ISO 9000 Standards defines a quality manual as a document specifying the quality management system of an organization. It is therefore not intended that the ISO 9000 Standards Quality Manual be a response to the requirements of ISO 9000 Standards. As the top-level document describing the management system it is a system description describing how the organization is managed.
Countless quality manuals produced to satisfy ISO 9000 :2008, were no more than 20 sections that paraphrased the requirements of the ISO 9000 standards.
Such documentation adds no value. They are of no use to managers, staff or auditors. Often thought to be useful to customers, organizations would gain no more confidence from customers than would be obtained from their registration certificate.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
ISO 9001 Quality Management System
Health, Safety, and ISO 14001
Not only is ISO 14001 applicable to health/safety programs, it can also provide the same benefits that it makes possible in the environmental area. These include:
Meeting and/or exceeding regulatory requirements, Placing greater attention on significant issues not driven by regulations (establishing a safety culture, raising employee morale), Establishing a commitment to improve and measure performance, and Improving communications between managers and hourly employees.
In addition, using ISO14001 to integrate environmental/safety/health programs into the business system produces other benefits. Measures that reduce environmental incidents can decrease or eliminate worker exposures to hazardous materials. Conversely, increasing awareness of safety practices can focus employees’ attention on environmental concerns. In fact, the success of health, safety, and environmental programs often hinges on worker understanding, attitude, and commitment. The corporate culture must change to make these matters a natural part of each employee’s approach to his or her work.
The ISO 14001 standard assumes that such cultural transformation occurs through employee involvement and responsibility from the bottom up, not via dictates from the top. That assumption, and other concepts present in ISO 14001, is applicable to health and safety. Therefore, it’s reasonable to consider the use of the standard in an integrated approach that can bring about change for all three. Some organizations have done so, and many others will eventually see the wisdom of employing ISO 14001 for that purpose.
How can ISO 14001 be useful for health and safety when it was intended to address the environmental aspects of organizations? These three areas are so linked that a management standard for one can have equal applicability to the others. The reason ISO 14001 was not specifically aimed at health and safety had more to do with professional parochialism and the politics of international standards writing than with any concern about the logic of doing so. In ISO 14001, the only acknowledgement that it could be useful for health and safety appears in the introduction, which recommends its use to those who may need to apply the standard to those areas. No other specific references appear in the document, because the standard’s developers felt that health and safety professionals would eventually develop their own version of ISO 14001. This new version has not emerged, and the likelihood of it happening anytime soon is rather low, because current stakeholders’ views militate against it.
Health, Safety, and ISO 14001
Not only is ISO 14001 applicable to health/safety programs, it can also provide the same benefits that it makes possible in the environmental area. These include:
Meeting and/or exceeding regulatory requirements, Placing greater attention on significant issues not driven by regulations (establishing a safety culture, raising employee morale), Establishing a commitment to improve and measure performance, and Improving communications between managers and hourly employees.
In addition, using ISO14001 to integrate environmental/safety/health programs into the business system produces other benefits. Measures that reduce environmental incidents can decrease or eliminate worker exposures to hazardous materials. Conversely, increasing awareness of safety practices can focus employees’ attention on environmental concerns. In fact, the success of health, safety, and environmental programs often hinges on worker understanding, attitude, and commitment. The corporate culture must change to make these matters a natural part of each employee’s approach to his or her work.
The ISO 14001 standard assumes that such cultural transformation occurs through employee involvement and responsibility from the bottom up, not via dictates from the top. That assumption, and other concepts present in ISO 14001, is applicable to health and safety. Therefore, it’s reasonable to consider the use of the standard in an integrated approach that can bring about change for all three. Some organizations have done so, and many others will eventually see the wisdom of employing ISO 14001 for that purpose.
How can ISO 14001 be useful for health and safety when it was intended to address the environmental aspects of organizations? These three areas are so linked that a management standard for one can have equal applicability to the others. The reason ISO 14001 was not specifically aimed at health and safety had more to do with professional parochialism and the politics of international standards writing than with any concern about the logic of doing so. In ISO 14001, the only acknowledgement that it could be useful for health and safety appears in the introduction, which recommends its use to those who may need to apply the standard to those areas. No other specific references appear in the document, because the standard’s developers felt that health and safety professionals would eventually develop their own version of ISO 14001. This new version has not emerged, and the likelihood of it happening anytime soon is rather low, because current stakeholders’ views militate against it.
How To Get ISO 9001 Certified
The ISO 9001 accreditation is part of the International Organization for Standardization 9000 standards. They are awarded to businesses for quality. The ISO 9001 is recognized worldwide as an award for a company’s internal quality management or actions that the company takes to ensure the product or service they provide is of the highest quality. Customer satisfaction is a major factor in whether a company will be awarded an ISO 9001 accreditation. The International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland publishes thousands of international standards to help companies throughout the world more efficiently do business with one another. The 27 page ISO 9001 standard is focused on defining minimum business practices for the production and delivery of a company’s products and services through the implementation of a formal “quality management system”, or QMS. An ISO QMS is made up of certain processes, documentation and other formal practices that control internal company operations to ensure customer requirements are consistently met. To pass an audit, an organization must follow these guidelines: Develop a Quality Management System (QMS) manual. Develop the procedures required by the ISO 9001 Standard. Determine the additional processes and procedures that are needed by the organization to perform work and satisfy the requirements in the ISO Standard. Operate in accordance with the organization’s documented QMS. Provide evidence that the organization is operating according to the QMS. The achievement of an ISO 9001 certification is a milestone in demonstrating to your customers that you have implemented a reliable system of producing and delivering your products and services. The focus of this “system” is twofold: providing consistent products and services; and continual improvement in your processes leading to better results. The ISO 9001 certification is granted by a third-party auditing firm called a Registrar who specializes in quality system auditing. There are a wide variety of Registrars located in every ISO participating country. Some firms have offices internationally; others have a more regional focus. The selection of your Registrar is one of the more important decisions you will make to ensure the best alignment with your type of business, your location(s) and overall cost of maintaining the certification. The initial certification audit is conducted in two parts. The Stage 1 audit is a general review of your QMS documentation to ensure you have addressed all of the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard. Depending upon the size of your business, this can be conducted in a one to two day visit to your facility or virtually via phone. Any discrepancies noted during the Stage 1 audit will be documented in a formal report and must be corrected before the Stage 2 audit. The main part of the ISO audit is the Stage 2 audit which is always conducted onsite at your location(s) and will be focused on the implementation and effectiveness of your QMS. During this audit which can take 1 day (for very small companies) to several days, the auditor(s) will tour your company, speak to managers and employees, and review documentation and records (along with any Stage 1 discrepancies) to ensure that your system is fully implemented. If nonconformances are found, they will be documented in a formal report for correction. Following the Stage 2 audit, you are generally given thirty (30) days to submit corrective action plans for all audit nonconformances. Once corrective actions are received, your certification is complete and your certificate is issued. In order to maintain the certification, you will participate in an annual surveillance audit from your Registrar where they confirm that you are maintaining your QMS. Every third year, a more comprehensive re-certification audit is conducted, similar to the initial certification audit.