You are an audit team leader who has been asked by the certification body to...

PECB ISO-45001-Lead-Auditor Question Answer

You are an audit team leader who has been asked by the certification body to attend a regional conference given by OH and S representatives. You find the presentations informative, particularly the one that has just finished, which focused on what organisations were doing to adapt work to workers.

When the opportunity for questions arises, you ask the presenter to give you examples of what his own organisation had done to adapt work to workers. He provides the following responses.

Which three are actual examples of adapting work to workers?

Ensuring only competent workers are employed in key roles.

Providing work instructions by video to an organisation where workers speak different languages and no subtitles are provided.

Giving workers the opportunity to stand for election to the organisation ' s health and safety committee.

Providing those who spend the majority of their working days on their computers with frequent breaks.

Keeping welfare facilities clean and available for use at all times.

Amending a control station to facilitate handicapped workers.

Amending the start and finish times of processes to accommodate cultural practices.

Explanation:

ISO 45001 requires the organization to adapt the work to workers as part of operational planning and control. Clause 8.1.1(d) states that the organization shall plan, implement, control and maintain the necessary processes, including adapting the work to workers . Annex A.8.1.1 then gives examples, including: redefining how work is organized , redefining processes and work environments , and using ergonomic approaches in the design or modification of workplaces and equipment .

Based on that, D. Providing those who spend the majority of their working days on their computers with frequent breaks is a valid example because it adapts the organization of work to human needs and helps reduce strain and fatigue. This matches the Annex guidance about redefining how work is organized and using ergonomic approaches.

F. Amending a control station to facilitate handicapped workers is also a clear example. ISO 45001 specifically refers to using ergonomic approaches in the design of new workplaces/equipment or in modifying workplaces/equipment . Changing a control station to suit disabled workers is exactly the kind of ergonomic and workplace adaptation the standard is referring to.

G. Amending the start and finish times of processes to accommodate cultural practices is the third valid example, because Annex A.8.1.1 includes the definition or redefinition of how work is organized . Adjusting working times to suit workers’ needs is a direct way of adapting work organization to workers.

Why the others are not the best examples:

A is about competence, which relates more to Clause 7.2 Competence , not adapting work to workers.

B is not appropriate because if workers speak different languages and there are no subtitles , the communication is not being made understandable; ISO 45001 expects information to be comprehensible and identifies language barriers as participation barriers.

C relates to worker participation and consultation, not adapting work to workers.

E is good housekeeping/welfare, but not specifically an example of adapting work to workers in the sense used by ISO 45001 Annex A.8.1.1.

H relates to planning under Clause 6.1, not adapting work to workers.

Therefore, the three actual examples of adapting work to workers are:

D, F, G

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