ISO 45001, finalized in 2018, replaces a previous standard, OHSAS 18001, which was developed by auditors as a health and safety complement to quality and environmental standards (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001). ISO 45001 is a conformance standard, intended for use with third-party certification.

This is a voluntary consensus standard. It uses recognized management system principles in order to be compatible with quality and environmental management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.

It is implicit that any SMS should deliver a number of goals: safety performance, instituting standards and practices, compliance with regulatory requirements, communications and dissemination of information, setting up responsibilities & rights, etc.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced the completion of the committee draft stage of ISO 45001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements. The standard, which is available for purchase, gives stakeholders a chance to review it before its publication is finalized, which is slated for late 2016.