Gibdock is first yard in Med with new ISO workplace safety certification

Gibdock

JULY 27, 2018 — Underscoring its commitment to Occupational Health & Safety, Gibraltar ship repairer Gibdock has become the first shipyard in the Mediterranean region, and one of the first companies worldwide, to achieve ISO 45001:2018 certification.

ISO 45001:2018 replaces the previous standard, OHSAS 18001. Organizations certified to OHSAS 18001 have three years to migrate to the new standard before the old one is withdrawn in March 2021, but Gibdock decided to transition at the earliest possible opportunity.

The new standard places greater emphasis on top management involvement and employee participation to make workplaces safer and healthier. The structure of the new standard is the same as the quality and environmental management systems standards, ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, with the aim of making them easier to integrate and ensuring consistency worldwide. Gibdock made the successful transition to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 last year, and so is already able to benefit fully from the synergies between these three standards.

“We started work to move over to the new standard with the support of our consultants, Mabbett, earlier this year, even before the ISO 45001:2018 standard had been officially published. It took a lot of work, and needed engagement throughout the workforce, from our top management down, to update our policies and processes to make sure we were ready as soon as the new standard was in force. This preparation proved invaluable and we are pleased we were able to achieve the new standard at the first attempt,” says Francis Mauro, the shipyard’s QHSE manager.

“For Gibdock, workplace safety is a top priority, and the new standard will help us to build on what is already a strong track record,” adds Mauro. “We expect to see significant health and safety benefits as a result of adopting the new standard and our workforce, customers and stakeholders can be further assured that Gibdock is a yard that places safety right at the top of its agenda.”