ISO 45001:2018 Lead Auditor (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems)
About Course
Lead an ISO 45001:2018 certification audit from the application review to the close-out
This is an expert-level, fully online ISO 45001:2018 occupational health and safety management system (OH&SMS) lead auditor course for people who already know ISO 45001 and now need to audit it the way a certification body does. It is recognised by Exemplar Global and aligned with its units OH, AU and TL. In the virtual audit you run a full certification audit of one company, from the application review to the corrective action review, and each of its 11 stage quizzes is marked the moment you submit.
| Price | Duration | Level | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD 799 (R13 275 at checkout, no VAT added) | About 44 hours, self-paced | Expert, Level 5 | 12 months |
The virtual audit at ASC Steel Structures
ASC Steel Structures is a training case built from real audit patterns, a structural steel fabricator and hot-dip galvaniser in Wadeville, Germiston, whose erection crews are putting up a warehouse in Rosslyn, Tshwane. It has applied for initial certification to ISO 45001:2018. Its welders work on carbon and stainless steel under overhead cranes, its galvanising plant pickles steel in hydrochloric acid and dips it in molten zinc at about 450 °C on three shifts, labour broker workers share every shift, and a subcontracted crew bolts the rafters together at about 9 m. You review its application and work out the scope numbers, the OH&S risk category and the audit time, decide at Stage 1 whether it is ready, pick the team and plan Stage 2, interview its people from the managing director to the night shift leader and the occupational health nurse, test its records, walk the works, the night shift and the erection site, run a lifting trail on a galvanising crane against the clock, write and grade the findings, hold the closing meeting under pressure, write the report and judge its corrective action plans. That is 13 steps, about 13 hours on the step pages and about 3 more on the 11 timed stage quizzes that close steps 1 to 11.
Built on the current editions
- ISO 45001:2018 as amended by Amendment 1:2024, audited clause by clause, with the evidence an auditor should expect for each, from the climate change determination in 4.1 and worker participation in 5.4 to the hierarchy of controls in 8.1.2 and incident investigation in 10.2.
- ISO 19011:2026, the fourth edition, for audit principles, audit programmes, the conduct of the audit and auditor competence, including its expanded guidance on remote auditing.
- ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 for third-party certification and for grading nonconformities major or minor, and ISO/IEC TS 17021-10:2018 for the competence of OH&SMS auditors, from hazard identification and legal requirements to incident investigation.
- The Global ACI documents that took over from the IAF in 2026, for applying ISO/IEC 17021-1 to OH&SMS certification (Global ACI-TECH-3-016, formerly IAF MD 22), OH&SMS audit time and risk category (TECH-3-004, formerly IAF MD 5), multi-site (TECH-3-001, formerly IAF MD 1) and the use of ICT, remote auditing included (TECH-3-003, formerly IAF MD 4). SANAS, South Africa’s accreditation body, holds certification bodies to these rules.
- South African OH&S law as an auditor meets it, from the OHS Act and the COID Act to the regulations on general safety, lifting machinery, chemical agents, physical agents, noise and construction work.
A revised ISO 45001 is expected in 2027. Its draft, ISO/DIS 45001, closed its ballot in September 2026 and can still change. Lesson 1.4 sets out what is known and what is still draft, and Lesson 8.4 covers the transition once a new edition is published. Until then certification audits are to ISO 45001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024, and that is what this course teaches and assesses.
The audit skills you practise
- Reviewing an application for scope, temporary sites, scope numbers, OH&S risk category, effective personnel including labour broker and contractor workers, audit time and impartiality.
- Testing the hazard identification and legal registers against the works, including non-routine work, the night shift and work at customers’ sites.
- Planning the audit around the night shift, high-risk work and temporary sites, and choosing a team by scope number, OH&S technical area and ISO/IEC TS 17021-10.
- Checking the paper against the floor, from the guard and the crane’s test sticker to the worker’s own answer, and speaking up at once when you see imminent danger.
- Interviewing the people Global ACI-TECH-3-016 names, from legally responsible top management to workers, labour broker workers, representatives and the occupational health nurse, in the site’s languages.
- Running the opening and closing meetings, including the erection manager who says the erection site is the principal contractor’s business and the managing director who says any major for a rafter belongs to the principal contractor.
- Following a crane from the lifting register to its test certificate, tackle and operator certificates against the clock, and an incident to the section 24 report, the Annexure 1 record and the corrective action.
- Writing findings that record a legal requirement not met without declaring the organisation legally compliant or non-compliant, and grading them major or minor. In this course a nonconformity is graded major when a legal requirement is not met, not identified, or not evaluated so that the organisation does not know whether it is meeting it. It is also major when a hazard that can cause death, serious injury or serious ill health, or a potential emergency situation, is left without a working control, so that serious harm is a realistic outcome.
