ISO 45004 – Performance evaluation

What is ISO 45004?

The purpose of ISO 45004, Guidance on performance evaluation, is to give organisations an effective tool for monitoring, measuring, analysing and evaluating their occupational health and safety performance, thereby ensuring that they achieve the desired occupational health and safety results. The standard has been developed as a supplement to the occupational health and safety management standard ISO 45001, but can be used by any organisation wishing to work systematically, in a data-driven and proactive way to improve occupational health and safety – regardless of size, sector or level of maturity.

ISO 45004 provides concrete examples of processes and indicators that can be used to monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate occupational health and safety performance, and shows how organisations can work proactively and select relevant leading and lagging indicators, how to avoid unintended consequences of measurement, and how to build a transparent and effective evaluation process. At the same time, the standard provides a systematic framework for how occupational health and safety performance can be integrated into the organisation's other business processes and used as a basis for continuous improvement.

The standard also provides guidance on what organisations should be aware of in order to ensure data quality, involve employees, create relevant and understandable indicators, communicate results and prioritise improvement measures. Examples are also given of how organisations can work with maturity, culture and management commitment as part of performance evaluation.

The standard describes how to select and use good indicators, including:

• leading vs. lagging indicators
• qualitative and quantitative measures
• the lifecycle and maturity of indicators
• how to avoid unintended consequences

The standard highlights the importance of integrating performance evaluation into the organisation's other processes – including quality management, procurement, operations, design and change management.

Three benefits of working systematically with performance evaluation

A robust, data-driven evaluation of occupational health and safety performance can, among other things, lead to:

• better decision-making basis for management – clearer insight into which efforts are working
• strengthened prevention through proactive indicators – not just a focus on accidents and cases of illness
• continuous improvement and greater organisational maturity – with a clear link between objectives, efforts and results

With ISO 45004, you get:

• a shared, internationally recognised foundation for evaluating occupational health and safety performance
• concrete tools for monitoring, measuring, analysing and evaluating occupational health and safety data
• stronger management commitment and better employee involvement in improvement processes
• support for ISO 45001 and other management systems through integrated processes and indicators
• more proactive prevention, higher-quality risk management and a more sustainable organisation