IKO PLC has been awarded ISO 45001: 2018 for its Appley Bridge, Clay Cross and Grangemill manufacturing sites. The certification, provided by awarding body Lucideon CICS Ltd, is awarded to companies who can demonstrate an exceptional standard of health and safety management in their workplace.

ISO 45001: 2018 is an internationally recognised standard which takes into account the interaction between an organisation and its business environment – in IKO’s case, a working factory environment. The latest ISO 45001 standard adopts a risk-based approach and requires companies to not only show they have undertaken comprehensive risk assessments but also demonstrate continual improvement and an integration of Health and Safety into the way the business is run, this is assessed through follow-up visits from the awarding body.

Commenting on the certification, Jon Pickup, IKO Group Health, Safety & Environmental Manager said: “IKO is incredibly proud to have achieved ISO 45001 and it’s a testament to the hard work of the teams over the past four years. Having this certification will allow us to demonstrate to our customers that we take health and safety extremely seriously, as well as helping us to focus on what can be done to further improve the Health and Safety of IKO employees and others who work on our sites.

“In the past year, there has been a 35% decrease in the number of workplace accidents at IKO and a 65% decrease in time lost due to accidents so the hard work we have all invested in keeping our colleagues and one another safe is paying off."

IKO UK is the first division across the IKO Group to be awarded the ISO 45001: 2018 certification.

To view IKO’s 45001: 2018 certification and other health and safety qualifications, please visit their download section.