- Judging corrective action plans against clause 10.2 and the hierarchy of controls, including those that need capital or an inspector, and knowing when a root cause of “did not follow procedure” is no root cause at all.
What you walk away with
- One ASC Certificate of Achievement covering the three units, OH, AU and TL, when you have passed all three.
- Your own audit workbook from the virtual audit, with your checklists, site walk notes, trails, findings, report and corrective action review, exported as an Excel file.
- A model answer for every case pack in the course, to compare with your own work.
- The records Lesson 8.5 tells you to keep, including your audit log, before you apply to a personnel certification body.
How the course works
A short start-up module, eight modules with 52 lessons, and the virtual audit. Part A, Modules 1 to 4, takes ISO 45001:2018 through an auditor’s eyes. Part B, Modules 5 to 8, takes ISO 19011:2026 and third-party certification. Self-paced with no live sessions, and 12 months of access. Most lead auditor courses run as four or five fixed days in a classroom or on a live call. This one fits around your own audits and your job, and the fee covers the virtual audit and both proctored exams, with no travel and no week away from site. Compare that with the cost of one weak audit. A major missed at Stage 2 can surface later as a serious injury or an inspector’s prohibition notice, and a major whose corrective action is not verified within six months of the last day of Stage 2 means Stage 2 is done again. At four hours a week, that is about eleven weeks.
| Part | What it covers | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Before you start | How the course is built and assessed, the standards you need, and an entry check | 0.8 |
| Module 1 | ISO 45001:2018 through an auditor’s eyes. Amendment 1:2024 and the coming revision, the OH&S science an auditor needs, South African OH&S law, what an auditor may say about legal compliance, imminent danger, and integrated audits with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 | 2.7 |
| Module 2 | Auditing context, leadership, worker participation and planning, clauses 4 to 6, with the hazard identification and legal registers tested against the works | 2.8 |
| Module 3 | Auditing support and operation, clauses 7 and 8, from competence and the right to step away from danger to permits, health risks, contractors, emergencies on every shift and the site walk | 2.8 |
| Module 4 | Auditing performance evaluation and improvement, clauses 9 and 10, with the evaluation of compliance, section 24 reporting and a timed incident trail | 2.4 |
| Module 5 | Audit principles, audit programmes and certification, with OH&S audit time and risk category, temporary sites, multi-site and impartiality | 2.2 |
| Module 6 | Planning the audit. Stage 1, the audit plan with the night shift and temporary sites, the team, work documents, and remote and hybrid audits | 2.4 |
| Module 7 | Conducting the audit. Meetings, sampling, interviewing workers and their representatives, trails, imminent danger, and writing and grading findings | 2.8 |
| Module 8 | Concluding the audit. The closing meeting, the report, follow-up, the certification decision, special audits after a serious incident, the next edition, and auditor competence | 2.1 |
| Virtual audit | ASC Steel Structures, 13 steps with the Audit Workbench and 11 timed stage quizzes | 16 |
| Checks, games and practice tests | Eight knowledge checks, eight audit games, seven activity checks and two practice tests | 4 |
| Exams | Exam A in two sections and Exam B in three, video proctored | 3 |
Every module from 2 to 8 has a compulsory activity and a module case study. Four activities are set at ASC Steel Structures and three at other invented sites, a scaffolding hire and erection company, a bus and coach operator and a pole and timber treatment plant. The case studies take you to a sugar estate and mill in Eswatini, a high-rise residential construction contractor in Ghana, a private hospital group in Kenya, a multi-site cold chain logistics group in Botswana, a copper concentrator expansion project in Chile, an automotive components plant in Morocco and a contact centre group in the Philippines. Every lesson has worked cases with model answers and questions to think through before you reveal the answer.
How you are assessed
- Three units, OH (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems), AU (Auditing Management Systems) and TL (Leading Management System Audit Teams). When you have passed all three, you receive one ASC Certificate of Achievement that covers them.
- Exam A on OH&S management systems, in two sections, assesses unit OH. Exam B on auditing and audit team leadership, in three sections, assesses units AU and TL. Its third section comes in two parts, on writing and grading findings and on judging corrective action responses. Both exams are online and video proctored, with photo identification. You may use your own clean copy of ISO 45001:2018 and Amendment 1:2024, and nothing else.
- The virtual audit’s 11 stage quizzes, each set on the evidence in its step, also count towards the units.
