ISO 45001 for transport companies

A transport company works inside other companies' supply chains. Its drivers enter customer sites, its vehicles carry customer goods, and an accident on a loading ramp can stop a delivery line. Large shippers and forwarders know this, and many add health and safety questions to their supplier questionnaire.

Tenders for transport and logistics services often ask how you manage workplace risks. A certificate to ISO 45001:2018 answers that question with a single document. The purchasing department does not have to read your safety folder, it can check the certificate number on the verification page.

The standard also helps in a customer audit. Instead of explaining your practices from memory, you point to a policy, a hazard register and a record of incidents with actions.

• About ISO 45001
• ISO for small and medium businesses

The standard does not list hazards for you. It requires you to identify them in your own operation and assess them before someone is hurt. In transport, the same places come up again and again.

Loading and unloading

Slipping from a ramp or tail lift, crushed fingers, unsecured cargo shifting while a door is opened.

Manual handling

Parcel couriers and delivery drivers lift repeatedly, often in awkward positions and under time pressure.

Yard and depot movements

Reversing trucks, forklifts and pedestrians share the same space, often in poor light or in winter conditions.

Driver fatigue

Long shifts, early starts and tight delivery windows reduce attention behind the wheel.

Work at height

Climbing onto trailers to adjust tarpaulins or check loads carries a fall risk.

Lone working

A driver who makes deliveries or breaks down at night has nobody nearby if something goes wrong.

Workshop and maintenance

Working under vehicles, handling tyres and batteries, and exposure to oils and fuels.

The six core requirements of the standard translate into concrete routines. These examples show what they can look like in a company with a fleet and a depot.

1. 01

   Identify and assess hazards

   The dispatcher, a driver and the workshop lead walk through each process: pick-up, loading, driving, delivery, return. Every hazard goes into a register with a rating.

2. 02

   Set an OH&S policy

   Management signs a one-page policy that commits to preventing injury and ill health. It hangs in the depot and is part of the driver induction.

3. 03

   Consult and involve workers

   Drivers and warehouse staff are asked which routes, sites or vehicles worry them. Their input is recorded and changes the plan.

4. 04

   Apply the hierarchy of controls

   Remove the hazard first, for example by a tail lift instead of lifting by hand. If that is not possible, use guards, then procedures, then protective equipment.

5. 05

   Plan emergency response

   Drivers know what to do after a breakdown, a spill or a collision. Fire extinguishers, first aid kits and contact numbers are in every vehicle and checked on a schedule.

6. 06

   Investigate incidents

   A near miss on the ramp is written up the same day. The cause is found, an action is assigned to a named person, and the result is checked later.

The management system clauses of ISO 45001 follow the common structure of other ISO standards. For a transport company, the evidence is usually plain documents and records.

The self-assessment contains 34 yes/no questions. Fourteen of them are mandatory requirements of the standard and must all be answered yes. Of the other 20, at least 14 must be yes. You can complete it without an account and without cost.

SICE reviews every assessment. The certificate is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, and you receive it within 4 hours after passing and paying. Each certificate carries a number and a QR code on the PDF, so a customer or tender office can open the public verification page and confirm it.

The price is CHF 699 (€699) in the first year, then CHF 469 (€469) per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. The subscription renews automatically and can be cancelled at any time to the end of the current year in your customer account. Companies that also certify to a second or third standard get 20% or 30% off, including the yearly fee.

• Start the free self-assessment
• See pricing
• ISO 45001 at Zertify

The classic route means an on-site audit by a certification body. It takes more of your calendar and involves more coordination, particularly when drivers are on the road all day. The Zertify route works from your own answers and a short online re-audit each year.

Which route suits you depends on what your customers ask for. If a tender names a specific form of certification, check that first. Our guides compare both routes and explain the cost side.

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