Table of content
What are ISO standards?
6 Most Widely Used ISO Standard and What They Mean for Your Business
ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management
ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management
ISO 27001 Information Security management
ISO 31000 Risk Management
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
What are ISO standards?
ISO standard are international standards published by ISO – the international Organisations for standardisation. The requirements they set apply not to products, rather they apply to management of organisations. Different standards deal with different aspects of managing organisations. This could be the safety of employees and customers (ISO 45001), the impact of organisatios’s operations on the environment (ISO 14001) or the security of its digital information to name a few.
6 Most Widely Used ISO Standard and What They Mean for Your Business
ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management
What is the ISO 9001 standard about?
ISO 9001 is the most widely used standard internationally. Over a million organisations worldwide are certified under the standard, making it the most widely used management tools throughout the world.
ISO 9001 standard is based on Quality Management Principles and gives a framework for establishing quality management systems (QMS) within an organization.
The standard outlines a set of requirements for the management of organisations. Think of ISO 9001 as a best practice management formula. The requirements of the ISO 9001 Standard are generic and can be applied to any organisation, large or small, whatever its product or service, in any industry sector.
Many refer to the standard as ISO 9000. However, ISO 9000 this is the term used to describe a family of quality standards, with the ISO 9001:2015 being the best known standard. ISO 9001:2015 sets out the requirements of a quality management system. Other standards in overarching family include ISO 9004:2009 which provides guidance to organizations on achieving sustainable success based on quality management principles; ISO 19011:2011 – sets out guidance on internal and external audits of quality management systems.
What does ISO 9001 mean for your business?
ISO 9001 standard offers many benefits and implementing the standard is a strategical decision that organizations take to derive these benefits. Implementing the ISO 9001 standard will allow you to achieve higher level of consistency and control of your operations, services and products. Your business processes will be reviewed and documented; controls will be implemented to ensure that the quality of your processes, services and products is consistent and continually monitored and that issues are identified and addressed. Other benefits include increased customer confidence and staff motivation.
Industries ISO 9001 standard is relevant for
ISO 9001 standard applies to all types of organisations, large or small, profit or non-to profit, in any industry.
ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management
What is the ISO 45001 standard about?
ISO 45001 Standard specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system.
The goal of ISO 45001 standard is to provide a safe and healthy workplace for employees and visitors. To achieve this, it is necessary to control all factors that might result in illness, injury, or in certain cases death. ISO 45001 covers all of these aspects and provides guidance on how to mitigate conditions which may lead to adverse effects on employee’s or visitors’ health or safety.
As per data given by International Labour Organization, more than 7600 people die from work-related accidents or diseases every single day. ISO 45001 standard was established by an ISO committee of occupational health & safety experts to ensure that that three million valuable lives are saved each year. ISO 45001 is based on OHSAS 18001 (older version of this international standard), ILO-OSH Guidelines provided by International Labour Organizations (ILO), various other national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions.
Any organization can implement ISO 45001 regardless of its size, type and nature. Also note that organizations may be required by applicable legal requirements to also address workers health and safety.
What does ISO 45001 mean for your business?
Organizations that have implemented ISO 45001 are regarded as a safe place to work and is recognized by customers who are concerned about their social responsibility. Apart from this, your business will benefit by overall reduction of incidents which not only reduce costs involved, but also reduce downtime and cost of disruption to operations. Furthermore, your cost of insurance premiums are reduced. Employee turnover rates improve and reduces absenteeism from work. Your organization also respond better to regulatory compliance issues.
Industries ISO 45001 standard is relevant for
ISO 45001 standard applies to all types of organisations, large or small, profit or non-profit, in any industry.
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management
What is the ISO 14001 standard about?
ISO 14001 standard specifies requirements for Environmental Management System (EMS).
The goal of the ISO 14001 standard is to help companies attain better environmental performance through efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. An environmental management system provides a framework that helps companies identify, manage and control environmental issues that are relevant to their operations. A few examples of environmental issues are air or water pollution, waste management, resource use, climate change, etc.
ISO 14001 is part of the ISO 14000 family of standards which provides practical tools for companies to manage their environmental responsibilities. Other standards in this family provide guidance on specific areas such as audits, labelling, communications, and life cycle analysis, and environmental challenges such as climate change. ISO 14001 provides guidance for use of the requirements that relate to environmental systems, and this is the standard that companies get certified to.
Any organization can implement ISO 14001 regardless of its size, type and nature.
What does ISO 14001 mean for your business?
ISO 14001 aims to reduce waste in an organization. Some examples are reducing paper usage in the company, recycling wastewater, etc. With ISO 14001 implementation, your organization transitions into using renewable energy sources and incorporate more energy-saving processes which makes these more efficient. This also reduces operational costs in long run.
Moreover, ISO 14001 ensures that you remain up to date with any environment-related legal compliance. Companies certified to ISO 14001 are less likely to be fined for environmental negligence. Environmental concerns are also impacting purchasing choices of consumers today and having an ISO 14001 certification displays your active commitment to environmental-related issues.
