Phoenix Design Aid migrates to new occupational health and safety certificate
Photo: Groovy Graphic.
On 7 April 2021, Phoenix Design Aid migrated to ISO 45001 which is an occupational health and safety certificate and strengthens thereby its support of SDG number 8. In addition, the organization received recertification in its certificates within Quality, Environment and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Phoenix Design Aid has been certified within OHSAS 18001, an internationally recognized standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management System, since 2007. In March 2018, the existing standard was withdrawn, which meant that all companies certified had to undergo a migration to ISO 45001 which is the replacement for OHSAS 18001.
Therefore, Phoenix Design Aid underwent a substantial audit on 6-7 April 2021 which culminated in us receiving the ISO 45001 certificate and recertification in our certificates within quality (ISO 9011), environment (ISO 14001) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the company DNV. All certifications apply to all our offices, including our subsidiaries in Panama and Nairobi.
SDG number 8 – promotion of a safe working environment
At Phoenix Design Aid, the insurance of our employees’ health has always been a top priority. We work to ensure that all employees have a healthy life and promote the well-being for all our employees around the world. Thus, our work with occupational health and safety management has strengthened our support of SDG number 8: Decent work and economic growth, more specifically target 8.8 concerning the protection of labour rights and promotion of safe working environment.
In order to create and promote a safe working environment, we recognize the importance of our employees in creating a positive and productive working environment, and by complying with ISO 45001 we strive to minimize the risk of injuries, accidents and work-related illnesses.
During the audit, DNV had numerous interviews with many of our employees and their efforts were recognized:
”The employees are always open in the audit situation which, I might add, has also always previously been the case. They demonstrated a professional approach with a high degree of competence in the use of tools, the handling of tasks and in communication with customers”, says Uffe Pilgaard, Principal Lead Auditor, Technical Officer at DNV Business Assurance Denmark A/S.
Jan Erik Simonsen, Principal Auditor/Lead Auditor at DNV Business Assurance Denmark, adds that all employees demonstrated an open-minded approach during the audit, and that their daily use of all our different tools showed a high degree of competence and confidence.
ISO 45001: Occupational Health and Safety Management
In order to achieve the ISO 45001 certification, Phoenix Design Aid mapped the internal and external requirements necessary to ensure an effective working environmental management system. We will continue to meet the expectations of our stakeholders whilst continuously improving our working environment. The goals for our working environment are created based on ISO 45001 requirements and stakeholder expectations with a focus on assessing risks and opportunities.
Workplace culture: Employee consultation and involvement
The consultation and involvement of employees are of great focus within ISO 45001, and this has been a crucial element for Phoenix Design Aid during the migration process, especially in terms of cultivating and securing a workplace culture that focuses on continuous improvement of the working environment. We will continue to actively involve and consult our employees to ensure the overall well-being within the company which also supports our work with SDG 3: Good health and well-being.
All our management systems allow Phoenix Design Aid to provide high quality services to our clients, and we look forward to further improving our working environment in the years to come.