Clause 8.1.2: Eliminating hazards and reducing OH&S risks
The organization sets up, runs and keeps processes for removing hazards and lowering OH&S risks by working down the hierarchy of controls: first remove the hazard; next replace it with processes, operations, materials or equipment that are less hazardous; then apply engineering controls and reorganize the work; then apply administrative controls, training included; and finally provide personal protective equipment that is adequate.
What clause 8.1.2 asks
The organization sets up, runs and keeps processes for removing hazards and lowering OH&S risks by working down the hierarchy of controls: first remove the hazard; next replace it with processes, operations, materials or equipment that are less hazardous; then apply engineering controls and reorganize the work; then apply administrative controls, training included; and finally provide personal protective equipment that is adequate.
The hierarchy is an order of preference, not a menu. The clause requires the organization to work down it, with PPE last and adequate.
Ergonomics, electrical safety and workload. For a remote workplace the hierarchy often starts with the task and the equipment: change the task or the schedule, supply a suitable chair, desk and screen, improve lighting and ventilation, then set administrative controls for breaks, workload and contact. The practitioner summary names ergonomic equipment, workstation setup and workload as controls; the consultation release names the physical and psychosocial risks they address.
Basis: Arinite, BSI. For clause 8.1.2, the public record is a draft guideline and does not state a requirement in terms that this site can quote. The clause 8.1.2 overlay is our reading of the public scope and the named summaries, not the draft text.
Evidence for clause 8.1.2
An auditor will ask why an engineering control was not practicable, and will check that PPE issued to each worker actually fits.
- Hierarchy of controls Risk assessments showing controls selected in hierarchy order with justification
- Hierarchy of controls Engineering control records (guarding, ventilation, isolation)
- Hierarchy of controls Evidence elimination and substitution were considered before administrative controls and PPE
Where clause 8.1.2 commonly fails
- Controls default to PPE and training
- No record of why higher-order controls were rejected
- Hierarchy quoted in the procedure but not visible in the assessments
What to do about clause 8.1.2 before the guidance lands
Take the top three remote risks and record the hierarchy decision for each. Show what the organization supplies, what the worker provides and why a higher-level control was not practicable. Add a fit check for the worker's body and the workspace, not only a checklist.
For clause 8.1.2, do the work that will be right under either instrument. The current requirement for clause 8.1.2 is ISO 45001:2018, and the certificate, if you hold one, is issued against it. The clause 8.1.2 remote working preparation is an extension of the existing duty to a group of workers the system already covers, not a new system and not a reason to rebuild around a draft.
Read across from clause 8.1.2
← Clause 8.1.1 | Clause 8.1.3 →
Open the full index. The public record behind clause 8.1.2 shows the scope and the themes.
Source for clause 8.1.2: ISO 45001:2018, clause 8.1.2, retrieved 20 October 2026, record at the standards library. The clause 8.1.2 remote overlay rests on the public 45008 record named above. The clause 8.1.2 requirement, evidence and gaps are written from our clause record. Every source.