The Top 10 Benefits of Implementing ISO45001 for Organisational Health & Safety Management Systems

Here in sunny New Zealand, we are known for lots of things, beautiful landscapes, friendly people, the lord of the ring movies and of course the innovative spirit, that kiwi Number 8 wire approach, she'll be right. That innovative Number 8 wire approach I guess comes about because NZ is just so far away from most things, as a Scot, I also wonder how much is related to the number of Scottish people who moved to NZ over the years.

The problem is, as innovative as we are in New Zealand, workplace accidents and injuries still occur, leading to personal suffering or worse and economic costs. That's why implementing an ISO45001 Organisational Health & Safety system, while not a silver bullet for fixing all your H&S issues, is still a great idea and can have some great benefits to not just your people, which lets face it is the most important point, but also to your bottom line. Yes, implementing something's can cost money, but the payback is huge, don't believe us? 

Here are our top 10 benefits of implementing ISO45001 in a New Zealand context, complete with statistics on safety improvements:

1. IMPROVED SAFETY CULTURE: By implementing ISO45001, you are sending an important message that H&S is important to your organisation that will help you create a safety culture that genuinely values the health and safety of employees. Did you know that in New Zealand, there were 60 work-related fatalities in 2022 and 30,624 injuries which work related health deaths in NZ are between 700 & 900 people (Source: WorkSafe New Zealand). Implementing ISO45001 focuses on risk and action, so can lead to a reduction in workplace accidents and injuries.
2. BETTER COMPLIANCE: ISO45001 helps organisations comply with local and international health and safety regulations. In 2022, WorkSafe New Zealand undertook 7330 Enforcement activities of which there were 936 prohibition notices (Source: WorkSafe New Zealand). Implementing ISO45001 can help reduce regulatory violations and fines because you understand what you need to be doing, you are regular auditing what you are doing and most importantly, you will have set up a range of forums and methods to let people raise issues in a way that they aren't concerned about any blow back on themselves.
3. LESS ACCIDENTS, MORE PRODUCTIVITY: By identifying and mitigating hazards, ISO45001 helps reduce the number of accidents and injuries in the workplace. This results in a 20% increase in productivity (Source: National Safety Council). In New Zealand, workplace accidents cost the country $3.5 billion in 2018 with the current cost of all active work injury claims at a staggering $968,565,575 (Source: ACC). Implementing ISO45001 can help reduce these costs both from a business point of view and as a country. Don't forget that there is the 'hidden' cost of workplace safety where the person, although back at work isn't as capable or active as they were before so acheive less (through no fault of their own) or you have to pay people to cover the roll either through over time or bringin a new person to the roll.
   
4. IMPROVED EMPLOYEE HEALTH: By prioritizing safety, you create a healthier workplace, resulting in a 25% reduction in absenteeism due to illness or injury (Source: National Safety Council). In New Zealand, there were 2,695 serious injuries in the workplace in 2022 (Source: WorkSafe New Zealand) and 30,624 workplace injuries that resulting is somone beign off for at least a week . Implementing ISO45001 can help reduce the number of serious injuries by making them visible, talked about, tracked, actioned and where possible contributing risk factors eliminated.
5. ENHANCED PUBLIC IMAGE: Implementing ISO45001 demonstrates your commitment to health and safety. This enhances your public image and can improve your relationship with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders. In New Zealand, companies with poor safety records can face negative publicity and reputational damage, Worksafe themselves are actively publicising prosecutions and poorly perfroming industries to help flag issues. With a low unemployement rate (currently 3.4%) employees can afford to be a little more choosy on who they work for, if your organisation has a poor safety reputation you can be sure employees will think twice before signing on with you.
6. LOWER INSURANCE PREMIUMS: By managing potential risks, you reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries occurring. This leads to cost savings in terms of insurance premiums. Companies with strong safety records can see up to a 20% reduction in insurance premiums (Source: National Safety Council). In New Zealand, implementing ISO45001 can help reduce insurance costs.
7. BETTER CUSTOMER & SUPPLIER RELATIONS: By prioritizing health and safety, you can improve your relationships with both customers and suppliers. In fact many larger organisations especially government or council organisations are listing ISO45001 certification as a prerequisite of doing business with them. Setting out clear expectations for health & safety through yoru ISO45001 system allows for better collaboration, reduced costs, and an overall more positive work environment. If yoru supplier is clear about your requirements and you are actively monitoring them (requirements of the standard) then everyone starts pulling in the same direction and sendign the same message. Companies that are prioritizing safety can attract more business and improve their competitiveness.
8. DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS: ISO45001 encourages organizations to collect and analyze health and safety data, leading to better decision-making related to risk management and workplace safety. In fact, companies that use data-driven safety programs can see up to a 10% reduction in injuries (Source: National Safety Council). We all know that better data can lead to better safety outcomes, settign up your systems to ensure the delivery of that data and the insights is simple means it will get used and allow quicker and better decisions. Mango's Cloud based QHSE software does that by making it easy to enter data via their mobile app but importantly making it simple to report out on anything you need directrly from the system.
9. CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT: Clause 10 of ISO45001 is all about continuous imporvement, it's built into the standard. By continually striving to improve your health and safety performance, you keep reinforcing the importance you place on health & safety in your organsiation as well as creating a culture of innovation and growth. This leads to a more dynamic and engaging workplace. In fact, companies that prioritize safety see a 50% reduction in employee turnover (Source: National Safety Council). Don't forget that 3.4% unemployement rate we have in New Zealand, creating a positive safety culture can improve employee retention as well!
10. BETTER TRAINING: By implementing ISO45001, you can improve safety training, resulting in a more engaged and informed workforce. Companies that invest in safety training see a 45% reduction in reduction in accidents, again, think 3.4%. unemployement (Source: National Safety Council). 

When you step back and think about it, implementing ISO45001 for Organisational Health & Safety isn't just good for your team, which it is, or good for your business culture, which it is, it's also good for your bottomline.

As a business building a structured methodial way of managing yoru health & safety system through a system such as ISO45001 means you are investing in creating a safer, healthier, and more productive environment for employees. That wont go unnoticed by your employees or suppliers or clients. Making it simple to report things that aren't right, to ensure that it's followed up and then beign able to review, trend and understand that data is vital. That's why systems such as Mango are at the front of supporting companies with thier ISO implementaitons and continuign to develop thier systems to help you meet your needs.

Let's make safety a top priority and implement ISO45001 in our workplaces today.