Information

ISO 14001

ISO 14001:2015

 Why Get Certified

Are you considering to get certified to ISO or any other related certification, then here is what you need to know:

  • In business today, companies have realized that ISO certification can add real value to their organizations
  • Gain international recognition and remain on global marketing radar ISO 9001 certification is the most widely adopted management system in the world
  • International study indicate that most organizations are reporting a payback on their investment (according to ISO & IAF Update)
  • Audit process can help highlight weaknesses as well as strengths, which allows companies to continually improve their productivity to stay competitive
  • We works with our clients to understand their business and unique practices to ensure our clients get the most out of the auditing process
  • More and more leading of our clients are finding that Alliance is far superior in certification requirements knowledge and customer service. Get the facts, and make the decision that’s right for you

Alliance offers services and benefits that other registrars don’t, like:

  • A complementary review of your quality system With each ISO certification audit you get productivity snapshot
  • A SWOT analysis is available with every audit which describes real strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in terms executive management
  • An Account Manager is assigned to each client to provide a single point of contact

Steps to certification

Not everyone realizes that Certification, Registration and Accreditation are not same thing!!!

In terms of management systems standards, “certification” refers to the issuing in writing “the certificate” by an independent, qualified external body – such as Alliance Registrar/ARC- that has audited an organization’s management system and verified that it conforms to the requirements specified in the standard.

“Registration” means that the auditing body then records the certification in its client register. This means that organization’s QMS been both certified and registered.

That said, “Certification” seems to be the term most widely used worldwide, although registration (from which “registrar” as an alternative to registration/certification body) is often preferred in North America, and the two are also used interchangeably.

However, “accreditation” as an interchangeable alternative for certification or registration is not correct, as there is a significant diffrence. Accreditation refers to the formal recognition by a specialized body (group of qualified professional team) – an accreditation body – that a certification organization such as Alliance Registrar is competent to carry out certification in specified business sectors and is accredited by a number of local and international independent body.

Simply it means that accreditation is like certification of the certification body. Certificates issued by accredited certification bodies – and known as “accredited certificates”.

Our 5 step Approach

We often wonder why do some certified bodies desire to make it harder than it should be. At Alliance, we have a different approach and suggested the following solution:

  • STEP ONE: You will receive an easy to follow forms, what to expect from our practical certification process and terms & conditions.
  • STEP TWO: Review your documentations, depending on the standard (s) selected . Also if requested, conduct an on-site readiness review.
  • STEP THREE: Perform registration or conformance as per signed application and agreement. This process usually consist of speaking to applicable people working in the organization, observing activities/tasks and reviewing documents and records.
  • STEP FOUR: Depending on the findings of your registration audit, you will have time to take corrective action to resolve the issues. No matter what the issues might be, our team will work closely and collaboratively with you throughout this process until it is satisfactory.
  • STEP FIVE: After approval of your audit report and related records by our certification committee, you shall receive your registration and framed certificate.
Download our 3 Year Certification Cycle

Giving QMS a fresh sparkle

 
The new 2015 revision of ISO 9001, brought right up to date in response to vast changes in technology, business diversity and global commerce, promises to be the most effective, user-friendly and relevant quality management system yet.

ISO 9001has just been updated! In the world of global quality management, this is an exciting event and important news for well over one million ISO 9001-certified organizations worldwide, and for the millions more individuals who use ISO’s famous quality management system standard (QMS) daily to facilitate trade. The latest 2015 revision, just published, gives the “jewel” of quality management a fresh sparkle, keeping it relevant and bringing it right up to date with today’s connected world.

Introduced in 1987, ISO 9001 has been revised four times to date, and the new version ISO 9001:2015 is the first major revision since 2000. It has been three years in the making and is the work of hundreds of experts from industry and commerce, standards stakeholders (i.e. consultants, users, test laboratories, certification bodies, etc.), academia and research bodies, government, NGOs, representing 81 ISO member bodies around the world, as well as many thousands of participants in the national mirror committees who reviewed and commented on the draft standard during its development. The result of this evolutionary process brings ISO’s best-selling standard firmly into the 21st century.

Certified organizations have three years following publication of ISO 9001:2015 in September to align their quality management systems to the new edition of the standard, although it is hoped they will not wait until the last minute to benefit from the significant changes in the latest version.

“It’s a game changer!”

