A new online register of high risk work, asbestos and demolition licence holders, as well as general construction induction training card holders, will go live on 29 January 2018 in NSW. So it will be easier for your business to regularly check the validity of your worker's licences, using a single portal.
When it comes to travel, the two most important things you need to know are where you are now and where you want to go to. In business, clear, concise, “documented” processes provide a common understanding of where we are now, enabling us to reach our destination faster, more efficiently, and with fewer arguments!
ISO 9001 says that you should select suppliers based on their ability to meet your requirements and evaluate their performance on a regular basis. My experience is that most organisations treat this as a tick-a-box activity performed grudgingly once a year by an inexperienced person with a little time on their hands. STOP! It’s time to take this seriously. You know that old adage “You’re only as strong as your weakest link”? It’s been around forever, and that’s because it’s [...]
Training helps to turn the theory of quality and safety into reality. Effective training should be a fundamental part of a company’s management system as it can help prevent many quality, safety and environmental problems from ever occurring. Dare I say it – training even improves profitability. Some Facts A study by the American Management Association found that companies that INCREASED their training after changes to their business reported: 63% higher productivity. 69% higher profits. 74% higher quality. In contrast, [...]
The new privacy laws come into effect on 12 March 2014 so there isn’t much time left to review your privacy policies and procedures in order to comply with the new legislation. If you are found in repeated breach of these new laws, penalties can be up to $340 000 for an individual and $1.7 million for a company. What is Personal Information? The new privacy laws are concerned with personal information. Personal information is defined to include any information [...]
I have quite a few clients due to be audited soon so I thought I’d write about the things auditors tend to ask. Of course no one can predict all their questions (they are human beings after all), but you can bet that the following 5 questions will be amongst them. 1. What is your policy? Quality/OHS/Environmental/Energy/Food Safety or a combination of them into one integrated policy. This is often one of the first questions asked during a certification audit. [...]
ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and AS 4801 OHS Management Systems all require the setting of relevant objectives. Why? Objectives are goalposts and as such they drive improvement. The reason why many organisations do not reach their full potential or remain stagnant is that they don’t have this mechanism. They simply run around putting out fires, tackling surface issues, and responding to the “problems of the day” rather than addressing process performance issues based on [...]
Many companies want ISO certification so they can tick a box on tender requests and thus increase their chances of being shortlisted for valuable tenders. This is one good reason but ISO systems can do so much more. When an ISO system is written with your business needs and goals in mind, when it is tailor made for your products, services and processes then it will reduce costs and improve performance too. In fact, it will be one of the [...]
You know you need to implement a management system be it ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for the environment, AS 4801 for safety, ISO 50001 for energy, or a combination of these. You’ve decided that it’s too hard/time consuming/risky to do it yourself. You need a consultant. They have to be experienced, highly effective and hold a successful track record. It’s an important decision, one you can’t afford to get wrong. You need someone who’ll ensure project success. Someone [...]
Is Certification Worth It? “To be or not to be that is the question” although I don’t think Hamlet had certification in mind when he said this. It is a decision to be taken on business grounds. Here are some of the reasons why organisations choose certification: By setting a clear goal, certification motivates staff and helps to gain their commitment. Certification improves processes and refines activities. There is nothing like certification for focusing one’s attention on this key requirement. [...]
