Pass the PECB ISO 45001 ISO-45001-Lead-Auditor Questions and answers with CertsForce

ISO 45001 Clause 4.2 requires the organization to determine the relevant interested parties, their relevant needs and expectations (requirements), and which of those become legal or other requirements for the OH and S management system. Workers are explicitly central to ISO 45001, and the standard is aimed at providing safe and healthy workplaces and preventing work-related injury and ill health. Therefore, A. Workers requiring a safe environment in which to work is clearly a relevant requirement of a relevant interested party.

ISO 45001 Annex A.4.2 lists suppliers, contractors and subcontractors among examples of interested parties. Since externally provided products and services can affect OH and S performance, a requirement linked to minimizing the risk of harm in those products and services is relevant to the OH and S management system. That is why B. Subcontractor producing products and services that minimise the risk of harm is also relevant. It aligns with the standard’s treatment of contractors/subcontractors as interested parties and with operational control over externally provided products and services that can affect OH and S.

Why the others are not correct:

C. Competitors requiring information on the organisation ' s work environment is not a relevant OH and S requirement.

D. Top management requiring an annual bonus is a financial/personal issue, not an OH and S interested-party requirement.

E. Investors requiring maximum growth in return for their capital is a business expectation, but not a relevant OH and S requirement in this context.

F. Shareholders requiring guaranteed dividend payments is also financial and not relevant to the OH and S management system, even though shareholders may be interested parties in a broader business sense. ISO 45001 requires only the needs and expectations that are relevant to the OH and SMS to be determined.

ISO 45001 requires an organization to determine the external and internal issues that are relevant to its purpose and that affect its ability to achieve the intended results of the OH and S management system. This is established in Clause 4.1 – Understanding the organization and its context. External issues are typically conditions arising outside the organization, such as market conditions, social conditions, legal environment, economic factors, and technological developments. Internal issues are those related to the organization’s people, structure, culture, ownership, competence, and operational arrangements.

D. New technology available on the market is an external issue because it exists in the external business and technological environment. It is not created inside the organization, but it can affect how the organization manages OH and S risks and opportunities, for example by introducing safer equipment, automation, or new control methods. ISO 45001 guidance in Annex A recognizes that technological environment can be part of context analysis.

F. Average salaries in the business sector is also an external issue because it relates to the wider economic and labor-market environment, not the organization’s own internal arrangements. This kind of issue can influence recruitment, retention, competence availability, and worker welfare conditions, all of which may indirectly affect OH and S performance. It is part of the external economic context.

Why the other options are not external:

A. Increased number of outsourced processes is mainly an internal organizational decision about how work is arranged and controlled. Although outsourced providers are external parties, the increase in outsourcing is part of the organization’s internal operating model.

B. New owners of the organisation is an internal issue because ownership and governance are part of the organization’s internal structure and direction.

C. Workers joined a trade union is generally treated as an internal workforce/industrial relations issue, because it directly concerns the organization’s workers and participation arrangements.

E. Recently hired workers with limited command of the local language is an internal issue because it concerns the competence, communication, and workforce characteristics within the organization.

Therefore, the two options related to external issues are:

D, F

Clause 6.1.2 of ISO 45001:2018 emphasizes the identification of hazards and assessment of risks, and Clause 5.4 highlights the importance of consultation and communication among roles. The auditor ' s role includes verifying conformity to these clauses through evidence gathering and observation.

Analysis of Options:

A. The auditor should advise the organization to get rid of the walled area.This is outside the scope of an auditor’s role, which is to observe and report findings, not to dictate specific actions.

B. The auditor should ask the Maintenance Manager to conduct a safety survey.While safety surveys are useful, asking the Maintenance Manager to conduct one is not the auditor’s responsibility.

C. The auditor should check the lines of communication between the OHS Manager and Maintenance Manager.This aligns with ISO 45001:2018, Clause 5.4, as communication gaps may have contributed to the situation.

D. The auditor should check whether the organization has identified the safety hazards associated with the walled area.Clause 6.1.2 requires hazard identification. The auditor must determine whether this has been done.

E. The auditor should consider surveying more areas of the site for other potentially unsafe situations.Broadening the audit scope to identify additional risks is a good practice in line with Clause 9.2.2.

F. The auditor should demand that the Maintenance Manager deals with the wall.Demanding action is not within the auditor’s authority. The auditor should raise findings instead.

G. The auditor should raise a nonconformity against ISO 45001.While this may be appropriate depending on evidence, raising a nonconformity is not a replacement for good audit practices.

H. The auditor should refer the organization to health and safety authorities.This step is extreme and should only occur if there is an imminent danger and no action is being taken.

ISO References:

Clause 6.1.2: Hazard identification and risk assessment.

Clause 5.4: Worker consultation and participation.

Clause 9.2.2: Internal audit program and execution.

Option D provides the most complete description because audit resources must be adequate for the audit programme and capable of supporting achievement of the audit objectives, with competent personnel being a critical component. Resources are broader than management personnel, technology or a timescale considered individually. Depending on the programme, they may include auditors and technical experts with appropriate competence, sufficient time, financial resources, audit methods and tools, travel arrangements, information and communication technology, and other logistical support. The overriding requirement is that resources collectively allow audits to be conducted effectively and credibly. ISO/IAF guidance on ISO 19011 specifically states that those managing an audit programme should ensure the audit team ' s competence matches the audit scope and objectives and that adequate resources are available for the audits included in the programme.