- You need 70 percent in every section of every assessment. You have three attempts, and each attempt draws a different set of questions. The course opens in order, so each part becomes available when you finish or pass the one before it. If you use all three attempts without passing, an R250 reopening fee, paid from the assessment page, re-opens that assessment at once, with no need to contact us.
- Everything is marked automatically the moment you submit, with feedback that names the lesson or step to go back to. Nobody waits for a marker.
A course certificate is evidence of training, not personnel certification as an auditor. Certification as an OH&SMS auditor or lead auditor is a separate step with a personnel certification body, such as Exemplar Global or the CQI and IRCA, on its own published criteria, such as logged audit experience. Lesson 8.5 explains that route.
Who it is for
SHEQ and OH&S managers, safety officers and practitioners who lead internal or supplier audits, consultants who prepare clients for certification, and certification body auditors moving into OH&SMS lead auditing, in any sector. You need a working knowledge of ISO 45001. Try this before you enrol. At a cold store a reversing forklift strikes a picker twice in one quarter, and each corrective action reads “driver retrained”. Which clauses of ISO 45001:2018 apply, where does retraining sit on the hierarchy of controls and what would sit higher, and is “driver retrained” a root cause? If you can answer all three in a line each without looking anything up, you are ready. If you are new to the standard, start with ISO 45001:2018 Understanding and Implementation. If you are new to auditing, start with ISO 45001:2018 Internal Auditor.
Who wrote it
Written by Mthokozisi Nkosi, founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants and a registered lead auditor with Exemplar Global and IRCA, and reviewed by ASC’s publication panel before it went live. ISO 45001:2018 is published by ISO. This course is independent training and is not approved or endorsed by ISO or by any management system certification body.
What you need
Your own copies of ISO 45001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024, ISO 19011:2026 and ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, and ideally ISO/IEC TS 17021-10:2018. ISO 45002:2023, ISO 45003:2021 and ISO/IEC TS 17012:2024 are useful but optional. Standards are copyright works, so they are not included. Buy them from ISO or your national standards body, such as the SABS. The Global ACI documents, from global-aci.org, and the South African Acts and regulations are free. You also need a laptop or desktop with a webcam for the proctored exams.
Frequently asked questions
Is this ISO 45001 lead auditor course suitable for beginners?
No. It is an expert course for people who already know ISO 45001 and now need to lead audits. If you are new to the standard, start with ISO 45001:2018 Understanding and Implementation, or with Introduction to ISO 45001:2018 if OH&S management is new to you. If you are new to auditing, start with ISO 45001:2018 Internal Auditor.
Should I take the internal auditor course or the lead auditor course?
Take ISO 45001:2018 Internal Auditor if you audit your own organisation’s OH&S management system. Take this course if you lead, or will lead, audits of other organisations, such as supplier or certification audits. It adds third-party certification under ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO/IEC TS 17021-10 and Global ACI-TECH-3-016, OH&S audit time and risk category, leading an audit team and a full certification audit in 13 steps.
Is the course written for ISO 45001:2018, and what about the new edition?
ISO 45001:2018 as amended by Amendment 1:2024, the text certification bodies audit to today. A revised edition is expected in 2027. Its draft, ISO/DIS 45001, closed its ballot in September 2026 and can still change, and no transition period has been set. Lesson 1.4 sets out what is known and what is still draft, and Lesson 8.4 covers the transition once a new edition is published. The audit method you learn here does not depend on the edition.
How long does the course take, and how long do I have access?
About 44 hours in total, including about 16 hours on the virtual audit and about 3 hours of exams. It is self-paced, with no live sessions, and you have 12 months from enrolment. At four hours a week, that is about eleven weeks.
How am I assessed?
By two online exams, video proctored with photo identification, and by the 11 stage quizzes of the virtual audit. Exam A, in two sections, assesses unit OH. Exam B, in three sections, assesses units AU and TL. You need 70 percent in every section, and you have three attempts, each with a different draw of questions. If you use all three without passing, an R250 reopening fee, paid from the assessment page, re-opens it at once. Everything is marked automatically when you submit.
What is the virtual audit?
A complete initial certification audit of ASC Steel Structures, a fictional structural steel fabricator and galvaniser in Wadeville, Germiston, with erection crews on a warehouse project in Rosslyn, Tshwane, built from real audit patterns. In 13 steps you review the application, assess Stage 1, plan Stage 2, run the opening meeting, interview, test records, walk the works, the galvanising night shift and the erection site, run a timed lifting trail, write and grade findings, hold the closing meeting, write the report and review the corrective action plans. Steps 1 to 11 each end in a timed stage quiz, marked automatically.
