ISO 45001 for trades: certificate for your business

A subcontractor's people work on someone else's site, in someone else's building, often next to other trades. If one of them is injured, the client feels it too: work stops, an investigation starts, the schedule slips. That is why supplier questionnaires from larger customers now contain a section on occupational health and safety.

A certificate against ISO 45001 replaces a page of self-description with a document. Some tenders ask for proof of an OH&S management system, and customer audits go faster when the answer is already on file. Your own staff benefit too: a foreman who knows the hazards of the next job plans it differently.

Every Zertify certificate carries a number and a QR code. The purchasing department scans the code on the PDF and lands on a public verification page. Nobody has to phone you to confirm it.

• ISO 45001 standard page

The standard does not hand you a fixed list of hazards. It requires you to identify the hazards of your own work and to decide what to do about them. In a trades business they usually look like this.

Work at height

Ladders, scaffolds, roofs and lifting platforms. The hazard is assessed per job, and the control is chosen before the first person climbs.

Power tools and machinery

Saws, grinders, drills and compressors. Guards, training, inspection of cables and blades, and a clear rule on who may use what.

Dust, noise and vibration

Cutting, chiselling and sanding expose workers over months and years. The harm is slow, so it needs a plan rather than a reaction.

Hazardous substances

Solvents, adhesives, paints and cement. Safety data sheets at hand, labelled storage and a check whether a less harmful product does the same job.

Manual handling

Plasterboard, pipes, bags and tiles. Lifting aids, team lifts and delivery to the point of use instead of the ground floor.

Several trades on one site

Someone works above you, someone else leaves cables across the corridor. Coordination between companies is part of your own risk assessment.

• All standards at a glance

Most of what ISO 45001 asks for already happens in a well-run workshop. The standard asks you to make it deliberate and to keep a record.

A team of five does not need a safety department. It needs a few documents that are true and a routine that people follow.

1. 01

   List the hazards by trade

   Walk through your typical jobs, from a bathroom renovation to a roof repair, and write down what can hurt someone.

2. 02

   Write a short OH&S policy

   One page, signed by the owner, with a commitment to prevent injury and ill health.

3. 03

   Ask your workers

   Collect their view on hazards and on what already works. Note who was asked and when.

4. 04

   Fix controls and emergency steps

   Decide who is responsible for scaffolding checks, substance storage and first aid.

5. 05

   Record incidents and near misses

   A simple log is enough, as long as every entry leads to a decision.

• ISO for small and medium businesses

You complete an online self-assessment with 34 yes/no questions. 14 of them are mandatory requirements of the standard and must all be answered yes. Of the other 20, at least 14 need a yes. Once you have passed and paid, the certificate arrives within 4 hours. You need no account to buy.

The certificate is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education. SICE reviews every assessment before the certificate is issued. There is no on-site audit. Each year a short online re-audit confirms the certificate, and it is valid for 3 years.

The price is CHF 699 (€699) in the first year, then CHF 469 (€469) per year including the online re-audit. It runs as an automatic yearly subscription. You can cancel it at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the current year, and the certificate then ends with the paid year. Companies that certify against two standards get 20% off, three or more get 30%, also on the yearly fee. Customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein pay prices including 8.1% VAT.

• Start the free self-assessment
• Pricing
• How it works

The classic route means an on-site audit by a certification body. It suits companies whose customer or tender explicitly demands one. It also takes more time to arrange, because auditor, site visit and your own working days have to fit together.

If your customers mainly ask for a valid, verifiable certificate, the online route covers that. Read the tender or the supplier questionnaire first and see what exactly it asks for. The guide on the routes compares both.

• Compare the certification routes
• Certification without an on-site audit
• What certification costs