8 Barriers to ISO 45001 Implementation (With Solutions)

• ISO 45001 implementation requires a structured, organisation-wide approach that extends beyond health and safety teams.
• Common barriers include limited understanding of the standard, inadequate resourcing and resistance from staff.
• Worker awareness and training are essential, both during rollout and to maintain engagement over time.
• Effective documentation and performance tracking are critical for audit readiness and continuous improvement.
• Implementation is not a one-time project – ISO 45001 is built around ongoing evaluation, learning and development.

ISO 45001 is the internationally recognised standard for occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), it draws on expert consensus from global health and safety professionals, regulators and industry bodies. The standard reflects decades of knowledge and practical experience in preventing work-related injury and ill health.

ISO standards are designed to be rigorous and adaptable, and ISO 45001 is no exception. It provides a framework that can be applied to organisations of all sizes and sectors, supporting both legal compliance and continuous improvement.

Implementing ISO 45001 means turning the standard’s requirements into a functioning occupational health and safety management system tailored to your organisation. It requires an integrated approach that combines risk controls and safe work practices with processes to monitor and improve safety performance – all supported by senior leaders, frontline workers and everyone in between.

The structure of ISO 45001 follows the same framework used by other management system standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It consists of ten clauses: three for context and seven for system requirements.

To meet the standard – whether through internal checks or external certification – you must be able to demonstrate, with documented evidence, that your system complies with the seven auditable clauses, starting with number 4:

• Clause 4: Context of the organisation – Understand internal and external factors that affect your system.
• Clause 5: Leadership and worker participation – Establish top-level commitment and meaningful worker involvement.
• Clause 6: Planning – Identify risks and legal obligations; set objectives and action plans.
• Clause 7: Support – Ensure resources, competence, awareness and communication are in place.
• Clause 8: Operation – Put risk controls and emergency procedures into action.
• Clause 9: Performance evaluation – Monitor results through audits, inspections and reviews.
• Clause 10: Improvement – Investigate issues, apply corrective actions and continuously refine the system.

While the benefits of ISO 45001 are well-established, implementing the standard isn’t always straightforward.

Many organisations encounter similar challenges that delay progress or weaken the final outcome. Recognising these barriers early can help you avoid costly setbacks – and build a stronger, more effective health and safety management system.

Organisational leaders may endorse ISO 45001 in principle but fail to engage meaningfully in its implementation. This is one of the most common reasons systems stall early. Without visible commitment from senior management, ISO 45001 is often seen as a compliance task delegated to health and safety teams, rather than a strategic priority.

When leaders are disconnected from the process, it undermines motivation across the workforce. Worker engagement declines, resources become harder to secure and the management system struggles to gain traction.

The most effective way to secure leadership commitment is to clearly communicate the business benefits of ISO 45001. These include:

• Lower rates of injury and ill health
• Reduced downtime and associated costs
• Improved legal compliance and audit performance
• Stronger employee morale and engagement
• Enhanced reputation with clients, insurers and regulators

When senior decision-makers understand how ISO 45001 supports wider business objectives – not just health and safety – they’re more likely to take ownership of its success.

For a full overview of ISO 45001 and its benefits, see ISO’s own summary of the standard.

If you only have a loose grasp of the standard and the implementation process, it becomes difficult to make informed decisions about what needs to happen, when and how. Uncertainty around the requirements leads to unclear priorities, misallocated resources and inconsistent progress.

Without a solid understanding from the outset, it’s easy to commit to the wrong actions or miss essential steps entirely. This often results in costly delays, duplicated work or the need to restart key parts of the process once gaps become apparent.

To implement ISO 45001 effectively, you need a clear, working knowledge of how the system is structured and what each clause requires in practice. This doesn’t mean becoming an expert in every detail – but it does mean understanding the key components well enough to plan, resource and lead implementation with confidence.

Training provides this foundation. It helps build a mental model of the standard, so that implementation efforts are targeted, realistic and aligned with audit expectations. It also reduces the risk of wasted time and allows you to anticipate what’s needed rather than reacting after the fact.

Many organisations underestimate what it takes to implement ISO 45001 successfully, often because of the aforementioned lack of understanding.

Without this foundation, it becomes difficult to identify what resources are truly needed – whether that’s time, personnel, budget or specialist support. This under-resourcing slows momentum, creates bottlenecks and increases the risk of non-conformities during audits.

