ISO 45001 CERTIFICATION FOR IRISH WATER’S COMMITMENT TO EMPLOYEE SAFETY

Irish Water has achieved certification to the ISO 45001:2018 standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) management systems, in recognition of its commitment to maintaining the very highest standards of employee safety.

The certification also coincided with an important milestone for Irish Water, as it recently reached 2.5 million hours without a lost time employee incident.

Neil Lenehan, Irish Water’s Acting Chief Technical Safety Advisor, said that they remain fully committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff, contractors and delivery partners, during these unprecedented times.

“It’s paramount that we consistently work to achieve the highest safety standards. This award provides us with the confidence in a successful journey to date and ensures we can continually strive for ways to improve in a consistent and sustainable manner.”

The ISO 45001-2018 certification followed a rigorous 18-month process that saw Irish Water’s dedicated project team collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to improve safety behaviours and develop a proactive safety culture, modelled on best practice. The certification was awarded after a robust auditing process.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) there are more than 2.78 million deaths a year due to occupational accidents or work-related diseases, in addition to 374 million non-fatal injuries and illnesses.

ISO 45001 is the world’s first international standard for occupational health and safety, which provides structure and ensures effectiveness, efficiency and continual improvement in an organisation, by creating consistency and results built around best practices.

Similarly structured to other ISO systems, ISO 45001 builds on the success of earlier international standards such as OHSAS 18001, the ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions.

Click here for further details on ISO 45001 certification.