ISO Management Systems: Adding value to your business or bureaucratic nightmare?

Here’s our take on it.

ISO certification has been around for many years, so most people will be aware of the main standards (9001 – quality, 14001 – environmental and 45001 – health and safety). Certification to ISO standards are a good way to demonstrate to clients that you operate effectively, giving them assurance that they are putting their business in the hands of a reliable company.

For some, having ISO certification is helpful when completing Pre-Qualification Questionnaires and tendering for work. For others, it’s a real opportunity for a top-to-bottom review of the business, looking at how risk is managed, what improvements can be made and streamlining processes to become more efficient.

Whatever the motivation for putting a management system in place, it can seem like a daunting task and a little off-putting when faced with reams of ISO-speak to wade through. Questions bounce around, such as which certification body to use? Do we need a consultant? Can we do it on our own? How many standards should we have?

In our experience, a collaborative approach is the best way forward to implementing such a system.

Our clients regularly tell us that their in-house representatives have benefitted hugely from our professional insight and from the dedicated support of our experienced consultants.

The first thing to consider is which standards are required – this might be driven by a client requirement. Standards are often combined to form an integrated management system, as some parts of the standards overlap with one another.

Next up is the scope of certification – which activities do you want to include? For example, a company that manufactures and installs may only have certification for the manufacturing operation, or vice versa.

When businesses approach us for help with developing their system, we set up a framework and look at the legislation that is relevant to their activities, forming a comprehensive legal register, followed by policies and procedures. We develop business plans and objectives, which aids the directors in taking a critical look at strategic direction of the company.

We ‘translate’ the standards into practical advice, guiding our clients through the stage 1 and 2 audit process. Once the certification has been achieved – with a big fanfare on your website and socials – the ongoing maintenance begins, making sure internal audits are carried out, policies and objectives are reviewed and continual improvement remains the focus of the system.

When done properly, ISO systems provide structure and framework to help the team operate more effectively. It should not be restrictive or an administrative burden. To the untrained eye, it can look like the stuff of nightmares, but in the right hands, it can certainly bring enormous benefits to your company, developing it to new levels of excellence and further enhancing your performance.

As businesses continue to demand more certification, the system can seem overwhelming. If you’re thinking of going for ISO certification or have embarked on the journey, SEHS can talk you through how we can help make the process a lot smoother and much more painless for you.