11.30.2012

Strengthening Human Factors in a Management System – ISO 10018:2012

Hold on to your seat! ISO recently published a new management system plug-in, with an addition to its 10000 series of guidance documents on quality management.  The new standard is called Quality Management – Guidelines on People Involvement and Competence – ISO 10018:2012.  It was published on September 1, 2012. The standard states that is intended to support ISO 9001 implementation, and that it also can facilitate “people’s involvement” in other management systems, e.g ISO 14001, 50001, 28000.

Beyond the direct ISO management system implications, my sense is that ISO 10018 will help organizations that been adverse to establishing competency criteria in EHS/S, as well as other areas. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, High Performance Teams, ISO News, Management Systems | Tags: , , | No Comments »

8.9.2012

The intersection of sustainability and business continuity: Water cascading through ISO 22301

The importance of water cannot be over estimated.  It is of course essential to life.  Many businesses have known for some time that it is essential to their products and production process.  From an ISO 14001 perspective, companies often list water as a significant aspect.  From a business continuity perspective, many companies have identified water (or lack of) as a significant BC threat.

Since my post on July 19, I have been writing short pieces about the new ISO Business Continuity Management System (BCMS), called ISO 22301:2012 and thought about this new management system standard while reading a report from ABC News on work that beverage companies are doing to conserve water.  These efforts include building alliances with NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, and proactively protecting watersheds. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, ISO News, Management Systems, Risk Management, Sustainability | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

7.30.2012

Context of the Organization – A 360 Perspective and ISO 22301:2012

Black Swan events, holistic business continuity, Emerging Risk Audits, and non-financial risk management are terms swirling in C-Suites, on Boards, and in the business, risk management and auditing literature.  Also swirling around are discussions about sustainability, corporate social responsibility, organizational resilience, as well as organizational health.

The confluence of these signals suggest an emerging business model that incorporates a 360 Perspective. Central to this perspective is a systems view and an integration orientation. Read More

Posted By | in 360 Perspective, Auditing & Metrics, Emerging Issues, ISO News, Management Systems, Risk Management | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

7.24.2012

Use ISO 22301 to Help Develop Your Risk Management System

As mentioned in a previous post, ISO recently published a management system standard (MSS) devoted to business continuity.  It is titled ISO 22301:2012, “Social security – Business continuity management systems – Requirements.”  This is one of the first ISO management system standards that follows the generic MS format presented in ISO Guide 83.

This post is one in a series that will focus on ISO 22301, also referred to as a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS).  For those of you who are contemplating either an upgrade of your existing EHS or security management systems, or are considering the development of a risk management system that is tailored to ISO 31000, you might want to consider using ISO 22301 as your guide and template.  This could provide a win-win for you and your organization. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, ISO News, Management Systems | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

7.19.2012

Business Continuity Management Evolves, Meet ISO: ISO 22301:2012

Since events such as 9/11, Katrina, the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) pandemic of 2002/3, the 2011 Tohaku earthquake in Japan, and others, the field of Business Continuity Management (BCM) has become more formal and taken on greater visibility in overall organizational risk management.

Some of this evolution is seen in the recently published ISO Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) standard, ISO 22301:2012. The ISO Technical Committee (TC) that developed 22301:2012 is ISO/TC 223.  This TC’s overall subject area is “Societal Security.”  ISO indicates that TC 223 is working on an ISO 22301 companion guidance document that will be called ISO 22313

ISO Focus+ reports that work on ISO 22301 originated in 2006 during a workshop on Emergency Preparedness and that an interim guidance document (ISO/PAS 22399:2007) was prepared that addressed business continuity (BC) and incident preparedness. Read More

Posted By | in ISO News, Management Systems, Risk Management | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

12.19.2011

ISO 9001 User Survey Results Published

Results of the 2010-11 ISO User Survey are reported in the current issue (December, 2011) of ISO Focus+.    The survey was coordinated by TC 176, subcommittee SC2 and had 11,722 respondents from around the world.  The full survey can be downloaded from the ISO website.  Some of the findings that caught my attention follow.

Factors influencing certification.  The three largest drivers that influence the decision to pursue certification are: customer satisfaction (4,222); market need (3,689); and, mandated customer requirements (3,290).  These findings are consistent with what I have been seeing with my clients, in particular customer mandated requirements for integrated EHS management systems.

Important benefits of applying ISO 9001 in an organization.  Customer satisfaction was the top response (5,886) as would be expected with 9001.  Of interest is that many of the top responses also point to value with business process improvements, including: standard business process (5,821); increased management commitment (4,125); and more effective management reviews (3,975).

Read More

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9.23.2011

EHS Management Systems and Off-Shore Drilling – Aftermath of the Montara and Macondo Accidents

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon (Macondo) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Montara oil spill off the coast of Western Australia, ISO Technical Committee (TC) 67, which focuses on oil and gas issues, has developed an action plan to combat oil spill disasters. Published this past March, the action plan addresses many safety and health facets. Of particular interest is the TC’s proposal to develop an EHS management system standard devoted to this industry.

In the early 1990s, ISO/TC 67 developed a robust integrated EHS management system model. The TC suspended its development activities on the standard in anticipation of the publication of ISO 14001 in 1996 and the development of BS8800 in the UK.  Read More

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6.30.2011

Risk Management and Business Continuity with an Integrated Management System

In my previous post, I briefly discussed the integrated quality, safety, and environmental management system (QSEMS) at the Cannes Convention Center. The trend toward integrated management systems, including ISO’s movement toward a generic management system model for wide application, will provide a new tool for organizational risk management.

As evolved as risk management methods and models are, organizations struggle with integrating risk management practices. A silo phenomenon challenges risk managers as it has EHS managers for many years. In current non-financial risk management writings and research, the need for risk management integration and “silo-busting” is highlighted. An integrated risk management system can provide a way to bust silos in an organization. Read More

Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Emerging Issues, ISO News, Management Systems, Risk Management | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

6.30.2011

Integrated Quality, Safety, and Environmental (QSE) Management System in the Hospitality and Convention Space

I have been seeing the increased use of integrated management systems in the hospitality and convention industries. While quality and environmental are most commonly combined, I was intrigued to see a report in the June 2011 issue of ISO Focus about the inclusion of health and safety in the Cannes Convention Center’s management system.

The Cannes Convention Center began to develop its integrated quality, safety, and environmental management system (QSEMS) in October 2008. The system incorporates ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001, and ISO 14001 and was certified in December 2009. With the integrated QSEMS in place, the center reports a reduction in its carbon footprint, a reduction in waste, and a reduction in water consumption. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, ISO News, Management Systems | Tags: | 1 Comment »

6.22.2011

ISO 50001 Just Published – “Energy Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use”

The much anticipated ISO management system for energy management was published on June 15. The ISO 50001 format closely follows ISO 14001 on environmental management. I will be posting comments over the next couple of weeks regarding things I see in it and issues that will help with implementation and integration.

At first glance, where an ISO 14001 or OHSAS 18001 management system is in place, integration of ISO 50001 will be somewhat straightforward.

A unique piece for 50001 is section 4.4.3 that addresses “energy review.” This is the equivalent of environmental aspects in 14001 and risk assessment in 18001. While this standard is new and interpretations will be fleshed out in the coming months and years, the interpretation of “energy” may not be trivial when considering conformance with 50001. The way it is defined will impact how the energy review requirements will be met. Read More

Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerging Issues, ISO News, Management Systems, Sustainability | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

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