#235 PUBLIC’s 3-Month Journey towards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 20000-1
The ISO Show
An ISO project can typically be completed within 6 – 12 months depending on an organisations size and complexity. Anyone who’s been through the process of ISO Implementation knows that there is a lot of work involved in that time span, from coordinating teams, gathering and creating documentation to auditing your processes. Now imagine doing that for 3 ISO Standards simultaneously within 3 months! Which is exactly what today’s guest, PUBLIC, have achieved. While it’s not a timeframe we recommend, their efforts deserve to be celebrated, and displays what good project management with...
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#234 Finding The Root Cause In ISO Management
The ISO Show
Continual Improvement is at the heart of ISO Management, a large part of which is dedicated to ensuring issues don’t reoccur. This is more than just putting a plaster on it and calling it a day, it’s about finding the root cause. This not only eliminates wasted time, effort and money with firefighting repeated mistakes, but also drives meaningful improvement. Over the years, many techniques have been developed to help with finding cause. In this episode, Ian Battersby explores the need to find the root cause of issues in ISO Management and explains some key techniques for root cause...
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#233 Clyde & Co Achieves ISO 50001 - Setting the Standard for Energy Management within the Legal Sector
The ISO Show
When thinking of sectors that need effective energy management, the ones that typically come to mind include the likes of transportation and manufacturing. However, energy management is something that any business can benefit from. Such is the case with today’s feature, Clyde & Co, a global law firm who made the decision to Implement ISO 50001 energy management to tackle the largest part of their sustainability impact. In this episode, Ian Battersby is joined by Paul Barnacle, Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Clyde & Co, to discuss their journey towards ISO...
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#232 Introducing BS 30480 Intervention, Prevention And Support For People Affected By Suicide
The ISO Show
The topic of suicide is all too often a discussion avoided due to its tragic and uncomfortable nature. However, the reality is that there are 6,000 deaths by suicide in the UK each year, with in excess of 727,000 deaths annually worldwide. In recent years there has been more awareness about the topic, with a range of resources targeted to help with the prevention and support of those affected. For businesses seeking further guidance, a new Standard is on the horizon. In this episode, Ian Battersby is joined by Marcus Long, Chief Executive at IIOA, who shares his inspirational story of...
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#231 Evaluating Compliance within ISO Management
The ISO Show
When stating ISO Management System ‘compliance’, that in reality means the conformance to ISO Standard requirements, compliance in ISO terminology actually refers to compliance with legal and other statutory regulations. It may sound like semantics, but the difference is distinct for a reason, as you don’t get a ‘non-compliance’ for not meeting requirements, rather you get a ‘non-conformity’. When it comes to compliance with the law as required by ISO Standards, you need more than a Legal Register to prove compliance. In this episode, Ian Battersby dives into what is meant by...
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#230 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Anju Punetha
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 latest 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 Anju Punetha, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to share the journey of how she...
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#229 From Platform To Proof – How To Tackle Your Scope 3 Emissions
The ISO Show
One of the biggest challenges for those looking to achieve Net Zero is tackling scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions that typically reside in your supply chain. These can account for up to 70% of your total emissions and can be quite the undertaking to gather the necessary data to be able to complete your calculations needed for carbon verification. In the final episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, back onto the podcast to explain how to tackle scope 3 emissions, how it works in...
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#228 From Platform To Proof – How Carbon Accounting Software and Verification Combine for Carbon Compliance
The ISO Show
As the sustainability crisis grows more pressing each passing year, companies are increasingly being required to comply with various sustainability regulations and legislation, most of which include the need to monitor and verify your carbon emissions. Calculating these carbon emissions can be tricky, especially if you have a lot of sites or international locations that require conversions. This is where dedicated carbon accounting software can save you a lot of headache! In the second episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and...
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#227 From Platform To Proof – What Is The Business Driver For Carbon Accounting And Reporting?
The ISO Show
One of the biggest hurdles for businesses when embarking on their journey to net zero is the calculation required for carbon verification. Depending on the nature and size of a business, it can be quite the undertaking! Those looking to tackle this challenge have various options available to them, including the use of dedicated carbon accounting software, which we’ll explore in our latest mini-series: From Platform to Proof. In the first episode of this series, we introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, to explore the key drivers behind carbon...
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#226 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Minoo Agarwal
The ISO Show
Becoming an ISO consultant isn’t a career path many aspire to, rather it’s one often stumbled on after being tasked with either implementing or maintaining a Standard for a business. We’re continuing with our latest 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 Minoo Agarwal, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to learn about her journey of following in her father’s footsteps towards ISO Standards...
info_outlineThe importance of setting key objectives can’t be understated. They help drive continual improvement and reflect a business’s key metrics for success in various areas.
