ISO 14001 Quality System
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Audit Plan In ISO 14001
The Audit Report In ISO 14001
ISO 9001 Standards Quality Manual Preparation
An ISO 9001 quality manual details how an organization will actively ensure customer satisfaction through the application of established quality management principles. For this reason, the quality manual is one of the most scrutinised high-level documents present in an organization. This article discusses a number of issues surrounding the format and content of the manual.
There are no requirements defining the format of the ISO 9001 quality manual, most organizations often use a pre-formatted template which is easily modified as the quality system develops. Using a quality template will afford an organization more time to focus on documenting systems and processes with greater accuracy during the implementation phase.
There is often considerable debate about the format and content of the manual. The balance of opinion is divided between those who believe the manual’s format does not matter, as long as, what occurs out in the field complies with the requirements and those who believe the quality manual should say something ‘personal’ about the organization’s approach to quality management.
It would be true to say that every company has their own style of operation which will inevitably be reflected in the manual and procedures. This variance is fine; all that matters is that the quality manual and procedures are able to respond positively to these questions:
1. Does it define the scope of the organization’s approach to quality management?
2. Does it define how the scope is applied?
3. Does it give suitable reason for permissible exclusions from that scope?
4. Does it contain, or make reference to, documented procedures?
5. Does it ensure a cycle of feedback exists to allow improvement?
It is important to maintain a clear distinction between the contents of the manual and the purpose and scope of the procedures. The QMS should define top management’s intent to operate an effective quality management system, while the procedures define how those intentions will be implemented at an operational level.
The quality manual should not be over burdened with excessive detail which requires frequent change to ensure relevance is maintained. The approach taken many companies to avoid over-burdening their manual is by allowing lower-level documents, such as procedures and work instructions to contain operational detail. Then, simple reference is made to the procedures and work instructions from within the manual itself. In other words, let the procedures take the strain of controlling day-to-day activities; after all, they are ‘working’ documents the organization uses to achieve the goal of customer satisfaction.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
How to Get an ISO 14001 Accreditation
If you are someone who is looking into getting an ISO 14001, then you may be wondering exactly why it is that you have to get this accreditation. First, you have to understand that ISO stands for the International Organisation of Standardisation. This is a series of standards that have been developed with a singular level of guidance for all companies to measure up to. The particular 14001 deals with the requirements that you will need to have in order to measure up to the environmental standards that have been set forth by the ISO.
While you do not necessarily have to get the ISO 14001 accreditation to operate your business, it is something you can do to prove to your clients and customers that you are doing your part to help out with the environment. However, you may be confused on how to go about getting this important accreditation, but it is not as difficult to attain as you might think, and most businesses should be able to get the certification within a year of the application. You should know that they will want to make sure that you have been following some form of environmental standards for at least three months prior to your application. To do this you can write an environmental review of your company’s environmental impact as it is in its current operating state. You will then want to make sure that you provide this information when you send off your initial paperwork to begin the overall process.
In order to help prove that your company is doing its part to be environmentally aware you will have to go through an initial audit once the application has been filled out and filed. After the audit has been completed you will get a list of issues that the auditor feels you need to resolve before you can be certified for the ISO 14001. You will need to work on and correct these issues before the second audit is conducted, and they will give you a time period (usually three to six months) when they will return to check on your progress.
When the second audit occurs they will once again assess the overall business and then they will address the issues that were laid out in the previous audit. If everything goes well then your company will have proven that they are doing what they can to meet the standard set forth in ISO 14001, and they will then receive accreditation. However, this is not the end of the process. Even though you are now recognised as having environmentally conscious policies that are congruent with the international standards, you will have to go through periodic audits every three years to make sure that you are still operating correctly. Not only this, but every three months partial aspects of your company will be analysed to see that they are still working within the standards as well. As long as you remain within the compliance terms you will continue to receive your ISO 14001 certification.
Is Green Business Really Environmentally Sustainable ?
