Out of Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s 45 plants globally, 8 have so far become ISO45001:2018 certified. The long-term goal of the company is an accident-free workplace and in order to achieve that, the company is certifying its plants with the ISO 45001-standard. The target of the company is to get all its plants certified with the standard latest by 2021.

The new standard replaces the previous OHSAS 18001:2007 standard, which still continues to be the most widespread framework for occupational health and safety management. Currently 25 of Ahlstrom-Munksjö`s plants are OHSAS18001:2007 certified, according to a press release by the company.

The majority of Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s 8,000 employees work in circumstances where health, safety and environmental risks are present and the company’s operations hence require excellent performance in safeguarding health, safety, and environmental related issues.

The ISO45001:2018 standard promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing a framework that allows organisations to identify and reduce their risks related to occupational health and safety, reduce potential for workplace accidents and illnesses and improve legislative compliance.

To achieve the long-term target and to ensure a safe working environment, Ahlstrom-Munksjö will focus on preventative activities, behaviour-based safety interactions, safety inspections, auditing and tailored safety training. The performance will be managed through systematic and efficient health and safety management processes.

“A strong global safety culture increases the health and safety accountability for all coworkers, contractors and visitors. We are committed to apply the best practices within occupational health and safety and I am very happy to see this latest achievement. The ability to offer a safe place to work also supports us in attracting, developing and retaining talent for our global operations,” said Dan Adrianzon, executive vice president, people & safety at Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

“This new international, dynamic and process based safety management standard considers risks and opportunities rather than risks only and at the same time it requires that the views of our stakeholders are considered. This is fully in line with our preventative health and safety strategy. This standard takes our plants to a new level, and also increases efficiency, as it’s based on the other ISO management system standards,” said Rune Årnes, vice president health & safety at Ahlstrom-Munksjö. (PC)