Fundamental principles and concepts of OH&S and OH&S MS
Domain 1 - Fundamental principles and concepts of OH&S and OH&S MS
This domain tests whether you understand what an OH&S management system is for and the principles that shape every later clause. ISO 45001:2018 is a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities, preventing work-related injury and ill health, and providing safe and healthy workplaces. It does not require zero risk; it requires a systematic, risk-based approach with worker participation and continual improvement.
Core concepts
- Hazard is a source with potential to cause injury and ill health. Risk combines the likelihood of the hazardous event or exposure with the severity of harm. Do not label a hazard as a risk.
- OH&S opportunity is a circumstance that can lead to improved OH&S performance, such as redesigning a process to remove a manual handling hazard.
- The system follows Plan–Do–Check–Act and the Annex SL high-level structure, so it integrates with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
- Leadership is not delegable. Top management must establish policy, integrate the system into business processes, provide resources and promote worker participation.
- Participation and consultation are distinct: consultation seeks workers' views; participation involves non-managerial workers in decisions and activities such as hazard identification and incident investigation.
- The hierarchy of controls orders controls from elimination to PPE; PPE is the last line of defence, not the first.
Worked example
A warehouse records "manual pallet handling" as a risk. That is a hazard. The risk might be "musculoskeletal injury from lifting 25 kg sacks, likelihood high, severity moderate." The first control considered should be elimination or mechanisation, then substitution or engineering aids, then administrative rotation and training, with PPE last. The reasoning matters: selecting training and back belts first would not demonstrate the hierarchy of controls.
Traps
Equating ISO 45001 with OHSAS 18001; assuming a specific risk matrix is mandatory; treating "consultation" as a signed attendance sheet; and believing certification requires zero incidents rather than effective management of risk.