Management Systems News

Diversity in management system assessments

– 5th Jan 2009

John Symonds describes how ExxonMobil developed a diverse assessment structure for its management system that led to value-added benefits.

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Enhancing your organisation today while safeguarding it for tomorrow

– 17th Nov 2008 by Raz Chaudary

The current economic climate and business environment makes business continuity a critical issue. Ensuring the preparedness of an organisation can strengthen its long-term viability, reputation, and financial success.

Some key facts:

85% of US businessses are within the private sector and include transportation, banking, and utilities.
Businesses vulnerable to natural disasters, computer viruses/cyber attacks, terrorist attacks, and viral pandemics.
For example, if the Internet stopped, U.S. retailers could lose $450 million a day in e-commerce.1 If an influenza outbreak occurred, New York state’s losses alone are estimated to be $49 billion.

(source: “Dealing With Disasters At Home and Far Away” by Zosia Bielski, National Post, June 21, 2008).

Certification journey - five easy steps

Step 1:
Certification starts with an assessment of the company’s existing crisis management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency response plans.
Step 2:
A gap analysis is performed against a chosen standard, and will assess the organisional responses to overcome a range of disaster scenarios.
Step 3:
Identify key actions, assign responsibilities, and establish timings to address the identified gaps.
Step 4:
The organisation is now ready for formal certification once the process has been established.
Step 5:
The organisation can select the appropriate level of certification appropriate to its needs.
Three levels of certification levels

First-party certification: an internal self assessment and self declaration of certification.
Second-party certification:r eview by one with whom there is an arm’s length relationship, such as a customer, supplier, or parent organization.
Third-party certification: review by an • accredited third-party certifier. This is the most independent and objective form of certification.
Benefits of certification

Potential benefits of becoming “certification ready” include:

improve operational efficiency,
reduce liabilities,
boost stakeholder confidence.

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TNT cites ISO 14001 as key to Environmental Performance

– 12th Nov 2008 by Alex Briggs

TNT UK/Ireland and their use of ISO 14001 as the key to their overall environmental strategy was the focus of a Sustainable Business Magazine article in the October edition.
TNT uses management systems to underpin their business, currently holding four certifications in the UK/Ireland: ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) and Investors in People. TNT has reported significant competitive advantage from the achievement of verifiable environmental performance.

Neil Griffiths, director of health, safety and environment at TNT Express Services says: “In terms of business assurance, this is not just a tick in the box.”

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ISO standards contribute to meeting World Food Day 2008 challenge

– 6th Nov 2008

World Food Day 2008 addresses what has been categorised by many as one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change and its impact on food security.

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Business’ Top 10 risks identified

– 2nd Oct 2008 by Raz Chaudary

Reseach identifies the top 10 strategic risks for global supply chains and businesses. Are you ready for the highlighted five fastest-rising threats that could also have a significant impact over the next three to five years?

According to Ernst & Young’s report, they highlight regulatory and compliance as the highest risks followed closely by global financial shocks, workforce and consumer aging, and the rise of emerging markets.

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Clock Ticking on 9001 Users

– 25th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs

ISO 9001:2008 is set to be published in the next few months. From the date of publish, current 9001:2000 certificate holders have 24 months to convert to the newer version. Companies whose three-year certificate cycle expires once 9001:2008 is published will only have the option of getting certified against the new version.

Steve Williams, Technical Manager, Certification at Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) stated, “ISO and the IAF have agreed an implementation plan to ensure a smooth migration of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008. They have stated that ISO 9001:2008 does not contain any new requirements. ISO 9001:2008 only introduces clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years of experience of implementing the standard. It also introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO14001:2004.”

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Auditors pay the price for Beijing Olympics

– 19th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs

The tightening of visa restrictions around the recent Olympic Games in Beijing has had unintended consequences on the Quality Assurance industry, according to this Ethical Corp article.
Global brands producing in China have been unable to secure the auditors needed at Chinese factories to ensure that the quality of their products is right. A major fall out will be that people who have talked about moving production to other countries for some time are now actually having to do it to meet deadlines.

Even if (and there are no guarantees) things return to normal in September, it will be too late for these firms who need to get gear on boats in October for the holidays.
Now many are scrambling to find capacity in Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc., while any number of Chinese garment manufacturers (two thirds of whom operate on margins of less than 1.5% already) will go under.
A number of companies with production runs already underway are having to stall or delay work as they cannot get visas for their Quality Assurance (QA) staff to enter China.

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