Management systems

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.

ISO 9001:2008 in the blogosphere

– 16th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs

The new ISO 9001:2008 update is slowly making its way into accepted business language. This recent blog post highlights some of the changes. For a more thorough update on what’s new in ISO 9001:2008 and what it means for you and your organisation, read this article.

The Agenda 09

Event: 17th Mar 2009 – 27th Mar 2009

Next year’s theme for ‘The agenda 09’ will be ‘Organisation Resilience’. This will address how management systems can help your organisation mitigate risks to the business and improve its resilience and sustainability in the current market conditions.

Ethical Supply Chain Video Podcast Series, Episode 3, Hewlett-Packard Interview

– 5th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs

Episode 3 of the www.businessassurance.com Ethical Supply Chain Video Podcast series features Hewlett-Packard’s Karl Daumueller, Program Manager, SC SER Lead Auditor, Global Procurement Services. Karl talks in detail about the unique methodolody that HP uses to audit their suppliers globally. Also included are specific examples of best practice for HP suppliers. The video can also be found here .

Green supply chain, shouldn’t everybody have one?

– 3rd Dec 2008

A recent article on Manufacturing & Logistics IT website talks about the rapidly rising energy costs and environmental concerns have driven ‘green’ issues ever higher on the business agenda.

Business Continuity Tool: Delivering Upon your Stakeholder Promises

– 25th Nov 2008 by Raz Chaudary

ASIS International (ASIS) have developed a business continuity checklist as a tool to allow organizations to consider the factors and steps necessary to prepare for a crisis (disaster or emergency). It is designed to assess an organisation’s resilience to manage and survive the crisis and take all appropriate actions to maintain critical operational viability.

The checklist has applicability in both the private and public sector environments. and can assist in creating, testing, and maintaining an organization-wide plan for use in the event of a crisis that threatens the viability and continuity of the organization.

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.

PAS 2050 Specification

– 17th Nov 2008

This Publicly Available Specification (PAS) has been prepared by BSI to specify requirements for assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of goods and services. The development of this PAS was co-sponsored by the Carbon Trust and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
What is PAS 2050?
PAS 2050 provides a consistent method [...]

PAS 2050 - Code of Good Practice for product GHG emissions and reduction claims

– 13th Nov 2008

PAS 2050 - Code of Good Practice for product GHG emissions and reduction claims The Code of Good Practice for product greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduction claims has been developed by the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust to promote the reduction of product life cycle GHG emissions.

Guide to PAS 2050 - How to assess the carbon footprint of goods and services

– 13th Nov 2008

Guide to PAS 2050 - How to assess the carbon footprint of goods and services While PAS 2050 provides a standard method for assessing a product carbon footprint, this guide, ‘Guide to PAS 2050′, will help businesses to implement the standard by offering specific and practical guidance.

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