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ISO 45001 and 14001 for that matter any system has adopted the four stage Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle for achieving continual
improvement. This is an inherent part of the systematic approach to determine workable
solutions, assessing the results, and implementing ones that have been shown to work.
The PDCA cycle can be applied not only to management systems as a whole, but also to each individual element to provide an
ongoing focus on continual improvement. At the core of each stage is ‘Top Management’ who are pivotal to ensure the OH&S and the system is managed effectively.
Use the PDCA cycle when:
• Starting a new improvement project
• Developing a new or improved design of a process, product, or service
• Defining a repetitive work process
• Planning data collection and analysis in order to verify and prioritize problems or root causes
• Implementing any change
• Working toward continuous improvement
The Plan-do-check-act Procedure
1. Plan: Recognize an opportunity and plan a change.
2. Do: Test the change. Carry out a small-scale study.
3. Check: Review the test, analyze the results, and identify what you’ve learned.
4. Act: Take action based on what you learned in the study step. If the change did not work, go through the cycle again with a different plan. If you were successful, incorporate what you learned from the test into wider changes. Use what you learned to plan new improvements, beginning the cycle again.
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