Early feedback from reviewers and users of the standard has been very positive. “It’s a game changer,” says Simon Feary, Chief Executive at the Chartered Quality Institute in the UK. Alan Daniels of Boeing, who represented the International Aerospace Quality Group on the ISO 9001 revision subcommittee, sees it as “a real improvement that will lead to a more robust QMS”. “This is a wonderful opportunity for organizations to refocus their QMS on their business operations,” concludes Sheronda Jeffries of Cisco Systems, representing QuEST Forum, a global quality organization for the telecom (ICT) community. As for Mark Braham of the Automobile Association (United Kingdom), he believes ISO 9001:2015 will have huge impacts across the world, while Luiz Nascimento of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) thinks it will provide more confidence that quality management systems really do work.

Why change?

Many users, happy with ISO 9001 in its current form, may well ask “if it isn’t broken, why fix it?” But this latest revision is a response to vast changes in technology, business diversity and global commerce in the 15 years since ISO 9001:2000.

ISO 9001:2015 recognizes the increased prominence of the service sector and its need for quality management. It also reflects calls for greater QMS alignment and integration with an organization’s business and strategic direction, and makes it easier to adopt multiple ISO business management standards such as ISO 14001and sector-specific QMSs such as the aerospace industry’s AS9100.

Representing the aerospace industry view, Alan Daniels also highlights changes in business models, more complex supply chains, and increased customer expectations as further compelling reasons for adapting the standard to a changing world. He believes QMS 2015 must enhance an organization’s ability to satisfy its customers while reflecting the increasingly complex environments in which they operate. It should also recognize the needs of all interested parties and align with other management systems – hence the call for extensive and detailed revision.

Have the changes been successful? In the opinion of Anni Koubek, Head of Innovation, Quality Austria, the 2015 version of the standard “clearly fits the global, dynamic, complex, networked and IT-driven business environment most organizations have to operate in much better than the 2008 version”.

What has changed?

The first piece of good news is that ISO 9001:2015 will be easier to use, particularly in conjunction with other management system standards, and will be less prescriptive – for example, documentation will be less mandated and more user-friendly, and the language has been simplified. It also follows the underlying philosophy that “output matters”, so it will ask if an organization’s processes are achieving their planned results, and if the system is actually delivering on its promise – central to implementing ISO 9001– of “providing confidence in the ability to consistently provide conforming products and services”, explains Nigel Croft, Chair of the ISO subcommittee that revised the standard.


Nigel Croft,
Chair of subcommittee ISO/TC 176 on quality systems.

ISO 9001:2015 is very much performance-based, with a focus on has to be achieved rather than to achieve it,” he adds. The new version combines the successful “process approach” with a new core concept of “risk-based thinking” to prioritize the processes, employing the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle at all levels in the organization to manage the processes and the system as a whole, and to drive improvement. This new risk-based focus is intended to prevent undesirable outcomes such as non-conforming products and services.

The 2015 version adopts a new high-level structure for ISO management systems standards – based on Annex SL of the consolidated ISO Supplement to the ISO/IEC Directives. It is expected to have a significant impact on organizations, trainers, consultants, certification and accreditation bodies, auditors and standards writers. Annex SL provides identical structure, text and common terms and definitions for all future ISO management system standards (MSSs), giving each a similar “look, touch and feel” and making implementing multiple standards within one organization easier. Now, all new ISO MSSs will follow this framework to ensure consistency and compatibility, ending some earlier confusion during implementation.

Mark Braham, CQI Category A liaison in ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, sees “huge benefit” in following the Annex SL framework to integrate other management system standards, and help reduce management time and effort to meet requirements, while Sheronda Jeffries says that the inclusion of the new annex will better allow organizations to see the differences and similarities of ISO 9001:2015 with other MSSs.

How will the changes benefit you?

ISO 9001:2015 recognizes the importance of the organization’s business in terms of the type of products and services it provides, their criticality, and the external and internal factors that affect the way it works,” says Nigel Croft. The latest version obliges each organization to think about its own particular circumstances, rather than prescribing a “recipe” for how to design the quality management system. Organizations will therefore have greater flexibility in the way they choose to implement the standard, and the amount and nature of the documentation that is required.

One very important factor has been the greater alignment of structure, content and terminology for all ISO management system standards, particularly evident when looking at the new versions of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, he says, alluding to Annex SL. This is intended to make life easier for organizations needing to address the requirements of several standards in a single management system.