A well-planned ISO 45001 strategy makes it easier to identify where resources should be allocated from the outset. This includes assigning responsibility for key actions, budgeting for training and support, and allowing time for meaningful engagement across the organisation.

While implementation can be phased, it should never be improvised. A clear roadmap, built on a solid understanding of the standard, enables leadership to support the process with the right level of commitment and resourcing at each stage.

From the frontlines, staff have limited visibility of the system being implemented. Without clear communication, workers may not understand how the management system affects them, or what role they play in its success.

This is a risk not only during the initial implementation but long after. Clause 7 of ISO 45001 specifically requires organisations to ensure awareness of the OHS management system, including policies, responsibilities and the importance of participation.

Lack of awareness undermines engagement, especially when improvements rely on accurate reporting, consultation and worker involvement.

Organisational awareness must be established and sustained. All staff – not just those in safety roles – need a basic understanding of how the system works and why it matters.

To help organisations meet this need, we offer ISO 45001 Awareness Training – a short, accessible course designed to support Clause 7 requirements and improve employee engagement with the system.

New systems often create friction. Managers and staff may question the need for ISO 45001 or see it as a burden layered on top of existing responsibilities. Others may be wary of added documentation, new procedures or closer scrutiny.

This resistance can quietly stall progress. When key individuals aren’t on board, implementation loses momentum – even if leadership is supportive.

Involve staff early and often. Change is easier to accept when people feel part of the process and understand the reasons behind it.

Explain how ISO 45001 can make roles clearer, reduce uncertainty and improve workplace safety. Focus on the practical benefits and how it helps, rather than hinders, day-to-day work.

ISO 45001 requires documented evidence that your health and safety system is working as intended. This includes everything from policies and procedures to training records, risk assessments and incident reports.

Many organisations struggle to identify what needs to be documented – or how to organise it effectively for internal audits and, where relevant, external certification. Without a clear approach, documentation becomes reactive and inconsistent, increasing the risk of non-conformities.

Your ISO 45001 strategy must include a documentation “map”, showing what’s needed for each clause of the standard. Make sure responsibilities for creating, maintaining and reviewing documents are clearly assigned.

Use templates and digital systems to keep information organised and accessible. Treat documentation as an active tool for learning and improvement – not just a paper trail for audit day.

A health and safety management system can only function if people understand how to use it. Without adequate training, staff may not follow procedures correctly, recognise their responsibilities or contribute effectively to system improvements.

This is especially true during audits, where gaps in knowledge or poor recordkeeping can result in non-conformities – even if the system is technically sound.

Training must be role-specific, consistent and tracked. Everyone involved – from duty to frontline workers – should know what is expected of them and be able to demonstrate competence.

To support this, we offer tools for managing training records and tracking compliance. These help ensure the right people are trained at the right time – and provide clear evidence when it matters most.

Some organisations treat ISO 45001 implementation as a one-off project that ends with certification. But the standard is designed to support ongoing improvement. The ISO 9001 framework follows the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, which is meant to be repeated continuously.

Without regular monitoring, safety performance can slip and opportunities for improvement are missed. It’s also an automatic fail for any ISO 9001 audit.

Successful ISO 45001 implementation isn’t passing an audit – it’s managing health and safety as an ongoing, measurable process. To maintain momentum (and compliance with the standard), improvement needs to be planned and tracked.

The standard requires setting health and safety objectives and reviewing progress regularly. These targets help organisations measure performance, identify what’s working and make informed decisions about where to improve next.

A successful management system doesn’t stop at certification. Build in routine evaluations, document lessons learned, and act on findings from audits, inspections and worker feedback.

All of these common barriers can be overcome with knowledge and foresight.

Our ISO 45001 Implementation Training is designed to help professionals apply the standard in practice – from initial planning through to rollout and ongoing improvement. The course outlines how to build an OHS management system that aligns with ISO 45001:2018, meets audit expectations and genuinely improves safety performance.

Approved by IIRSM, this multi-module course covers:

• Structure and concepts of the ISO 45001 framework
• Leadership responsibilities in OHS management
• Adopting the PDCA cycle for ongoing improvement

The training also includes a digital ISO 45001 implementation checklist, helping you compare current practices with the standard’s requirements and identify areas for improvement.