Is Green Business Really Environmentally Sustainable ?
Green Business is about a good management of a range of issues including reduced carbon footprint and good energy management but also including a broader environmental sustainability, within a practical environmental management system. The most effective system is ISO 14001. Many other approaches are less than effective
There is a wide variety of concepts that are understood by some as environmental management systems or EMS and this varies in different industries. The concept has evolved over time. Essentially the name says it all – A system to enable the business owner or manager to manage environmental problems both real and potential.
Owners and managers setting out to have a green business do not always achieve their aim of environmental sustainability and may not even include reduced carbon footprint and good energy management.
Many industry groups have developed industry wide simplistic programs that they call EMS that actually miss the S for system and some really only have a checklist approach that is based on an “average” or “typical” business in that industry. So effectively they also miss much of the environment. Many do not really involve any management either. Some are very superficial in the way that they select the environmental aspects they manage because they have been drawn up to be generic and cut out the need for the business owner to stop and think. In this case it is difficult to understand how any process of continual improvement can result.
One of these programs are as simple as a checklist, or what many involved call a “tick and flick” exercise. These are barely even educational for the business owner and have no ongoing benefits like reduction of costs or legal protection.
Even where the business owners and or managers spend a lot of time filling in forms and communicating with neighbours, there is often a real lack of understanding of how to identify and varied environmental risks in an individual businesses and why these need to be manage. They can easily miss things and even find they are risking legal implications in areas that are not typical and so not covered by the so called system..
An effective management system needs individual businesses to identify and understand what their environmental risks are or may be. These risks need to be managed and there also needs to be a feedback system going into a regularly reviewed system for continual improvement. This can be enhanced with auditing by qualified independent auditors, whether internal or external; although the greatest benefit does come from employing and independent external auditing body such as a certification body.
There were some early ISO 14001 systems that gave the system a bad name because they were based on outdated engineering and military approaches to ISO systems are overly paper heavy and full of jargon. These were not suitable for small business and farms. These systems have given ISO 140001 a bad name in some circles.
Unfortunately many consultants have come from an old style quality management background without any real understanding of or training in the environment. The training to upgrade from quality auditing only involves doing a three day seminar with a minimal assessment by a training organization. Then they audit with a rigid paper based approach and do a serious disservice to both their clients and to the auditing industry.
Small to medium businesses benefit from a simpler approach based on a real understanding of the issues involved and a genuine understanding of risks. Such systems are based on ISO 14001 and have a real emphasis on keeping things simple and minimizing paperwork. These give very real benefits to the businesses involved.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Environmental Aspects In ISO 14001 Standards EMS
Environmental Aspects In ISO 14001 Standards EMS
First make lists of the environmental aspects (issues) that are relevant
to the business. The environmental review mentioned earlier should
provide most of this information and the Annex to ISO 14001 provides
guidance on the format for doing this.
Consider the inputs, outputs and processes/activities of the business in
relation to;
a) emissions to air
b) releases to water
c) waste management
d) contamination of land
e) use of raw materials and natural resources
f) other local environmental and community issues
Consider both site (direct) and offsite (ie. indirect) aspects that you
control or have influence over (such as suppliers) and in relation to
normal operations, shut-down and start-up conditions and reasonably
foreseeable and emergencies situations
A simple written procedure is then required to determine which of the
aspects identified are really or probably significant (important) and should
therefore be managed by the EMS. This process which is
similar to health and safety risk assessment ranks the aspects by order
of importance and the significant aspects identified are then the core
of the environmental management system.
There are various methods of determining significance but most are
based on the principle of attributing a relative value for the
environmental hazard or potential to cause harm (eg. on a scale of 1-
5) and the risk or likelihood of occurrence (eg. on a scale of 1-5). The
relative significance is then determined by multiplying the hazard by
the risk. (eg. max score of 25). An arbitrary but cautious threshold
value is then set above which environmental aspects are considered to
be significant. This threshold can be determined by a common sense
consideration of the aspects identified.