ISO 45001 Health & Safety
The international standard for occupational health and safety management — and the only certifiable one. Knowing what could harm your people, controlling it, and proving the controls work: duty of care made systematic, in an industry where the workplace moves at 80 km/h.
Safety as a system, not a file.
ISO 45001 doesn't hand you industry-specific rules. It requires a working system that finds hazards, controls them and proves the controls work — with top management owning the outcome, not delegating it to a safety officer.
From moving vehicles to fatigue to noise — found and rated systematically.
The people who do the work help shape the controls they live by.
OHS Act, COIDA and mine-safety duties known and demonstrably met.
The risks contractors bring — and the risks your work creates for them.
Planned, practised responses to fires, spills and crashes.
Root causes, not scapegoats — and action on what you find.
What safer work returns.
- 01Fewer injuries; less lost time, damage and disruption
- 02Meet OH&S gates in mining, construction and state tenders
- 03Due-diligence evidence for COIDA, insurers and courts
- 04Morale and retention — people stay where they feel protected
- 05Psychosocial risk covered: stress, fatigue, harassment
- 06The world's fastest-establishing safety credential
Built with workers, not just for them.
ISO 45001 explicitly requires the consultation and participation of workers — including non-managerial staff — in identifying hazards, investigating incidents and shaping controls. Drivers help design the fatigue rules they live by; operators flag risks long before any auditor could.
For RTMS-certified operators the groundwork is done: RTMS driver wellness extends naturally from the cab to workshops, loading bays and depots, and the two systems audit together cleanly.
The route, step by step.
- 01Application & reviewScope, sites and risk profile confirmed; competent audit team assigned.
- 02Stage 1 auditOHSMS documentation reviewed — hazard registers, legal compliance, controls.
- 03Stage 2 auditOn-site verification: procedures, training records, incident management in practice.
- 04Decision & certificateIndependent decision; three-year certificate issued.
- 05Surveillance & recertAnnual surveillance audits maintain the certificate.
Asked before every audit.
Is ISO 45001 a legal requirement in South Africa?
No. The OHS Act, COIDA and, for mines, the Mine Health and Safety Act are the law. ISO 45001 is voluntary — but it is the most widely recognised way to run those legal duties systematically and prove it to clients, insurers and inspectors.
We were certified to OHSAS 18001. Is that still valid?
No. OHSAS 18001 was withdrawn and migration to ISO 45001 closed in 2021. Certificates referencing 18001 no longer carry international recognition.
Should we wait for the 2027 revision?
No. ISO 45001:2018 remains the certifiable edition, and a transition of around three years is expected once the new edition publishes. A system built now carries over with modest updates — and protects people in the meantime.
Does ISO 45001 cover mental health?
Yes. Psychosocial hazards — stress, fatigue, harassment — are hazards like any other under the standard, and ISO 45003 gives supporting guidance.
How long does certification take?
Once your system is running, plan for roughly three to six months through quote, Stage 1 and Stage 2, depending on your size and readiness.
What does it cost?
Audit fees depend on headcount, number of sites and risk complexity — that is why we quote per organisation rather than publishing a flat rate. Ask us for a quote; it costs nothing.
Ready for ISO 45001?
Describe your operation and we'll scope the work and quote clearly, in Rand — no obligation, no consulting strings attached.