Assets of risk-based thinking

According to Alan Daniels, the new version will lead to a more robust QMS because it links the process approach with PDCA and risk-based thinking, and connects the QMS to strategic planning and the business processes. “Identifying risks adds value and opportunities for improvement, and the engagement of top management enhances the chance of success on all levels.” For Sheronda Jeffries, introduction of the term “risk-based thinking” along with the term “risks and opportunities” will encourage an organization to be more proactive.

“Risk-based thinking will help organizations make business decisions based on risk by providing the structure to manage it,” says Lorri Hunt of US-based quality management system training, auditing and consulting firm Lorri Hunt & Associates Inc. Anni Koubek also views it as the most important change in the new 2015 version, although she adds that it is not one single element that makes this standard different from the 2008 version; “it is the consequent orientation on results and a certain flexibility on how to build the management system that can be seen throughout the standard”.

Involving the leadership

For Simon Feary, the most significant change is the switch from management commitment to leadership and commitment, embedding responsibility for the operation and performance of the QMS at levels of the organization. The requirements for greater senior management involvement will put the quality profession in front of senior management like never before, he claims. Whether delivering quality management programmes or auditing against management system standards, he urges quality professionals to seize the opportunity to develop new skills and add greater value to their organizations.

The new emphasis on top management involvement is one of the most important changes for Mark Braham, particularly as “they must do tasks to meet the requirements and cannot delegate”. Lorri Hunt interprets the focus on leadership as a transition from the implication of one management representative being responsible for the QMS to the philosophy of a system owned by all of the leadership.

This top-down approach will significantly raise the status of ISO 9001 in the eyes of senior management, believes Leopoldo Colombo, Executive Director of the Quara Group, a Latin American management consulting and training organization. He thinks the days when quality managers would be thanked for their QMS status presentations and then asked to leave the meeting because “we have business to discuss” are over! “Version 2015 has set the requirements and anchorages needed to ensure that the QMS will be strongly integrated with the organization’s business and aligned with its strategic direction, so reviewing the effectiveness of the QMS will equate to reviewing the effectiveness of the business.”

A fresh start

ISO 9001:2015 is an opportunity for a fresh start in the way users have been implementing ISO 9001, says José Domínguez, Board Member of the Latin American Quality Institute (INLAC) and Director General of Plexus International in Mexico, a QMS training, assessment and coaching services organization. In his view, if users are serious about ISO 9001 as the main tool for implementing, maintaining and improving the QMS and use it as the foundation for their business operations, they will find it a more flexible and robust standard that can easily adapt to the nature and context of the organization.

Luiz Nascimento believes that, in general, all the changes constitute a real improvement in providing more confidence that quality management systems really work. “Chances are that the perception of the quality management system as a bunch of useless paperwork and unnecessary bureaucracy will change,” he said, adding that, if well applied, the new version can enhance the credibility of certification.

Third-party certification

What are the implications of ISO 9001:2015 for accreditation and certification bodies? Although Mark Braham thinks ISO 9001:2015 will initially create work to complete a gap review, implement changes and prepare for the first certification audit, he also expects that certification bodies will be able to reduce the number of audit days, therefore saving costs.

Sheronda Jeffries believes the introduction of “context”, “interested parties” and “scope of the quality management system” will have a positive impact on the third-party certification process because organizations will be encouraged to consider the boundaries of their QMS, and acknowledge the needs and expectation of their customers.

Simon Feary adds a caveat to balance his enthusiasm for the new version by saying that successful implementation will depend on certification bodies accepting the challenge by reflecting the standard writers’ intentions in the services they offer. Mark Braham concurs, adding that, “the success of the new standard will be down to the capability of the certification body and a healthy challenge”. He believes that will make the difference between a certificate on the wall or an effective management system enhancing customer satisfaction and reducing operational costs.

No problem adapting

Early signs suggest that the drafters of ISO 9001:2015 have succeeded well in developing a more robust QMS that will allow organizations to build confidence in the products and services they deliver throughout the supply chain to customers worldwide. If they prove right, Nigel Croft concludes that organizations currently operating a well-implemented ISO 9001 based QMS should have no problem whatsoever in adapting it to the requirements of the new version.

Achieving environmental focus with ISO 14001:2015

Our impact on the environment is increasing, there’s no denying that. And we need to better understand and manage our impact. Responding to our planet’s ecological challenges, the revision of EMS supports organizations in reducing their environmental impact and understanding the effect the environment has on their business.

