ISO 45001 Checklist

Why You Need an ISO 45001 Checklist

ISO 45001 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It helps companies create safer working environments, reduce workplace risks, and improve employee well-being. Using an ISO 45001 checklist to audit your program prevents your team from missing core requirements of the standard.

What to Include in Your Checklist

Your checklist should cover all main sections of the ISO 45001 standard and site-specific requirements that your team has. Here are some examples of what you might put in the checklist for your program:

• Documented responsibilities, authorities, and communication plans
• Hazard identification and risk evaluation processes
• Compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements
• Planning and control of operational activities and contractors
• Emergency preparedness and response protocols
• Monitoring, measurement, and performance evaluations
• Incident investigation procedures and follow-up actions
• Ongoing management reviews and system improvements

How to Use the Checklist for Ongoing Improvement

Using a checklist provides a roadmap for aligning your health and safety practices with the standard’s framework. It also keeps your program audits standardized so that anyone completing the audit uses the same criteria each time. Most importantly, it makes it easier to identify and correct compliance gaps before they become bigger problems. Whether you are preparing for your first certification audit or conducting a routine internal review, a checklist gives you clarity, structure, and accountability.

To get real value from the checklist, integrate it into your ISO 45001 program. Make it part of your internal audit process and schedule time for safety managers or team leads to review each section. Encourage employees to contribute insights into what’s working and what you could improve.

Make sure you document findings from the checklist and track corrective actions, so you don’t miss anything. A great way to do this is with action tracking software like Frontline ACT. With this kind of tool, you can build your ISO 45001 checklist digitally and document everything in the cloud. Over time, this reduces the amount of work you need to do to track compliance and report on it.