ISO 9001 or ISO 45001: Choosing Your First Standard

The right starting point is the standard your clients, tender committees and regulators require. In most sectors this is ISO 9001. On construction, energy and facilities management contracts, ISO 45001 is frequently a prequalification requirement.

Review recent tender documents and supplier questionnaires. Where both standards are requested, an integrated approach is usually the most efficient route.

Both standards follow the harmonised structure of ISO management system standards, so policy, objectives, documented information, internal audit and management review can be shared. Adding a second standard to an established system takes considerably less effort than the first.

Many organisations therefore plan an integrated management system from the outset, certify the most urgent standard first and add the second at a surveillance audit.