Will this course make me a certified ISO 45001 lead auditor?
No course can do that on its own. When you have passed all three units, you receive one ASC Certificate of Achievement covering them, which is evidence of training. Certification as an auditor is a separate step with a personnel certification body, which applies its own criteria, such as logged audit experience.
Is the course recognised by Exemplar Global?
Yes. ASC Food Safety is an Exemplar Global Recognised Training Provider, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead Auditor is one of its recognised courses, whether you take it online, in a live virtual class or in class. It is aligned with Exemplar Global units OH, AU and TL, which means it was written to cover what those units ask of an auditor. ASC issues your certificate, not Exemplar Global. You can verify ASC’s recognition on Credly and see all the recognised courses.
Is the course CQI and IRCA certified?
No. It is recognised by Exemplar Global under its Recognised Training Provider scheme. Exemplar Global and the CQI and IRCA each certify auditors on their own criteria, and Lesson 8.5 explains both routes. If an employer or a certification body has asked you for a CQI and IRCA certified course by name, check with them before you enrol.
Do I need to know South African OH&S law?
No. Lessons 1.6 to 1.8 cover the South African OH&S law an auditor meets most often and what an auditor may say about legal compliance. The audit method, testing how an organisation identifies, applies and evaluates its own legal requirements, works under any country’s law, and all seven module case studies are set outside South Africa. If you want the law itself in depth, section by section, take South African Occupational Health and Safety Law.
Which standards do I need to buy?
ISO 45001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024, ISO 19011:2026 and ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, and ideally ISO/IEC TS 17021-10:2018. ASC cannot supply standards because they are copyright works. The Global ACI documents are free from global-aci.org. You need your own clean copy of ISO 45001:2018 and Amendment 1:2024 for the exams.
Will the course work in my sector?
Yes. ISO 45001 applies to every sector. The case studies and activities take you to a sugar mill, a high-rise building site, a hospital group, a cold chain logistics group, a copper concentrator project, an automotive components plant, a contact centre, a scaffolding contractor, a bus and coach operator and a timber treatment plant, and the lessons draw on chemicals, logistics, agriculture, hospitality, retail, municipalities and offices as well. The virtual audit is set at a steel fabricator and galvaniser because one company raises most of the questions an OH&S lead auditor meets, such as welding fume, acid and molten zinc, overhead cranes, a night shift, labour broker workers, a subcontractor working at height and an erection site that someone wants left out of the scope.
Where can I do ISO 45001 lead auditor training in South Africa?
Anywhere, online. This is a fully online, self-paced OHS lead auditor course, so you can take it from any province, or from outside South Africa, with no live sessions and no travel. For teams, ASC Food Safety also runs it in class in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Gqeberha, or as a live virtual class, and all three formats fall within ASC’s Exemplar Global recognition.
How much does the course cost, and can I pay from outside South Africa?
USD 799. The store charges in South African rand, R13 275 at checkout, and accepts international Visa and Mastercard cards. Your bank converts the amount to your own currency. The fee includes 12 months of access, the virtual audit and the proctored exams. Standards are bought separately.
Can my company train a team?
Yes. We can enrol a group online with a manager dashboard, or run the course as a live virtual class or in class for your team, in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Gqeberha. WhatsApp us for a quote.
Enrol
ISO 45001:2018 Lead Auditor (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems), USD 799 (R13 275 at checkout). About 44 hours, expert level, self-paced, 12 months of access. Eight modules with 52 lessons, a 13-step virtual audit of ASC Steel Structures, two video proctored exams and an ASC Certificate of Achievement covering all three units. Enrol now with the button on this page. Questions before you enrol? WhatsApp us. If you are not ready yet, start with ISO 45001:2018 Understanding and Implementation, or see the whole series on the ISO 45001:2018 training page.
Course Content
Before you start
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Lesson 0.1: How this course works, how you are assessed, and the personnel certification route
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Lesson 0.2: Your copy of the standards, how the quizzes work, and the entry check
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Entry check: ISO 45001 and auditing basics
Module 1: ISO 45001:2018 through an auditor’s eyes
Module 2: Auditing context, leadership, participation and planning, clauses 4 to 6
Module 3: Auditing support and operation, clauses 7 and 8
Module 4: Auditing performance evaluation and improvement, clauses 9 and 10
Module 5: Audit principles, audit programmes and third-party certification
Module 6: Planning the audit
Module 7: Conducting the audit and determining findings
Module 8: Concluding the audit, follow-up and auditor competence
Virtual audit: ASC Steel Structures (initial certification audit)
Course feedback
Exam A: OH&S management systems
Exam B: Auditing and audit team leadership
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