Prerequisite programmes in occupational safety and health management systems on the road to sustainable development

Abstract

The commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is notable for its alignment with the ISO 45001 and ISO 22000 standards, excluding SDGs 14–15, as well as its affinity with the principles of sustainable production, with the exception of SDGs 1–4 and 14–16. Prerequisite Programmes (PRPs) represent a proven and effective approach in food safety management systems. This study aims to incorporate PRPs into Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (OSHMS). An approach was developed based on the Codex Alimentarius and ISO standards, following a high-level structure. The comparative analysis conducted shows that incorporating PRPs into the OSHMS significantly reduces risks. Despite the lack of information on the parallelism between the two standards, the new proposal promotes improvements including the prevention of incidents and occupational illnesses, risk management, process performance, stakeholder satisfaction and sustainable development. The intention is to submit this proposal for consideration by ISO/TC 283.