ISO 45001:2018 for the energy sector
ISO 45001 for energy sector companies
Utilities, installers and service providers in the energy sector are asked for ISO 45001 in tenders and supplier questionnaires. You answer 34 yes/no questions online and receive a verifiable certificate within 4 hours after passing and payment. No on-site audit is needed.
01: Demand
Why energy customers ask for ISO 45001
Work in the energy sector involves voltage, height, pressure and heavy loads. A grid operator, a plant owner or a municipal utility that hires a contractor takes on part of that risk. The purchasing department wants evidence that the contractor manages occupational health and safety as a system, not as a collection of good intentions.
ISO 45001 is the standard that provides this evidence. It shows up as a line in the supplier questionnaire, as a required document in a tender, or as a condition for being listed as an approved contractor. Companies without a certificate often lose the quote before anyone has looked at their actual safety record.
The request reaches small firms too. An electrical installer working on a solar plant for a larger developer, or a maintenance business servicing wind turbines for an operator, is asked the same question as a large group.
02: Risks
Which energy sector risks does ISO 45001 address?
The standard does not list hazards for you. It requires you to identify them in your own operations and to act before an accident happens. In the energy sector, the recurring hazards look like this.
- Electrical work
- Work on or near live installations, such as switchgear, substations and cable systems. The hazard is electric shock and arc injury.
- Work at height
- Climbing pylons, wind turbine towers, roofs with solar modules and cranes. The hazard is a fall, often with a rescue problem attached.
- Switching and isolation
- Taking a line or plant out of service and securing it so that nobody can switch it back on during the job. A gap in this procedure is a direct danger to life.
- Confined spaces and excavations
- Cable ducts, tanks, shafts and trenches. The hazard is a lack of oxygen, gas or a collapse.
- Lone and remote working
- Technicians working alone at unmanned stations or turbine sites. If something goes wrong, help may be far away.
- Contractor interfaces
- Several firms working on one site with different procedures. Unclear responsibilities lead to incidents.
03: Requirements
How an energy company meets the key requirements
The requirements follow the usual management system structure, from leadership in clause 5 to operation in clause 8 and improvement in clause 10. The table shows what six of them can look like in a business with energy-sector hazards.
| Requirement | Example in an energy company |
|---|---|
| Identify and assess hazards | A risk assessment for each job type: live work, work on roofs, tower climbs, trench work. It is reviewed when a new plant type or method is introduced. |
| OH&S policy with commitment to prevention | A short signed policy from the managing director, displayed at the depot and handed to every new technician. |
| Consult and involve workers | Technicians take part in the planning of switching procedures and can report near misses without consequences. |
| Apply the hierarchy of controls | The line is de-energised and secured before work starts. Personal protective equipment is the last layer, not the first. |
| Plan emergency preparedness and response | A tested rescue plan for work at height, a defined first-aid response at remote sites and a contact list for the control room. |
| Investigate incidents and derive actions | Every near miss and injury is recorded, the cause is analysed and a named person closes the corrective action by a set date. |
04: Contractors
Contractors and subcontractors in the energy sector
Many energy projects run on chains of subcontractors. A plant builder hires an installer, who hires a crane operator, who brings in a rigging crew. ISO 45001 expects you to control the work that you outsource, which falls under clause 8, Operation.
In practice this means that you brief outside crews on site rules before they start, agree who authorises switching and who supervises, and check that people have the training their task requires. For an owner of a small installation firm, it also means being able to show the same discipline when you are the subcontractor and the customer asks.
A certificate does not replace this daily work. It shows the customer that the system behind the work exists and has been assessed.
05: Zertify
How to get ISO 45001 certified with Zertify
Zertify issues the certificate on the basis of an online self-assessment. The certificate is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, and SICE reviews every assessment before the certificate is released. There is no on-site audit, which suits an installation business whose technicians are on site all week.
Answer 34 yes/no questions
Fourteen of them are mandatory requirements of ISO 45001 and must all be answered yes. Of the other 20, at least 14 need a yes.
Pay and receive the certificate
No account is needed to buy. The certificate follows within 4 hours after you pass and pay. It costs CHF 699 (€699) in the first year, then CHF 469 (€469) per year including the yearly online re-audit.
Show it to your customer
Each certificate has a number and a QR code on the PDF. Your customer opens the public verification page and checks it without contacting you.
The certificate is valid for 3 years and confirmed every year by a short online re-audit. The yearly subscription renews automatically and can be cancelled in your customer account at any time, effective at the end of the paid year. If you certify for a second or third standard, a discount of 20% or 30% applies, also on the yearly fee.
06: Routes
Which route suits your energy business?
Some tenders require a specific type of certificate, and some customers only ask for proof that you operate an OH&S system. Read the tender conditions or supplier questionnaire first. If they name no route, the online certificate is the faster and cheaper option.
The classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body takes longer to schedule and costs more. It makes sense if a customer explicitly requires it. The guide on certification routes sets the two side by side.
07: FAQ
Questions about ISO 45001 for the energy sector
08: Guide
Related pages
Check where your energy business stands
The self-assessment shows within minutes which ISO 45001 requirements you already meet.
Free and without registration.