Requirements & Implementation of Standards for Industrial Sectors

The international nature of ISO 9001 has already been identified; and, in fact, ISO 9001 is such a basic and influential standard that it is used as the basis when industry groups want to add specific industry requirements, thus creating their own industry standard. These include AS9100 for the aerospace industry, ISO 13485 for the medical devices industry and ISO/TS 16949 for the automotive industry. ISO 9001 is also a good foundation for implementing many other management standards, such as ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 20000 for IT service management, which follow much of the same structure and organization. ISO 9001 is the start of good things for the company’s efforts to gain better process control and improvement. By implementing the gains available through an ISO 9001 quality management system, the organization can build to even higher savings and improvements.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops and publishes International Standards. It is compromised of the national standards bodies from 163 member countries. It has developed nearly twenty thousand voluntary international standards. The standard is flexible and can be adapted to a wide range of organizations, including: ·         Large organizations ·         Small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) ·         Public and private sector organizations ·         Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) The standard can be used by organizations in any country. ISO 9001 is an international standard related to quality management, applicable to any organization from all types of business sectors and activities. It is based on eight quality management principles (all fundamental to good business practices): ·         Customer focus ·         Leadership ·         Involvement of people ·         Process approach ·         System approach to

The frequency and timing of compliance evaluations can vary depending on the importance of the requirement, variations in operating conditions, changes in compliance obligations and the organization’s past performance. An organization can use a variety of methods to maintain its knowledge and understanding of its compliance status, however, all compliance obligations need to be evaluated periodically. If compliance evaluation results indicate a failure to fulfil a legal requirement, the organization needs to determine and implement the actions necessary to achieve compliance. This might require communication with a regulatory agency and agreement on a course of action to fulfil its legal requirements. Where such an agreement is in place, it becomes a compliance obligation. A non-compliance is not necessarily elevated to a nonconformity if, for example, it is identified and corrected by the environmental management system processes. Compliance-related nonconformities need to

When determining what should be monitored and measured, in addition to progress on environmental objectives, the organization should take into account its significant environmental aspects, compliance obligations and operational controls.  The methods used by the organization to monitor and measure, analyse and evaluate should be defined in the environmental management system, in order to ensure that: a) the timing of monitoring and measurement is coordinated with the need for analysis and evaluation results; b) the results of monitoring and measurement are reliable, reproducible and traceable; c) the analysis and evaluation are reliable and reproducible, and enable the organization to report trends. The environmental performance analysis and evaluation results should be reported to those with responsibility and authority to initiate appropriate action.

Emergency management involves a cyclical process of four phases: ·          Prevention: regulatory and physical measures to prevent emergencies or mitigate their impact ·          Preparedness: arrangements to mobilize and deploy all necessary resources and services ·          Response: actions taken during and immediately after an emergency to minimize the impact  and ·          Recovery: arrangements to restore the facility to normal as quickly and efficiently as possible and to assist the community to recover from the crisis Emergency planning plays a key role in this cycle of emergency management focusing on preparedness and response. Hazard mitigation planning can be defined as a coordinated series of structural and nonstructural actions and processes designed to reduce the likelihood of future damages to property, while minimizing the health and safety-related impacts associated with natural hazards and disasters. Plans rely on a mix of mitigation strategies t

The type and extent of operational control(s) depend on the nature of the operations, the risks and opportunities, significant environmental aspects and compliance obligations. An organization has the flexibility to select the type of operational control methods, individually or in combination, that are necessary to make sure the process(es) is (are) effective and achieve(s) the desired results. Such methods can include: a) designing (a) process(es) in such a way as to prevent error and ensure consistent results; b) using technology to control (a) process(es) and prevent adverse results (i.e. engineering controls); c) using competent personnel to ensure the desired results; d) performing (a) process(es) in a specified way; e) monitoring or measuring (a) process(es) to check the results; f) determining the use and amount of documented information necessary. The organization decides the extent of control needed within its own business processes (e.g. procurement proces

An organization should create and maintain documented information in a manner sufficient to ensure a suitable, adequate and effective environmental management system. The primary focus should be on the implementation of the environmental management system and on environmental performance, not on a complex documented information control system. In addition to the documented information required in specific clauses of this International Standard, an organization may choose to create additional documented information for purposes of transparency, accountability, continuity, consistency, training, or ease in auditing. Documented information originally created for purposes other than the environmental management system may be used. The documented information associated with the environmental management system may be integrated with other information management systems implemented by the organization. It does not have to be in the form of a manual.