They are also a key aspect of implementing an ISO Standard, with most specifying a dedicated Objectives clause. While most businesses will have objectives irrespective of any ISO certification, many may fall into the familiar trappings of having separate objectives for different departments, which only serves to fragment your measurement of success.
In this episode Ian discusses the importance of setting key business objectives, and why you should be aligning these with your strategic direction.
You’ll learn
· What is the Annex SL format and why was it introduced?
· What is meant by ‘Strategic Direction’?
· The importance of risks and opportunities in objective planning
· Who are setting key business objectives important?
· How can you align objectives with a businesses strategic direction?
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[02:05] Episode Summary – Ian discusses how to align objectives with the strategic direction of the business, and why it’s important to do so.
[02:55] What is the Annex SL format and why was it introduced?: The Annex SL format refers to the standard 10 clause structure that we now see in most ISO Standards. Introduced back in 2015, it sought to address the issues with integrating multiple Standards, in addition to making them more accessible to every sector.
Prior to 2015, many ISO standards were designed with specific sectors in mind, using terminology that would make sense to them, but perhaps not to others. The Annes SL format now uses the same language across all ISO’s, making It easy to integrate multiple ISO compliant Management Systems.
[06:10] What is meant by the term Strategic Direction? Leadership: This is a term that appears in ISO 9001 5 times.
We first see it in Clause 5 – Leadership, where it states:
“Top management shall demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the management system by ensuring that the policy of objectives are established for the management system and are compatible with the context and strategic direction of the organisation.”
This is where it’s made explicitly clear that leadership / management are responsible for ensuring the Management System aligns with the way their business runs, in addition to integrating it into existing processes.
[07:05] What is meant by the term Strategic Direction? Management Review: It also appear in clause 9.3 Management Review, where it states:
“Top management shall review the organisation system at planned intervals to ensure its continuing suitability adequacy, effectiveness and alignment with the strategic direction of the organisation.”
Again, this reinforces the need for top management to be involved to ensure that the Management System is in alignment with their overall goals.
[08:40] What is meant by the term Strategic Direction? Context of the Organisation: It also appears at the very start of the auditable clauses, in Clause 4 – Context of the organisation, where it states:
“The organisation shall determine the external and internal issues which are relevant to its purpose and its strategic direction.”
This involves looking at issues from a legal, technical, competitive, cultural and economic point of view, and many of these will be determined by top or broader management within the business. They ultimately have the most influence in how a Management System is built, therefore have the most influence on how the policies and objectives are created.
[10:45] The importance of risks and opportunities in Objective planning – Clause 6 (Planning) is where we address risks and opportunities raised in clause 4.
It states that ‘Objectives must be established at relevant functions, levels and processes.”
For us at Blackmores, we directly relate the findings from a risks and opportunities assessment (such as a SWOT & PESTLE), and link these to our objectives to try and minimise those risks. We also leverage the opportunities, by making them real tangible goals to work towards – seems obvious but we often see businesses missing the link between these exercises!
[12:00] How can you set Objectives in alignment with Strategic Direction?: Many businesses now build their mission, values and strategic direction around sustainability and general ESG.
When building a management system, you need to consider how it affects those sustainability / ESG goals, because that is essentially the context of your organisation.
So, you’d need to consider:
How does environmental performance, health & safety performance or legal compliance contribute to the success of the management system as a whole?
You don’t have to be going for ISO 14001 or ISO 45001 for these things to matter, even a quality management system can contribute to sustainability goals. This can be through improving economic performance by reducing waste ect.
Also, don’t be afraid to relate economic performance to your management system. If you have a turnover goal of X, mention that in your context documentation, and also consider how the management system can contribute to achieving that goal i.e. through processes, controls, monitoring and improvement activity.
Also consider your client requirements, they may require an accident rate below X which can also be included in context documentation and can then be factored into your management system measures and objectives if need be to achieve that.
[16:55] How do you establish your objectives? – First you must establish context, and that context must be relevant to the purpose and strategic direction of the business. The context setting must include those who understand that context, strategic direction and the purpose of the business, the risks and opportunities must be assessed in relation to that context, which in turn is already aligned with strategic direction. Finally the objectives must be set in relation to those risks and opportunities.
It's all about having the right people to identify the relevant issues affecting the organisation, and setting concrete objectives in order to improve that.
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