#148 How Asynt are embedding Quality and Environmental management with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
Release Date: 09/13/2023
#256 BedX – Supporting Businesses Looking To Tender For Universal Bedfordshire and Beyond
The ISO Show
There has been a lot of buzz around the upcoming Universal Project currently in development in Bedfordshire. It’s estimated to generate around £50 billion in economic benefit, along with the creation of 20,000 jobs during its construction, and a further 8,000 jobs once it’s operational. It’s undoubtedly brought a lot of eyes towards the smallest county in the UK, and with it a lot of opportunity for local businesses to get involved with not only the main theme park itself, but the surrounding projects that aim to make Bedford and beyond a thriving tourist destination. For those...
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#255 AI Due Diligence - Information Security Checks Before You Integrate AI
The ISO Show
AI can be fantastic for relieving a lot of administrative burdens, allowing individuals to focus on more complex tasks that need a human touch. However, many are all too quick to install and integrate, which can lead to crucial vetting processes being skipped. So many applications have also integrated various AI features, and while you may have vetted the software before these were available, those new AI features still need scrutiny before widespread use within the business. In this episode, we dive into why there is a need for a more cautious approach to implementing AI and share some...
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#254 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Emma Coxhill
The ISO Show
The path towards becoming an ISO consultant is often a meandering one. It’s not often a career that many aspire to, yet despite that, there are still thousands of ISO professionals worldwide. We’re continuing with our mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification. In this episode we introduce Emma Coxhill, an isologist® at Blackmores, to share their recent journey into the world of ISO consultancy and how they’ve found their first...
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#253 Building The Case For Health & Safety Regulations & Standards
The ISO Show
Everyone who goes to work should have the right to go home after work. This is a sentiment that wasn’t necessarily formally recognised until the 1970’s here in the UK. Health & Safety often gets mocked for overly cautious or seemingly onerous tasks to meet certain regulations and Standards today, however these are in place for a reason. They save lives, plain and simple. In this episode, Ian Battersby makes the case for Health & Safety regulations, including why they were introduced, events that sparked the conversation for workplace safety and the impact regulations have...
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#252 Wavenet’s On-going Commitment to Best Practice – Successfully Maintaining Seven ISO Standards
The ISO Show
Anyone that has undergone the ambitious task of Implementing an ISO Standard will know how much work goes into creating and maintaining a single ISO certification. Now imagine juggling seven ISO certifications! There’s a key difference between those that simply collect badges and those that see the value each ISO certification can bring, as every Standard has their own requirements and guidance to tackle specific areas of quality, risk and sustainability. When implemented well, they create a solid well-rounded framework that can drive unparalleled continual improvement. In this episode...
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#251 Driving The Demand For GHG Emissions - How Davies Group Tackled Carbon Verification
The ISO Show
Carbon verification is quickly becoming a necessary step for many businesses, whether due to regulatory compliance, market demand or as part of a voluntary scheme. The drivers for this demand are varied, as is the approach many take for their path towards carbon verification. This can look very different depending on the industry you operate in and can be difficult to tackle for more service based industries, such as today’s guest, Davies Group, who are a service provider for the insurance industry. In this episode Mel is joined by Gillie Fairbrother, Global Responsible Business Officer...
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#250 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Steve Mason
The ISO Show
How often have you heard someone say they aspire to be an ISO consultant? Likely not at all! That’s not surprising as it’s quite a niche world to find yourself in, yet despite that, there are still thousands of ISO professionals worldwide. We’re continuing with our mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification. In this episode we introduce Steve Mason, a Principle isologist® at Blackmores, to share the journey of how he went from...
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#249 How To Meet Documentation Requirements Within ISO
The ISO Show
Most ISO Standards are designed with implementation flexibility in mind. They set the framework without specifying an exact method to meet requirements, giving businesses the freedom to implement them how they see fit. One of the key requirements you can’t escape, however, is documentation. This is more than a list of key documents you must have in place, it encompasses how you develop, control and store documented information. In this episode, Ian Battersby dispels common myths around documentation in ISO, explains what the requirements actually mean in practice and how you address each...
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#248 How To Address Risk Management Within ISO
The ISO Show
Most ISO Standards take what’s known as a ‘risk-based approach’, which focuses on proactively identifying and mitigating potential risks while capitalising on opportunities. The methods for managing risk can be very varied, and many make the mistake of treating it as a separate task rather than as an integrated part of your existing processes. In this episode, Ian Battersby explains what risk management means in regard to ISO management, what this looks like in practice and breaks down different methods you can utilise for effective risk management. You’ll learn ...
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#247 How do ISO 27001 Information Security and ISO 42001 AI Management compare?
The ISO Show
Information is increasingly becoming the number one priority for businesses. With so many of us reliant on tech to stay in operation, there is an inevitable increase in data breaches and incidents year-on-year. The addition of new AI driven technology has added a new layer of complexity to the information security landscape, regarding both the new risks using the technology brings as well as falling prey to more complex AI led scams. Thankfully ISO Standards are here to help, with ISO 27001 tackling general information security and ISO 42001 for effective AI Management. But how do...
info_outlineQuality and environmental management are top priorities for many organisations, backed up by the increasing number of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certificates being issued every year.
Aside from being a popular requirement on tenders, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 provide a robust framework for businesses to ensure they follow Best Practice, enhance their businesses performance and put measures in place to reduce their environmental impact. We often see these two Standards being implemented in tandem, as is the case with todays’ guest, Asynt.
