Authoritative Interpretation of the National Standard "Requirements and Guidance for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems"
1. Standard Number and Standard Name
The national standard "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements and Usage Guide" (GB/T 45001-2020) was initiated in 2019, proposed and managed by the China National Institute of Standardization, and jointly drafted by 25 organizations including the China National Institute of Standardization, Huaxia Certification Center Co., Ltd., and China Quality Certification Center.
2. Background of Standard Development
In China, the "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements" (GB/T 28001) and "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Implementation Guide" (GB/T 28002) have been implemented for nearly twenty years and have undergone two revisions. Many organizations have established occupational health and safety management systems according to the standard requirements and obtained GB/T 28001-2011/OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements) certification. The occupational health and safety management system has now become one of the three major management systems in China.
With the development of the economy and society and the widespread attention and recognition of occupational health and safety management systems by the international community, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established the Occupational Health and Safety Management Technical Committee (ISO/TC 283) to begin the international standardization work of occupational health and safety management systems, and released the international standard "Occupational Health and Safety Management System" (ISO 45001:2018) in March 2018. With the global promotion and application of ISO 45001, OHSAS 18001 and OHSAS 18002 have completed their historical missions and will be phased out. In view of this, China has initiated the revision of GB/T 28001 and GB/T 28002.
The China National Institute of Standardization undertook the revision task of this national standard in 2019, leading a drafting working group composed of 25 domestic related research institutes, industry associations, certification bodies, and enterprises to jointly carry out the standard revision work. The drafting working group adopted all technical requirements from ISO 45001 through translation and other methods, strictly followed the national standard formulation procedures and related regulations, and endeavored to transform ISO 45001 into the national standard GB/T 45001 to meet the urgent needs of all sectors of society for implementing ISO 45001 and conducting ISO 45001 certification version changes, promoting the further improvement of occupational health and safety management levels in China.
3. Main Content of the Standard
The "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements and Usage Guide" (GB/T 45001-2020) is the latest national standard in the field of occupational health and safety management systems in China. It adopts ISO 45001:2018 "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements and Usage Guide" equivalently and is a revision of GB/T 28001—2011/OHSAS 18001:2007 "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements" and GB/T 28002—2011/OHSAS 18002:2008 "Occupational Health and Safety Management System Implementation Guide," now replacing GB/T 28001 and GB/T 28002.
The new standard mainly includes three parts: the main text of the standard is the occupational health and safety management system requirements, corresponding to the original national standard GB/T 28001; Appendix A of the standard is the usage guide of this standard, corresponding to the original national standard GB/T 28002; Appendix NA of the standard shows the correspondence between this standard and GB/T 28001. The new standard adopts the unified high-level structure, the same core text, and common terms with core definitions from Appendix SL of the "ISO/IEC Directives Part 1" ISO Supplement Consolidated Edition.
Compared with the standards it replaces, GB/T 28001 and GB/T 28002, GB/T 45001 includes the following main technical changes: revisions to terms and definitions; adoption of risk-based thinking; greater emphasis on the organizational context as well as the needs and expectations of workers and other relevant parties; strengthening the role of leadership; emphasizing worker consultation and participation; more detailed requirements for hazard identification and risk assessment; more flexible requirements for documented information; more detailed operational control requirements; addition of procurement control, contractor control, and outsourcing control requirements; strengthening of change management requirements; and increased focus on occupational health and safety performance, performance monitoring, and measurement. Beyond these technical changes, GB/T 45001 also specifically distinguishes the original meanings of "responsibility" and "accountability" in ISO 45001 by using the Chinese terms "职责" (duties) and "问责" (accountability) to emphasize the principal responsibility for safety production, particularly highlighting the safety production accountability system, especially regarding top management and related responsible persons.
4. Significance of Standard Implementation
With rapid economic development, China has become a major global manufacturing country, and the requirements for occupational health and safety management work are increasing. Over the past two decades, the practice of occupational health and safety management system standards in China has achieved fruitful results and has been highly recognized and praised by many organizations. More and more organizations actively pay attention to and implement the national standards for occupational health and safety management systems. The new standard has made significant technical improvements based on the original national standards and absorbed rich practical experience from domestic and international sources over many years. The implementation of the new standard, by adopting advanced, systematic scientific management techniques and methods, improves the occupational health and safety management level of many organizations to prevent and minimize occupational health and safety injuries and health damage as much as possible. It will play an important role in guiding and promoting organizations to more effectively raise occupational health and safety awareness, build occupational health and safety culture, improve occupational health and safety management levels, protect the physical and mental health and life safety of workers, effectively reduce property losses, and improve occupational health and safety conditions, having significant economic and social significance.
