Management system guidance
8.1 Operational Planning and Control
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8.1.1 General
Clause 8.1.1 is where the plans made in Clause 6 are turned into day-to-day control of work. Your organization must plan, implement, control and maintain the processes it needs to fulfil the requirements of the OH&S management system and to carry out the actions identified in 6.1.4 (planning action) and 6.2.2 (planning to achieve OH&S objectives). ISO 45001:2018 expects this to be done by:
- Setting criteria for each process – the conditions, limits and methods that define safe operation;
- Controlling the processes so that work is actually carried out in line with those criteria;
- Maintaining and retaining documented information to the extent needed to give confidence that processes have been carried out as planned;
- Adapting work to workers rather than expecting workers to adapt to poorly designed work.
Where several employers share a workplace – a construction site, a shared office building, a host site with resident contractors – your organization must also coordinate the relevant parts of its OH&S management system with the other organizations present.
What operational control looks like in practice
The purpose of operational control is to improve health and safety by eliminating hazards or, where that is not practicable, by reducing OH&S risks to as low as reasonably practicable. Start from your hazard identification and risk assessment (see 6.1.2) and the legal requirements and other requirements you have identified (see 6.1.3). For each significant activity, decide which controls are needed and how they will be applied. Typical controls include:
- Written procedures, safe systems of work, method statements and permit-to-work systems (e.g. hot work, confined space entry, work at height, electrical isolation);
- Ensuring workers are competent for the tasks they carry out (see 7.2);
- Preventive and predictive maintenance and inspection programs for plant, equipment, guarding and safety devices;
- OH&S specifications for purchased goods and services (see 8.1.4);
- Applying legal requirements, other requirements and manufacturers’ instructions for equipment;
- Engineering and administrative controls selected using the hierarchy of controls (see 8.1.2).
Setting operating criteria
Criteria make control measurable. Examples include maximum exposure levels for noise, dust or chemical agents; inspection frequencies for lifting equipment; maximum working hours and minimum rest periods; speed limits for site traffic; ventilation rates; and pre-use check requirements for mobile plant. Each criterion should be clear enough that a supervisor or auditor can tell whether it is being met.
Adapting work to workers
ISO 45001 explicitly requires work to be adapted to workers. This means taking account of people’s physical and mental capabilities, language, literacy, age, experience and any disabilities when designing tasks. Practical approaches include:
- Defining or redefining how work is organized – workload, pace, shift patterns and lone working;
- Structured induction for new workers, agency staff and those changing roles;
- Redesigning processes and working environments to remove awkward postures, repetitive strain and psychosocial pressures;
- Applying ergonomic principles when new workplaces or equipment are designed or existing ones modified.
Involving workers
Under 5.4, non-managerial workers must be consulted on determining how to control the processes, and must participate in determining mechanisms for controlling hazards and risks. The people who do the work usually know where written procedures and reality differ, so involve them when drafting safe systems of work and reviewing whether controls are practical.
Documented information
Keep documented information in proportion to the risk and complexity of the work. Typical records include risk assessments, safe systems of work, permits, inspection and maintenance records, pre-use checklists, exposure monitoring results and training records. These show that controls were applied as planned and support 9.1.1 monitoring.
Multi-employer workplaces
Agree who controls what. Shared site rules, joint induction, permit coordination, common emergency arrangements and regular coordination meetings help ensure that one employer’s activities do not create uncontrolled hazards for another employer’s workers.
You should seek and record evidence that operational controls are linked to the hazards and risks identified in 6.1.2 and the actions planned in 6.1.4; that criteria have been set and are being met in practice; that work has been adapted to workers; that workers were consulted on how processes are controlled; that records demonstrate processes were carried out as planned; and that OH&S arrangements are coordinated with other employers where workplaces are shared.
Our ISO 45001 templates include operational control procedures and forms that can be adapted to your organization.
More information on PDCA
Planning
Context
Planning
Support
Doing
Support
Operations
Checking
Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
Acting
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