ISO 14001:2015  is hot off the press – the world’s favourite International Standard for environmental management has been brought firmly into the 21st century. This is an important step forward for a critical environmental standard, one that covers all environmental challenges – water, air, soil, waste, biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate challenges, etc. – in one standard and helps organizations to manage them in a holistic manner.

For a world continuing to face environmental challenges, this is excellent news. Doing one’s bit to protect the world has gone from buzz word to strategic business imperative in recent years. And as society and the planet grapple with issues such as natural disasters, deforestation, overpopulation, climate mitigation and adaptation, etc., companies are continuing to recognize the need to manage their environmental challenges and contribute towards finding solutions to the issues facing us all.

“The standard looks very different,” says Susan Briggs, Convenor of the working group responsible for the revision of ISO 14001, who has extensive experience implementing environmental management systems, “but primarily, from a technical point of view, the real changes come from the increased focus on sustainable development. We want to not only prevent pollution, but we want to protect the environment from harm and degradation, so we have incorporated that thinking into the standard.”

For any organization using or thinking of using EMS as well as the approximately 300000 organization worldwide that are certified to the standard, the revision poses questions like: What are the changes involved? And what must be taken into consideration in the future?

Moving forward

ISO 14001 was first published in 1996, though the need for an international environmental standard dates back to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, which put sustainable development squarely on the political agenda.


Experts of ISO/TC 207/SC1’s working group WG 5, who worked on the ISO 14001 revision, at a meeting in London where the standard was finalized before the FDIS vote.

“In its almost 20 years’ existence, ISO 14001 has been hailed as the world’s most successful environmental standard, its acclaim being attributed both to its accessibility (it applies in equal measure to heavy industry, service and public sectors, and SMEs) and to its ability to help companies deliver business and environmental improvements, cut costs and improve compliance management,” comments Anne-Marie Warris, Chair of the subcommittee with responsibility for ISO 14001 .

The current version of the standard dates back to 2004. Life has moved on since then. “[…] the whole awareness of environmental issues, including water availability/use and climate challenges, has come a long way,” says Anne-Marie, and it was time to “look at how ISO 14001 can continue to be relevant for modern organizations as they deal with the environmental challenges we all face.”

Moreover, ISO 14001 has not been immune to criticism over the years. Yet many believed there was still plenty of opportunity for increasing the standard’s uptake, though a more strategic approach was needed.

What motivated the standard’s revision? Initially, work was carried out to identify the future challenges of environmental management, the outcome of which was a number of themes such as “being part of sustainability and social responsibility”, “the link to strategic business management”, “considering environmental impacts in the value/supply chain”, etc. Secondly, it was decided that the revision should use ISO’s new common framework for management systems; and thirdly, the revision was informed by the outcome of the survey carried out in 2012/2013.

The survey focused on two main areas, namely the extent to which ISO 14001 should address or strengthen attention to future challenges for environmental management and the perceived value of the ISO 14001 standard for both business management and environmental management. This gave the impetus to what needed to be changed, explains Maiko Okuno of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, one of the experts involved in analyzing the survey responses, who took part in the revision of ISO 14001 .

Hence the new edition takes into account the latest changes in environmental management practices, and reflects the increasingly complex, demanding and dynamic environment in which modern-day organizations operate.

Benefits from using ISO 14001

Achieving accredited certification to ISO 14001 certainly delivers commercial value to an organization, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and streamlined waste management, as well as providing a better handle on business risk and competitive advantage. So it’s commercially good for business as well as helping the environment.

Antonio Burgueño, Quality and CSR Director of FCC Construction, a Spanish construction company based in Barcelona, is full of praise: (ISO 14001 has brought us a number of benefits, namely consistency and structure in our processes with third parties and across our organization globally.)

“It has also helped us to improve our environmental impact significantly. In 2014 alone, we cut our carbon emissions by more than 23 tonnes, our dust production by more than 20 tonnes and we reused 116 m of water,” he said. “That is in addition to the more than 6 million m of surplus clean rubble that we reused or recycled instead of sending to landfill.”

In fact, companies report as the dual motivation for implementing the standard the desire to enhance their public image coupled with a general commitment to protecting the environment. “Without a certified management system, we would not be able to win business from many of our customers,” concludes Bob Cutler, General Manager, Oil Testing, at ALcontrol, one of the world’s leading environment and food testing companies that provides analytical services to organizations around the world.

