ISO 45001 occupational health and safety in Georgia

What ISO 45001 is

ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It was amended in 2024 to require organisations to consider climate change in their context. The standard asks you to identify hazards, assess risks, consult and involve workers, control operations and contractors, prepare for emergencies, investigate incidents and improve performance. Leadership and worker participation carry more weight than in older safety standards.

The Georgian legal context

The Organic Law of Georgia on Occupational Safety, adopted in 2019, applies to all sectors of the economy. Among other duties, it requires employers to:

• Assess workplace risks and keep a written risk assessment document up to date.
• Organise occupational safety competence: a small employer may perform the role personally after accredited training, employers with more than 20 staff must have a qualified occupational safety specialist, and larger employers must set up a service with at least two specialists.
• Train employees at hiring, before new tasks or equipment and at regular intervals, in a language they understand.
• Record and investigate accidents and notify the supervisory body within 24 hours of moderate, serious or fatal accidents.

The LEPL Labour Inspection Service, established under the 2020 Law on Labour Inspection and fully operational since 2021, inspects compliance and can impose sanctions. ISO 45001 does not replace the law, but it gives you the system to meet these duties consistently and to show inspectors and customers how you manage risk.

Who needs it

We work mostly with construction and engineering contractors, mining and metal companies, energy and hydropower operators, manufacturers, logistics and warehouse operators, and port and transport businesses. Many of them need the certificate because international clients, EPC contractors or lenders require it from subcontractors.

Office-based and service companies are covered by the same law. For them we build a smaller system focused on the real risks, such as ergonomics, travel, fire safety, stress and work at client sites, so that the paperwork stays proportionate.

How BALTUM prepares you

1. Site visit and legal review. We review your workplaces, existing risk assessments, specialist appointments, training records and accident logs against the Georgian law and ISO 45001.
2. Hazard identification and risk assessment. We help build a risk assessment method that covers routine and non-routine work, contractors and visitors.
3. Worker consultation. We set up the consultation and participation arrangements the standard requires, including how non-managerial workers report hazards.
4. Operational control. Permit-to-work, lockout, work at height, PPE, contractor management and management of change, sized to your actual risks.
5. Emergency preparedness. Plans, drills and records for fire, evacuation and first aid.
6. Incident investigation and corrective action. A simple procedure that finds root causes and tracks actions to closure.
7. Internal audit, management review and audit support. We audit the system, prepare the management review and support you through the certification audits.

Duration depends on the number of sites, the hazard profile and the condition of current records. We set the plan after the first visit.

How certification works

An accredited certification body audits the system in two stages, including site inspections and interviews with workers. The certificate is valid for three years with annual surveillance audits. Choose a body accredited by an IAF MLA signatory and check the certificate in IAF CertSearch.

Related standards and reading

ISO 45001 is often implemented together with ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. For a detailed view of Georgian requirements, read ISO 45001 and occupational safety requirements in Georgia.

To discuss your sites and risks, write to info@baltum.org or use the request form.

Frequently asked questions

Does ISO 45001 certification protect us from Labour Inspection sanctions?

No. Inspectors check compliance with Georgian law, not with the standard. A working ISO 45001 system makes compliance more consistent and gives you records to show during an inspection.

Can our existing risk assessment be reused?

Usually yes. We check that it covers all activities, contractors and non-routine work, and that the method is applied the same way across sites.

Who should run the system internally?

Usually your occupational safety specialist or service, with clear responsibilities for line managers. Top management must stay involved, because the standard places leadership duties on them.