According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are currently over 2.78 million deaths a year as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases, in addition to 374 million non-fatal injuries and illnesses. Aside from the enormous impact on families and communities, the cost to business and economies is significant.

Therefore, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed a new standard: ISO 45001:2018. This standard specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system and gives guidance for its use. It provides a framework to increase safety, reduce workplace risks and enhance health and well-being at work, enabling an organization to proactively improve its OH&S performance.

Certifications against this standard are performed in Europe by Certification Bodies which are accredited by an EA National Accreditation Body (NABs) signatory to the relevant EA Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA), in this case the MLA for Management Systems Certification.

The Certification Bodies providing certifications of OH&S management systems shall meet the requirements set out ISO/IEC TS 17021-10. This technical specification defines additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and certification process for an OH&S management system and complements the existing requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-1.

EA and the EA National Accreditation Bodies listed below have been recognized for the IAF MLA scope extension ISO/IEC TS 17021-10 and ISO 45001 as of 5th February 2020:

  • AA – Austria ,
  • ACCREDIA – Italy ,
  • ATS – Serbia ,
  • BAS, Bulgaria ,
  • CAI, Czech Republic ,
  • DAkkS, Germany ,
  • DANAK, Denmark ,
  • DPA, Albania ,
  • ENAC, Spain ,
  • ESYD, Greece ,
  • FINAS, Finland ,
  • INAB, Ireland ,
  • NAH, Hungary ,
  • NAAU, Ukraine ,
  • LA, Lithuania ,
  • IPAC, Portugal ,
  • RENAR, Romania ,
  • RvA, the Netherlands ,
  • SA, Slovenia ,
  • SNAS, Slovakia ,
  • SWEDAC, Sweden ,
  • TURKAK, Turkey ,
  • UKAS, UK

You find further information about the EA Multilateral Agreement under https://european-accreditation.org/mutual-recognition/the-ea-mla/

For information about IAF please visit the website https://www.iaf.nu/

Further information about ISO 45001 is available on ISO’s website https://www.iso.org/iso-45001-occupational-health-and-safety.html