ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management

On 20th May 2019, NRG Fleet Services Ltd, including Riverside Truck Rental and Direct Tyre Management Ltd, achieved certification to this international standard. This is an industry first and as such something that we are all very proud of. Our thanks go out to all of our employees at all levels in the business who have played their part in making this happen. ISO 45001 enables us to improve occupational health & safety performance, reduce work related accidents and protect our reputation.

During 2017/2018, 144 workers were killed at work and an estimated 600,000 workers suffered non-fatal injuries due to work activity. The ISO 45001 Standard provides organisations with a solution to better manage health and safety risks, while reducing associated costs.

Why did we decide to apply for ISO 45001 certification?
ISO 45001 is the new international standard for occupational health and safety management replacing the OHSAS 18001 standard. The standard reduces workplace risks to improve employee safety.

Gaining the ISO 45001 certification allows us to demonstrate to our customers, suppliers, contractors and employees that our business operates a best-practice Occupational Health and Safety Management System – reducing the likelihood of accidents and breaches of legislation, as well as improving our organisation’s overall performance.

This standard surpasses all existing health and safety standards because it has been developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts. It takes into account other international standards in this area such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions. This makes it one of the most valuable Health and Safety Management Systems available in the world today.

Here are some benefits of using the ISO 45001 framework:

1. Establish controls to ensure legal compliance – ISO 45001 helps us to establish operational controls which take into account risks and opportunities, as well as legal and other requirements
2. Increase Health and Safety Awareness – the management system helps organisations to increase employee awareness of Occupational Health and Safety risks, ensuring workers take an active role in health and safety matters
3. Enhances our Reputation – Achieving certification to this standard is recognition that we have achieved an international benchmark, getting us noticed by our customers who are concerned about their social responsibilities
4. Reduce Absenteeism – by better managing H&S risks in the workplace we are able to better protect employees, reducing absenteeism and staff turnover rates
5. Reduce Insurance Premiums – By demonstrating that we have an effective occupational health and safety management system in place, can lead to benefits from reduced insurance premiums
6. Improve Management of H&S Compliance Issues – ISO 45001 helps us to improve our ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues, reducing the overall costs of incidents and downtime
7. Better Manage Health and Safety Risks – the standard helps us to determine hazards and the health and safety risks associated with our day to day activities; seeking to either eliminate them or put controls in place to minimise their effects

Having achieved certification is the beginning of a journey that never ends. We will be subject to ongoing internal and external audit to ensure continued compliance and certification. You will be provided with further information and invited to attend training sessions to ensure you have the required knowledge to play your part in taking this forward, enabling us to benefit from what this system has to offer.