Reaching out

The new version of ISO 14001 aims to reach out to SMEs. Amarjit Kaur, a Malaysian national expert from SHEMSI Sdn Bhd, participating in the revision, explains, “Small and medium-sized companies are a bit intimidated by the term ‘sustainability’, but by getting them to think about the concepts of protecting the environment and life-cycle perspective, they will already be on the path to sustainability without even realizing it.”

With a stronger focus on performance and outcomes, the new edition should help companies, including SMEs, achieve measurable environmental improvement.

Better strategic fit

There are a number of key changes in the standard. Bringing environmental management to the Boardroom and bringing the Boardroom strategic focus to environmental management is one most noticeable for CEOs and other senior directors. They now have real reason for getting involved in this important area for their business as it links with their activities and concerns. Amarjit Kaur considers bringing environmental performance into the strategic day-to-day business of the organization as possibly the most important change. “I commend that,” she says passionately, “I hope that with this new approach – by making it more explicit – the environment will be one of those core agendas in meetings discussing strategy and directions of the organization.”

With the focus firmly on the Boardroom a new clause has been added assigning specific responsibilities for those in leadership roles, which also puts them more in control of their organizational strategies. Management is about processes, but leadership is about behaviour. Good leaders establish unity of purpose and direction within the organization, sustaining an internal corporate culture in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s objectives. This involvement of leaders will help optimize the performance of the organization’s environmental management system, making it more sustainable, cutting costs and helping to preserve the world’s resources for future generations.

Environment – your impact and its effect on you


Solar panels provide an alternative form of electricity.

Continuing on the theme of business focus, companies are required to look at their unique context and identify the effect the environment is having on their business. It involves taking new factors into account that are specific to the organization’s context, such as climate volatility, adaptation to change in the environment and resource availability. This is a big leap forward as the effect of the environment on the organization was previously not included in the scope of the standard.

Clearly, protecting the environment remains a key ethos of ISO 14001 as does the duty of the organization to commit to proactive initiatives to safeguard the environment from harm and degradation. This can include issues such as the sustainable use of resources, preserving the local biodiversity and ecosystems, and taking measures to prevent pollution.

The concept of “context” also means companies have to consider other issues not obviously related to narrow environmental concerns, but which can have detrimental effects on its business, like the competitive landscape in which they operate, technology and even cultural factors. Focusing both inward and outward can help organizations to leverage opportunities that could benefit both the organization and the environment.

Life-cycle perspective

The concept of life-cycle perspective emerges in this version of the standard, which requires organizations to take a broader view and deal with their environmental issues in a more holistic way. The idea, says Susan Briggs, involves “looking at the performance, not just of the operations of the organization, but of the products they create and their use and final disposal”. Life-cycle perspective does not require a detailed life-cycle assessment but it means organizations needs to think about the life-cycle stages that can be controlled or influenced by the organization, this can include raw-material acquisition, design, production, transportation/delivery, use, end-of-life treatment and final disposal. What the life-cycle stages are will vary from product to product and from service to service.

Common framework

ISO 14001 will become the tool of choice for organizations to integrate environmental issues.

The latest revision of the standard follows ISO’s common framework for management system standards which provides an overarching skeleton for management systems, including the core text, common terms and core definitions.

This new framework is known as Annex SL by experts, as a reference to the ISO/IEC Directives where it can be found, or as the “High-Level Structure”. It is designed to benefit users and enhance consistency between the different management standards, making it much easier to implement multiple management systems as well as link with common business systems.

So is it more prescriptive or not?

The above implies the standard is more prescriptive as compared to the 2004 edition. But is it? “For all its new ‘requirements’,” comments Amarjit Kaur, (ISO14001 provides more flexibility for organizations in the way they address the requirements than in earlier versions and places more emphasis on improving environmental performance. It provides a framework for a holistic, strategic approach to the organization’s environmental policy, plans and actions – allowing companies to set it within the specific context of their organization.)

Rite of passage

Anne-Marie Warris is confident the new edition will be a key asset to organizations, predicting that ISO 14001 will become the tool of choice for organizations to integrate environmental issues, and dependencies such as water use, into business strategic thinking, actions and plans.”

Following the release of ISO ISO 14001 , those organizations certified to the 2004 edition have three years to demonstrate they meet the requirement in the 2015 edition. As Anne-Marie concludes with a note of optimism: “Change looks really scary, but it’s just a question of starting in one corner and getting on with it.”