Occupational Health and Safety Management System Scope

In order to receive a certification in Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management Systems, an organization must meet the requirements for the ISO 45001:2018. The first step and clause 1 is defining a scope. The scope specifies its boundaries and applicability of the OH&S management system. The scope will be referenced on the ISO certificate as it states what parts of the business are within or excluded from certification. The scope will assist an organization’s registrar in knowing what areas or your business to audit and also helps allows for an estimated audit time.

If you are looking to become OH&S management systems certified, you are required to state within your scope the type of products and services covered. You must also justify any requirement that is not applicable to the scope of the OH&S management system. For example, if your business does not design or develop its products or services, you must state the exclusion of this section of the ISO 45001 standard within your scope.

Furthermore, if you have multiple facilities, you want to identify which locations are within or excluded from the scope of your OH&S management system. When you are defining your scope, you will need to consider external and internal issues, requirements of any relevant party, and products and services of your organization.