The working group responsible for developing the new ISO 45001 occupational health and safety standard—ISO/PC 283/WG1—met in Vienna in early February to address the changes submitted to the DIS version of the proposed standard.

At the meeting the working group reviewed comments received after it met in Lithuania last November—during which the committee approved the text for the second draft international standard (DIS2) stage for the majority of clauses 4 to 10.

Based on the progress of the working group, the timeline for the publication of ISO 45001 publication is expected to be:

• February 2017—Editing and preparation of the DIS2 (previously March 2017)
• March 2017—DIS2 to be released for translation (previously April/May 2017)
• May 2017—DIS2 ballot to be held (previously June/July 2017)
• July 2017—Results of the DIS2 vote and comments to be shared
• September 2017—PC283 and WG1 to meet to review the results of the DIS2 ballot

The next working group meeting will be held September 18–23 in Malacca, Malaysia. At this meeting, the results of the DIS2 ballot and resulting comments will be reviewed to determine the next steps in the development process.

If the DIS2 is approved and a final draft international standard (FDIS) stage is not required, publication could be as early as October or November this year. If an FDIS is required, the publication of ISO 45001 is likely to be March 2018.