Asynt is a global provider of world leading technologies and services for scientific research, developed by chemists for chemists, their laboratory equipment responds to the real demands of industry and academia across the globe.
Today we welcome Siobhan Ellwood, Sales Support at Asynt, as she explains their journey towards ISO 9001 Implementation, and how they embedded ISO 14001 along the way using our online learning platform – the isologyhub.
You’ll learn
● Who are Asynt?
● How did Siobhan get involved with ISO Standards?
● What was Asynt’s main driver for obtaining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?
● What did Asynt learn while implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?
● Siobhan’s experience using the isologyhub to implement ISO 14001
Resources
● Asynt
● ISO 9001
In this episode, we talk about:
[00:55] An Introduction to Asynt - A global provider of world leading technologies and services for scientific research. Based just outside of Ely in Cambridgeshire, they just celebrated 20 years in business!
[02:10] Siobhan’s role and how she got involved with ISO Standards: Siobhan is the Sales Support Manager for Asynt, she assist with raising quotations, managing sales orders and providing support for the warehouse.
In January 2023, 3 members of the Asynt Team were tasked with researching and obtaining ISO 9001, with a view to adopt ISO 14001 later on. Siobhan had experience working with Quality Standards thanks to her previous work in aviation and automotive companies, and had even previously implemented the Standard. Naturally, she was a perfect fit to head the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 project at Asynt.
[05:40] What did Siobhan enjoy most about Implementing ISO Standards? Initially, realising that she had a lot more knowledge about ISO than she gave herself credit for. Also, making use of the 5 Why’s to identify where something has gone wrong, implement a solution and preventing it from recurring.
[06:40] What were the main drivers behind Implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?: For ISO 9001 – Top Management saw the need to have proper procedures in place, to ensure that everything was written down and could be communicated and conducted by other staff if needed. Ultimately, they wanted a cohesive system where everything, included roles and responsibilities, were documented and managed.
For ISO 14001 – Customers often ask for ISO 9001, but ISO 14001 was also starting to pop up in conversation more. Top Management at Asynt wanted to get ahead of the curve and make the move towards becoming more environmentally friendly. It was also seen as a stepping stone towards being in a position to calculate their Carbon Footprint and make further improvements.
[09:50] The ISO 14001 Coaching Programme – Asynt were one of the first companies to go through our ISO Coaching Programme, hosted via the isologyhub. This programme combined the DIY digital platform with group coaching sessions, allowing all participants to work collaboratively towards creating their own Environmental Management System.
[10:20] Siobhan’s experience with the ISO 14001 Coaching Programme: Overall Siobhan had a very positive experience in the coaching programme, a few highlights include:
Sharing ideas: Other participants come from a wide range of industries, and each brought their own unique ideas to the table, encouraging others to look at things from many different points of view.
Support: If another participant is struggling with something, there is a group of people to support and provide possible solutions. Siobhan gave an example of where she provided an Excel guide to another member who was looking for a solution.
Resources: Siobhan had previous experience with implementing ISO Standards, so she was aware of what type of documentation was required. She found the resources on the hub useful to refer to outside of coaching sessions, to enhance Asynt’s own ISO Standard Implementation.
[12:20] What was the biggest Gap identified during Asynt’s Gap Analysis? Mostly it was the lack of documentation, which required a lot of work to get everything written down in cohesive processes and procedures.
For ISO 14001, Asynt are fortunate enough to own the buildings that they operate in. So, gathering the initial information required where potential energy and environmental improvements could be made was fairly easy.
[15:00] What differences did Asynt see after addressing the identified gaps? For ISO 14001 – Some elements were already in place (recycling waste ect), but weren’t being monitored in any meaningful way. Now Siobhan has got processes in place to ensure the recycling is being separated correctly and weighed so they can properly gauge their impact.
For ISO 9001 – It was the introduction of the 5 Why’s, which Asynt have used to great effect to identify problems and implement solutions. An example of this can be found in their warehouse, lanes and shelves weren’t labelled, causing confusion. It was a quick fix that could have been implemented years ago, but the 5 Why’s forced a much needed change.
[18:00] What did Siobhan learn from the experience of Implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001? Integrating a Management System can save on a lot of paperwork! Initially the plan was to have just an ISO 9001 System, with ISO 14001 implemented at a later date. Going through the process of Implementing them as the same time highlighted how much easier it would be to combine them, thanks in part to how many elements overlap between the two.
It also makes the system a lot easier to interact with, having everything in one place rather than spread between two separate systems means staff don’t have to waste time digging for policies and Procedures.
[20:00] Certification plans: Asynt are well on their way towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification with their Stage 1 in October and Stage 2 in November 2023. With just under 2 months before the Stage 1, Siobhan plans to continue working through some opportunities for Improvement, raised by Blackmores in some recent Internal Audits.
[21:41] Siobhan’s top tip: Trust in the process and make sure that you have the right person in your business to lead the ISO project.
Also being open to change, being honest with yourself about where the gaps are and trying to get those closed but also manage expectations within the business.
[23:50] Siobhan’s book recommendation: Salt path by Raynor Winn.
[26:05] Siobhan’s favorite quote: “Personal growth is not a matter of learning new information, but unlearning old limits” – Alan Cohen
If you’d like to learn more about Asynt check out their website!
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