Who commissions ISO 45001 implementation
Most of the organisations we work with already manage health and safety reasonably well. What they lack is a system that a certification body, a framework client or a main contractor will recognise. The trigger is usually commercial: a tender that scores certified suppliers higher, a client prequalification that asks for it, growth into larger contracts, or a board that wants assurance that arrangements are consistent across sites.
The service suits established SMEs and medium-sized organisations, typically with 20 to 300 employees, where health and safety is managed by a small team alongside other responsibilities. It also suits organisations whose previous attempt stalled, or that bought a template pack nobody uses.
What implementation actually involves
ISO 45001 does not ask for a manual. It asks the organisation to show that a set of processes exists and works. In practice, implementation means building and evidencing:
- the context and scope of the system, including the sites, activities and contractors it covers (clause 4)
- visible leadership, a health and safety policy and defined responsibilities (clauses 5.1 to 5.3)
- consultation and participation of workers, including non-managerial workers (clause 5.4), which is the requirement organisations most often underestimate
- hazard identification, risk assessment and the hierarchy of controls (clauses 6.1.2 and 8.1.2)
- a register of legal and other requirements and a method of evaluating compliance (clauses 6.1.3 and 9.1.2)
- objectives with plans to achieve them (clause 6.2)
- competence, awareness and documented information (clause 7)
- operational control, management of change and control of contractors and procurement (clause 8.1)
- emergency preparedness and response (clause 8.2)
- monitoring, internal audit and management review (clause 9)
- incident investigation, nonconformity and corrective action (clause 10)
The standard in use is ISO 45001:2018, including its 2024 amendment, which added an explicit expectation to consider climate change when determining the organisation's context.
Expected project stages
- Initial assessment. A conversation about your activities, sites, people, current arrangements and the reason for certification. This decides whether a gap analysis is needed or the scope is already clear.
- Gap analysis. A structured review against each requirement, through documents, interviews and observation on site. You receive graded findings and a roadmap.
- System design. Agreeing the scope, the process owners and which existing documents are kept, revised or retired.
- Development. Building the processes, registers and records with the people who will run them, not for them.
- Implementation. Running the system long enough to generate the records an auditor will sample: risk assessments in use, inspections, consultation, training, incidents and actions.
- Internal audit. A full audit cycle across the scope, with findings closed out.
- Management review. Top management reviewing real performance information and recording decisions.
- Certification readiness. A final readiness review before the certification body's stage 1 audit, and support through stage 2.
Independent certification
Certification is carried out by an independent certification body, ideally one accredited by UKAS, the UK's national accreditation body. Initial certification is a two-stage audit. Stage 1 checks that the system is designed and ready, stage 2 checks that it is implemented and effective. Certified organisations then receive surveillance audits, normally annually, within a three-year certification cycle.
Featherstone Safety is a consultancy. We do not issue certificates, conduct certification audits or influence certification decisions, and nobody can honestly guarantee the outcome of an independent audit. We can help you choose and brief an accredited certification body so that the audit scope matches your system.
What affects cost and duration
We scope every project before quoting, and confirm a fixed fee in writing. The factors that move the effort up or down are predictable:
- headcount, number of sites and how different those sites are
- the risk profile of the work, for example lifting, work at height, plant or contractor-heavy operations
- your starting point, and whether you already hold ISO 9001 or ISO 14001
- how much time your process owners can give the project
- how quickly the system can generate evidence of operation
- the availability of your chosen certification body
Certification body fees are separate and paid directly to the certification body.
Indicative pricing
ISO 45001 implementation
Consultancy from £5,995
Typical investment £6,000 to £12,000, depending on scope. Independent certification fees are additional.
Request a Fixed-Price Proposal See how ISO consultancy is priced
Our guides on what affects the cost of ISO 45001 and how long certification takes go into more detail.
Building on systems you already run
If you already hold ISO 9001, ISO 45001 can be built into the same framework rather than alongside it. See adding ISO 45001 to ISO 9001. If you need environmental management too, see ISO 14001 implementation, or the sector programmes for energy and engineering contractors and mining operations.
Optional software support
Some clients use Featherstone Safety Hub, our separate health and safety software, to keep parts of their management system running between audits. Its features include a document register with version control, corrective action tracking, inspection and incident records and training records, and the Professional plan adds an environmental aspect register and legal compliance log.
It is entirely optional. Using it does not make a management system conform to ISO 45001 or ISO 14001 on its own, and the software itself is not ISO certified.
Why Featherstone Safety
Featherstone Safety Ltd is an independent UK occupational health and safety consultancy providing ISO management system consultancy and implementation support. Thomas Featherstone holds the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety and IOSH Managing Safely, is a Technical Member of IOSH (TechIOSH), and has eight years in safety-critical work.
- Systems that match the work. We build processes around how your organisation actually operates, so they survive contact with an auditor and with day-to-day pressure.
- Independent of certification. We are not a certification body and we do not issue certificates. Certification decisions are always made by an independent, accredited certification body.
- Practical site experience. Recent work includes on-site health and safety advisory and observation support during the delivery and installation of a 300 tonne super grid transformer. That was health and safety advisory work, not ISO consultancy, and it is not an endorsement of our ISO services.
Read more about Thomas Featherstone or see our case studies.
Frequently asked questions
How long does ISO 45001 implementation take?
It depends on your starting point, the size and number of sites in scope and the time your team can give it. The system also has to run long enough to produce records, an internal audit and a management review before the certification audit. A gap analysis gives a timeline specific to your organisation.
Can you guarantee we will be certified?
No. Certification is decided by an independent certification body after its own audit, and no consultant can guarantee that outcome. What we can do is make sure the system is complete, operating and evidenced before the audit, and help you respond to any findings.
What do you need from us?
Time from the people who will run the system, active involvement from top management, access to sites and workers, and someone internally who owns the project day to day. Implementation fails most often when it is treated as a document exercise handed to one person.
Will we end up with a large manual?
No. ISO 45001 requires documented information where the standard specifies it and where your organisation needs it to operate effectively. A small organisation with low-risk work needs far less than a multi-site contractor, and neither needs a manual written for the sake of it.
Do you work outside London and Oxfordshire?
Yes. We support organisations across the UK, with planning, workshops and document review delivered remotely and site days agreed as part of the scope.