WHS Management Systems Archives | Page 2 of 2 | GrowEQ: ISO systems, Process Improvement & Management

Simple Rules on Purchasing

Simple Rules on Purchasing – Part I When it comes to purchasing goods and services for your business the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems standard is full of good common sense. Here is what it says – 7 Product Realisation 7.4 Purchasing 7.4.1 Purchasing Process The organization shall ensure that purchased product conforms to specified purchase requirements. The type and extent of control applied to the supplier and the purchased product shall be dependent upon the effect of the purchased [...]

What on Earth is Preventive Action?

If the preventive action clause in the management standards confuses you, join the club! Most people find this one confusing – “I record the problems (non conformances) AND I fix them (short term corrective actions) AND I address the root causes of problems (long term corrective actions). What more do they want?” All three of the most popular management systems - ISO 9001 Quality, AS4801 OHS, and ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems have a preventive action clause. Here is the [...]

Keep it Simple

The following information is so important that it is one of my downloadable Top 5 Essential Tips for ISO systems. Why is it so important? Because a) your management system must be simple and practical or your staff won't use it; b) cumbersome systems don't help a business achieve its goals; and c) overcomplicated systems are expensive to maintain. You need a simple system that effectively helps run the business & meet the needs of both customers & stakeholders. Just [...]

What are Corrective Actions?

I ended my previous blog by stating that there is a relationship between non-conformances (problems) and corrective actions (solutions). Clearly action is necessary to fix a problem and this action can take 2 forms – immediate corrective action and root cause corrective action. The names really say it all. You need to take immediate action to prevent the material or service from being used and to fix it. You need to take root cause corrective action to prevent a recurrence [...]

Non-conformance is Just a Fancy Word

No Quality, WHS or Environmental System is perfect and no business is perfect. Problems may occur with the service you provide, your products, your processes, and your suppliers, the result being that stated requirements are not met. Those requirements might be stated in the specifications for the product, the service level agreements, a regulatory body, or your own internal procedures. In the language of management systems these problems are called non-conformances, but you may call them anything you like. It [...]

What is an Integrated Management System?

An integrated management system (IMS) combines all related components of a business into one system for easier management and operations. Quality (QMS), Environmental (EMS), and Safety (OHSMS) management systems are the ones most often combined and managed as an IMS but you can integrate any of the ISO management system standards. What's in Common? It makes sense to integrate management standards because approximately 30% of the requirements in ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and AS/NZS 4801 or ISO 18001 are the [...]

The Importance of Management Commitment

ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems has high expectations for senior management. In fact about 15% of this Standards text is devoted to the responsibilities of management. This is in recognition of the fact that if senior management doesn’t support the system then it isn’t really going to work. Sure, you can probably get certified without the support of senior management. But without them your Quality Management System will be like an appendix – it’s there but it doesn’t really achieve [...]

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