Pearson ISO-45001-Lead-Auditor New Attempt

Clause 9.1.2 of ISO 45001:2018 outlines the need for organizations to evaluate compliance with applicable legal and other requirements as part of their OH and S management system.

Analysis of Options:

A. The organization must evaluate its compliance status at least once a year:The standard does not prescribe a specific frequency but states that evaluations must be conducted at planned intervals.

B. ' Other requirements ' include requirements that the organization has chosen to comply with:Correct. Other requirements may include voluntary standards, industry codes, or contractual obligations.

C. A management review is required in all instances where one or more legal requirements are not being met:This is not true. Management reviews address compliance but are not mandated for every noncompliance.

D. Every member of an audit team must have a detailed understanding of the legal requirements for the sector and type of organization they are auditing:Not true. Auditors must have general competency but can rely on subject-matter experts for legal specifics.

E. If the organization is failing to address a legal requirement relating to another discipline (e.g., Environmental management), this cannot be raised in the audit:Not true. If the legal noncompliance impacts OH and S, it can be raised.

F. The organization cannot outsource its process for evaluating compliance:The organization can outsource evaluation but retains accountability.

G. The organization is required to establish a process for evaluating compliance:Correct. Clause 9.1.2 requires a process for compliance evaluation.

H. The organization is required to evaluate its compliance status with OH and S legal and other requirements:Correct. Clause 9.1.2 explicitly states this requirement.

ISO References:

Clause 9.1.2: Evaluation of compliance.

Clause 7.5: Documented information requirements

The three correct responses are A, B, and G.

A is correct because ISO 45001 Clause 5.3 requires top management to ensure that the responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles are assigned, communicated and understood at all levels within the organization, and that they are maintained as documented information. So if top management asks whether responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles have to be documented, the correct answer is yes.

B is correct because Clause 5.1 Leadership and commitment requires top management to ensure that the resources needed to establish, implement, maintain and improve the OH and S management system are available. Therefore, the auditor’s “Yes, you do” is correct.

G is correct because Clause 5.1 also requires top management to promote continual improvement. This is stated directly as part of top management leadership and commitment responsibilities under ISO 45001.

Why the others are not correct:

C is incorrect because top management does have to ensure that processes are established for consultation and participation of workers. Clause 5.4 makes this a requirement, so “No, you do not” is wrong.

D is incorrect as written. Top management must establish, implement and maintain the OH and S policy, but ISO 45001 does not state that top management personally has to “write” it. The wording in the option is too specific and not how the standard states the requirement.

E is incorrect because top management does have to ensure that the OH and S management system achieves its intended results. Clause 5.1 says this directly.

F is incorrect because top management must ensure OH and S objectives are established and compatible with the strategic direction, but ISO 45001 does not require top management personally to “write” the objectives.

H is incorrect because the organization must determine the scope under Clause 4.3, and top management remains accountable for the OH and S management system. Saying “No, you do not” is not correct in this context.

ISO 45001 Clause 8.1.3 Management of change states that the organization must establish processes for the implementation and control of planned temporary and permanent changes that impact OH and S performance. It also says this includes new products, services and processes, and changes to existing products, services and processes. That makes A true. It also supports B, because the clause is specifically about changes that impact the organization’s OH and S performance.

Statement E is also true. If the organization decides, after an emergency preparedness and response exercise, that it needs to change part of the OHSMS to improve OH and S performance, then that change has to be implemented in a controlled way under the organization’s management-of-change process. ISO 45001 links emergency preparedness with improvement and requires changes impacting OH and S performance to be controlled.

Why the others are false:

C is false because ISO 45001 does not limit management of change to planned changes only. It says the organization must also review the consequences of unintended changes and take action to mitigate adverse effects.

D is false because Clause 8.1.3 does not require retaining documented information of all changes. The clause requires establishing processes for implementation and control, but it does not state a blanket requirement to retain documented information for every change.

F is false because developments in knowledge and technology are explicitly included in management of change, not excluded.

G is false because changes are not limited to those identified by the organization itself; the clause also includes changes in legal and other requirements, and changes in knowledge or information about hazards and risks.

H is false because ISO 45001 explicitly says management of change applies to temporary and permanent planned changes.

ISO 45001 requires an organization to determine the external and internal issues that are relevant to its purpose and that affect its ability to achieve the intended results of the OH and S management system. This is established in Clause 4.1 – Understanding the organization and its context. External issues are typically conditions arising outside the organization, such as market conditions, social conditions, legal environment, economic factors, and technological developments. Internal issues are those related to the organization’s people, structure, culture, ownership, competence, and operational arrangements.

D. New technology available on the market is an external issue because it exists in the external business and technological environment. It is not created inside the organization, but it can affect how the organization manages OH and S risks and opportunities, for example by introducing safer equipment, automation, or new control methods. ISO 45001 guidance in Annex A recognizes that technological environment can be part of context analysis.

F. Average salaries in the business sector is also an external issue because it relates to the wider economic and labor-market environment, not the organization’s own internal arrangements. This kind of issue can influence recruitment, retention, competence availability, and worker welfare conditions, all of which may indirectly affect OH and S performance. It is part of the external economic context.

Why the other options are not external:

A. Increased number of outsourced processes is mainly an internal organizational decision about how work is arranged and controlled. Although outsourced providers are external parties, the increase in outsourcing is part of the organization’s internal operating model.

B. New owners of the organisation is an internal issue because ownership and governance are part of the organization’s internal structure and direction.

C. Workers joined a trade union is generally treated as an internal workforce/industrial relations issue, because it directly concerns the organization’s workers and participation arrangements.

E. Recently hired workers with limited command of the local language is an internal issue because it concerns the competence, communication, and workforce characteristics within the organization.

Therefore, the two options related to external issues are:

D, F