (international) standard aimed at a safe and healthy workplace.

That safety and health are of underestimated value is unfortunately evident often enough in practice. "I regularly visit companies that do not have a legally required Occupational Health & Safety Inventory & Evaluation," says Nelis van de Pol, director at CertificeringsAdvies Nederland. "When companies do have an RI&E, it is often because they want to obtain a VCA company certificate. After taking stock of the risks and drawing up the control measures, the follow-up leaves much to be desired. And that's a shame, because follow-up is precisely what is essential."

Employees are crucial in identifying, following up and monitoring appropriate control measures. "That is also the main reason that ISO 45001 puts an important focus on actively involving all employees in the inventory and assessment of possible risks. Working safely must become embedded in the DNA of the organization, so to speak," Van de Pol said. "The responsibility regarding safety and health lies with the full management. In practical terms, this means that you must actively involve employees in identifying relevant health and safety issues/risks, in assessing them, and especially in determining and implementing the associated (management) measures. This is how you create broad support and awareness throughout the organization."

Nelis van de Pol, director at CertificeringsAdvies Nederland.

The obvious thing to do is to involve the familiar forms of employee organizations, such as Staff Representation or Works Council, in these activities. "Obviously not wrong, but above all try to look much broader," Van de Pol emphasizes. "What are relevant H&S issues within your organization? And how can you respond to them most effectively? I see successful H&S project groups developing at many companies, in which employees from different disciplines work together to put H&S on the map. At other organizations, the focus is very much on creating joint awareness, for example by means of poster campaigns throughout the organization, a safety app in which questions are periodically asked about relevant H&S issues or, for example, by putting H&S on the agenda of all departments. So many companies, so many possibilities. So: look at your situation and take appropriate measures that will deliver the most value for your company. And actively involve employees from all levels of the organization in this process!"

CertificeringsAdvies Nederland has years of experience in guiding companies to ISO 45001 certification. In the approach they take your organization as a starting point and not the standard. For ISO 45001 they lift the internal organization in the field of working conditions to a higher level, with a successful certification as a result.