John Nolan
March 1, 2017
Employee and customer safety and well-being should be as important to organizations in the retail sector as those in any other in advanced business sectors. It therefore stands to reason that many retail organizations are becoming certified against ISO 45001 in order to increase safety and well-being amongst their employees and customers alike. So, given this upsurge in popularity in building an efficient ISO 45001-certified OHSMS (Operational Health and Safety Management System), what should a retail company’s objectives be, and what steps can be taken to ensure that the ISO 45001 implementation gives full benefit?
A retail manager I spoke to recently was quizzical on why a retail organization would need an OH&SMS, but one quick internet search quickly uncovered the following incidents:
Therefore, it is relatively easy to build a compelling case as to why all organizations above a certain headcount should have an ISO 45001-certified OHSMS within the organization. So, given that, what advice and tips can a retail organization utilize to ensure that implementation is as painless as possible and maximum impact is gained from the OHSMS?
As with any organization complying with the ISO 45001 standard, the basics have to be satisfied. A Health and Safety Policy will have to be written to specifically deal with the general restrictions, hazards, and objectives aligned with the company and its activities. All clauses of the ISO 45001 standard will need to be satisfied, but it may pay dividends to concentrate specifically on certain elements that may allow you to derive extra benefit for your retail business:
Concentrating on these specific elements of ISO 45001 was therefore found to be helpful in the retail sector, but was there any more we could learn to help our OHSMS be successful?
The retail sector has significant challenges in terms of environment, interaction with the public, and the machinery, technology, and equipment used. The task of implementing ISO 45001, however, is similar to that in most sectors. The quality of your leadership will determine whether good habits exist, the ability to identify and mitigate risk and hazards will remain vital, and the consultation with and involvement of your employees can provide the glue to ensure that your OHSMS sticks together and produces good results. Remember the ethos of the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” cycle, and this can help to drive your continual improvement. As with all standards, this is a business tool: happy and healthy employees will provide better service to customers, who in turn will feel valued and return.
Why not use our free Project Proposal for ISO 45001 implementation to manage implementation of the standard in your sector?