Industries ISO 14001standard is relevant for
ISO 14001 standard applies to all types of organisations, large or small, profit or non-profit, in any industry.
ISO 27001 Information Security management
What is the ISO 27001 standard about?
ISO 27001 is part of a the ISO 20000 family of standards that helps organizations improve their information security. The standard provides requirements for setting up an information security management system (ISMS).
The purpose of this family of standards is to anticipate risks of vulnerabilities in your information systems and processes and mitigate these. This standard provides a framework to ensure that your exposure to cyber-attacks, data breaches, and other security threats is minimised.
What does ISO 27001 mean for your business?
ISO 27001 has gained a lot of importance in recent years looking to the growing incidences of cyberattacks and data breaches. Implementing this set of standards help an organization in establishing a robust information security management system and reduces the chances of such threats. A single data breach may lead to huge fines as well as reputation damage for a company. Getting a certification to ISO 27001 and implementing other supporting standards in the series helps build a secured information system.
Industries ISO 27000 standard is relevant for
ISO 27001 can be applied to any business but it is mostly useful for companies that have sensitive information. The following industries typically implement ISO 27001:
- IT industry – Software development companies, cloud companies, and IT support companies,
- Financial industry – Banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses,
- Telecoms – Telecommunication companies, including Internet providers,
- Government agencies that handle sensitive information
in addition to these industries, any business that has unique knowledge, formulas or recipes will benefit from implementing ISO 27001. this include pharmaceutical companies that want to protect their formulas, food manufactures looking to protect their special recipes and other manufacturing companies that want to protect their knowledge.
ISO 31000 Risk Management
What is the ISO 31000 standard about?
ISO 31000, Risk management – Guidelines is an international standard that provides principles, framework and processes for organizations to manage risks effectively. The standard provides generic guidelines to manage risks of any type, be it financial, operational, safety or other business-related risks. Though all organizations manage risk to some level, ISO 31000 was designed to provide a set of best practices to improve techniques used by management to respond to risks and ensure a safe and secure workplace at all times.
The standard provides guidelines to define a risk management process in an organization to effectively manage risks; it does not explain any specific risks for a particular domain rather it provides the principles which can apply to any kind of risk.
ISO 31000:2009 is organized into 3 main clauses, Principles, Framework and Process. The risk framework requires that an organization identify, analyse, and evaluate the need for risk treatment to meet the risk criteria.
What does ISO 31000 mean for your business?
Each organization faces risks in some aspects of its business. Implementing ISO 31000 ensures that the organization has a process in place to identify risks and proactively take actions to mitigate these risks. This helps an organization achieve its objectives. The decision-making process improves as proactive decisions are taken on the basis of risk evaluation. Having a risk management framework in place raises awareness within the organization on the need of identifying and planning for the treatment of the risks. This further leads to better governance and increases stakeholders’ confidence in the organization. This standard also helps in achieving compliance with legal or regulatory requirements and international norms.
ISO 31000 standard cannot be used for certification. This can however be used as a guide to implementing a risk management process with an internationally recognized benchmark.
Industries ISO 31000 standard is relevant for
Due to its generic nature, the standard can be applied to any type of organization regardless of its size or industry.
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
What is the HACCP standard about?
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is an international standard that provides requirements for a food safety management system. This standard helps in identifying and managing food safety-related risks. Compliance with HACCP is also a legal requirement in some countries.
HACCP addresses food safety by ensuring processes are in place to analyse and control physical, biological and chemical hazards starting from raw material production and procurement untill the finished product reaches the plate of a consumer.
At present, HACCP is considered the best system available to prevent food-borne illnesses and is used extensively by the food industry, including food services. HACCP was developed by the Pillsbury Company in the late early 1960s to ensure safe food provision for America’s space program. The goal of this standard is to avoid hazards rather than inspecting finished products for the effects of those hazards.
The purpose of HACCP implementation is to reduce the risk of unsafe food which is purely based on science. Having a HACCP certification increases the confidence of the stakeholders in the final product produced by the company as they are assured of the safety of the food.
This also helps you to be compliant with government laws and regulations and reduces fines in the long run. Food safety and quality increase as you effectively manage risks in the entire supply chain. By following HACCP, you demonstrate your commitment to food safety. This, in turn, helps you compete better in the world market, brings in more business opportunities and increases your profits.
Certification to HACCP
You can certify your business to HACCP but it’s not mandatory. In some countries, however, this may be a legal requirement.
Industries HACCP standard is relevant for
HACCP food safety standard is relevant for any food business involved in the manufacturing (food production companies), transportation (food catering companies), storage, distribution, or cooking and selling of food (cafes, hotels, restaurants, etc.).
Author: Avital Koren
Avital Koren
Avital is passionate about small business and working with entrepreneurs. She was the first to identify and address the needs of small businesses in management systems.
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