Communication allows the organization to provide and obtain information relevant to its environmental management system, including information related to its significant environmental aspects, environmental performance, compliance obligations and recommendations for continual improvement. Communication is a two-way process, in and out of the organization. When establishing its communication process(es), the internal organizational structure should be considered to ensure communication with the most appropriate levels and functions. A single approach can be adequate to meet the needs of many different interested parties, or multiple approaches might be necessary to address specific needs of individual interested parties. The information received by the organization can contain requests from interested parties for specific information related to the management of its environmental aspects, or can contain general impressions or views on the way the organization carries out

Top management may establish environmental objectives at the strategic level, the tactical level or the operational level. The strategic level includes the highest levels of the organization and the environmental objectives can be applicable to the whole organization. The tactical and operational levels can include environmental objectives for specific units or functions within the organization and should be compatible with its strategic direction. Environmental objectives should be communicated to persons working under the organization’s control who have the ability to influence the achievement of environmental objectives. The requirement to “take into account significant environmental aspects” does not mean that an environmental objective has to be established for each significant environmental aspect, however, these have a high priority when establishing environmental objectives. “Consistent with the environmental policy” means that the environmental objectives are br

The organization plans, at a high level, the actions that have to be taken within the environmental management system to address its significant environmental aspects, its compliance obligations, and the risks and opportunities identified that are a priority for the organization to achieve the intended outcomes of its environmental management system. The actions planned may include establishing environmental objectives or may be incorporated into other environmental management system processes, either individually or in combination. Some actions may be addressed through other management systems, such as those related to occupational health and safety or business continuity, or through other business processes related to risk, financial or human resource management. When considering its technological options, an organization should consider the use of best-available techniques, where economically viable, cost-effective and judged appropriate. This is not intended to imply th

The organization determines, at a sufficiently detailed level, the compliance obligations it identified that are applicable to its environmental aspects, and how they apply to the organization. Compliance obligations include legal requirements that an organization has to comply with and other requirements that the organization has to or chooses to comply with. Mandatory legal requirements related to an organization’s environmental aspects can include, if applicable: a) requirements from governmental entities or other relevant authorities; b) international, national and local laws and regulations; c) requirements specified in permits, licenses or other forms of authorization; d) orders, rules or guidance from regulatory agencies; e) judgements of courts or administrative tribunals. Compliance obligations also include other interested party requirements related to its environmental management system which the organization has to or chooses to adopt. These can inclu

An organization determines its environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts, and determines those that are significant and, therefore, need to be addressed by its environmental management system. Changes to the environment, either adverse or beneficial, that result wholly or partially from environmental aspects are called environmental impacts. The environmental impact can occur at local, regional and global scales, and also can be direct, indirect or cumulative by nature. The relationship between environmental aspects and environmental impacts is one of cause and effect. When determining environmental aspects, the organization considers a life cycle perspective. This does not require a detailed life cycle assessment; thinking carefully about the life cycle stages that can be controlled or influenced by the organization is sufficient. Typical stages of a product (or service) life cycle include raw material acquisition, design, production, transportation/delive

The overall intent of the process(es) established is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve the intended outcomes of its environmental management system, to prevent or reduce undesired effects, and to achieve continual improvement. The organization can ensure this by determining its risks and opportunities that need to be addressed and planning action to address them. These risks and opportunities can be related to environmental aspects, compliance obligations, other issues or other needs and expectations of interested parties. Environmental aspects can create risks and opportunities associated with adverse environmental impacts, beneficial environmental impacts, and other effects on the organization. The risks and opportunities related to environmental aspects can be determined as part of the significance evaluation or determined separately. Compliance obligations can create risks and opportunities, such as failing to comply (which can damage the organization’

An environmental policy is a set of principles stated as commitments in which top management outlines the intentions of the organization to support and enhance its environmental performance. The environmental policy enables the organization to set its environmental objectives, take actions to achieve the intended outcomes of the environmental management system, and achieve continual improvement. Three basic commitments for the environmental policy are specified in this International Standard to: a) protect the environment; b) fulfil the organization’s compliance obligations; c) continually improve the environmental management system to enhance environmental performance.   These commitments are then reflected in the processes an organization establishes to address specific requirements in this International Standard, to ensure a robust, credible and reliable environmental management system. The commitment to protect the environment is intended to not only prevent

To demonstrate leadership and commitment, there are specific responsibilities related to the environmental management system in which top management should be personally involved or which top management should direct. Top management may delegate responsibility for these actions to others, but it retains accountability for ensuring the actions are performed.

The organization retains authority and accountability to decide how it fulfils the requirements of the International Standard ISO 14001:2015, including the level of detail and extent to which it: a) establishes one or more processes to have confidence that it (they) is (are) controlled, carried out as planned and achieve the desired results; b) integrates environmental management system requirements into its various business processes, such as design and development, procurement, human resources, sales and marketing; c) incorporates issues associated with the context of the organization and interested party requirements within its environmental management system. If the International Standard ISO 14001:2015 is implemented for (a) specific part(s) of an organization, policies, processes and documented information developed by other parts of the organization can be used to meet the requirements of the International Standard, provided they are applicable to that (those) spe