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Wellbeing and ISO 45001? Thoughts from the SHP EXPO

July 1st, 2019

The Safety and Health EXPO for 2019 has just finished. I rarely get to attend, but with luck I was already in the area and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. The EXPO has lots of exhibition space with all manner of new software, cutting edge safety equipment with improved innovative designs or totally novel solutions to manage hazards that have been around for ever and a day. It’s refreshing to feel the buzz of like-minded people who are passionate about their part of the health and safety world and makes a change to talk to like-minded people.

New to the EXPO this year was the Workplace and Wellbeing Show featuring a range of different exhibition stands showcasing specialist companies and organisations from nutritional advice, provision of ambient workspaces and lifestyle to the more usual specialist technical occupational hygiene offerings.

If you haven’t been to the EXPO before each area has a “theatre” which is used to feature short presentations with a diversity of relevant topics and speakers and I was especially interested to listen to those relating to wellness/wellbeing.

First off for me in the Leadership theatre was Jonny Wilkinson, one of the keynote and inspirational speakers who told his own story of his struggle to make sense of his life during, and after being such a brilliant rugby player. He was well worth watching and you can read what he had to say in SHP online. Good to know for us mere mortals that even geniuses have problems.

I next watched a great presentation at the Workplace Wellbeing Theatre with real life practical application examples from industry leaders about how they had begun to tackle wellness and wellbeing in their own businesses. All said they were very much a “work in progress” and that provision of resources were “lean”.

In companies, usually, mental health and wellbeing sits in the sphere of Human Resources, yet Safety and Health professionals are being asked to get involved – with some additional changes to titles and responsibilities already happening for some.

Attitudes towards wellness/wellbeing of staff have been slowly changing over the past few years with soldiers coming back from places like Afghanistan and Iraq diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Royal Family – Princes William and Harry talking about mental health issues.

In the world outside of the EXPO, the Health and Safety Executive have begun to focus their attentions on employee wellbeing (and have some handy tools and templates on their website). Check these out if you haven’t already.

How can ISO 45001 support this new field of responsibility for HS practioners and the organisations they work for?

Look closely at the standard. Whilst the scope of the standard does not include wellness and wellbeing explicitly the introduction to ISO 45001 (0.1) explains the standard considers that promoting and protecting physical and mental health to be included in an organisation’s responsibilities. The introduction is not part of the requirements though.

More specifically in ISO 45001’s requirements, clause 6.1.2.1 Hazard identification now requires the organisation to identify hazards around how the work is organised, social factors (including workload, work hours, victimisation, harassment and bullying), leadership and culture all of which should contribute to positive mental health for your workers. Once genuine hazards have been identified they need to be assessed and controlled by the OHSMS as well as opportunities for improvements identified.

Leadership and worker participation underpins the entire system and its outcomes. Uniquely to this standard top management are expected to develop and lead a culture that supports the intended outcomes for ISO 45001, which includes continual improvement of OH&S performance (clause 5.1.). Non-managerial workers have been specifically included to contribute towards guiding the development, application and improvement of the OHS management system in meeting these outcomes.

Continual improvement, a requirement for the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards as well as the ISO 45001 standard is highlighted in clause 10.3, yet ISO 45001 is the only one that specifies what this might look like. One of the requirements is that the OHSMS should be continually improved through the promotion of a culture that supports an OHSMS to increase OHS performance and improving workers’ involvement in OHSMS improvements.

Whilst the above clauses don’t in themselves introduce wellness and wellbeing directly they would certainly support the overall outcomes of having a happier, healthier and more open and engaged workforce.

Wendy Bowman, Senior Consultant

For more information about ISO 450001 training, audits and certification or to find out about our full range of services available, why not talk to one of our team on 01908 793246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Steve Nicholas, General Manager for SAI Training Business, collects Highfield Qualifications Top Student Award 2019 on behalf of IQMS trainee Simon Rees

June 24th, 2019

Highfield Qualifications announced their first-ever Top Student Award winners at the “Improving Food Safety in a Changing World” conference in Birmingham last week. The award celebrates the high achievers in Highfield’s top qualifications in food safety.

Simon Rees from Able & Cole was announced as one of two winners for achieving the highest national score when completing the Highfield Level 4 Award in HACCP Management for Food Manufacturing. This qualification covers the importance of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) based food safety management systems, the management and implementation of HACCP based processes, development and the evaluation.

“It was such a happy surprise to find out that I achieved the joint top mark in the Highfield Level 4 HACCP last year – professional development is so important in your career, so to have it recognised within the industry is just the icing on a (hopefully very food safe!) cake. It’s a testament to the course and the trainers for getting a rigorous (but rewarding) outcome from what is seen as quite a challenging subject.”

Highfield’s 2019 conference theme “Improving Food Safety” certainly seemed to be at the front of Able & Cole’s agenda – on the day of the conference Simon himself was busy hosting an audit using the procedures taught on the course. Steve Nicholas, GM for SAI Global’s Training Business, was at the conference to collect the award on Simon’s behalf. Our congratulations to Simon on his success and our best wishes to the team at Able & Cole.

Why food safety qualifications are so important

“SAI Global trains over 100,000 industry professionals every year in QHSE & Food Safety auditing and associated courses. Awards such as Simon’s offer validation that our training products and tutors add value to businesses around the world.” – SAI Global

Having employees that are highly qualified in the area of food safety means that businesses are one step closer to having “Food we can trust” as outlined by the Food Standards Agency. Businesses have a responsibility to manage risk and create trust for their customers, arguably more so in the food industry.

A qualification in HACCP Management equips employees with the knowledge and tools needed to develop, implement and evaluate food safety management procedures. This is an invaluable skill long term as food preparation safety is being examined more and more everyday by consumers.

How can businesses ensure their employees are trained to the highest level?

Luckily, it is easier than ever for businesses to get training in food management. There are companies who offer bespoke training packages tailored to the needs of the business. What makes us different? Simply put, we have nearly 30 years of experience in management systems training and consultancy. On top of this, courses can be completed from virtually anywhere – at one of IQMS’ 12 training venues, in house at your own offices or even online.

For further information on how we can help you with your training requirements, please call our team on 01908 448 213 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Sustainable Seafood – The Source of All Life on Earth?

June 18th, 2019

Download your FREE whitepaper NOW

As consumers become more conscious of the choices they make, food manufacturers and retailers need to respond appropriately, or risk being left on the shelf in favour of companies whose products and values more closely align with consumers’.

A combination of government policy promoting high standards and good regulation, combined with industry innovation can deliver long, terms sustainable seafood from aquaculture along our coastal margins.

To find out more about the challenges and benefits of sustainable seafood production, read our free full whitepaper here, where we discuss sustainability certifications, supply chain challenges and the dangers of food fraud before exploring one key species in detail – the blue mussel. For further information on how we can help you with your ongoing requirements, please call our team on 01908 448 213 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Your impact on the environment – Who’s looking at you kid?

June 12th, 2019

The ISO 14001 environmental management systems standard has always encouraged businesses and organisations to really take a look outside of themselves and think of just who might want to know about their environmental performance and credentials - whether the business considers the interest to be justified or not.

The 2015 standard has given much needed reinforcement of this idea and made it a formal requirement giving the concept its own sub-clause (4.2).

And why should this be so important to include in an effective environmental management system?

I’m sure some of you out there with responsibilities for guiding your business through the EMS development and implementation will have sat down with your business managers and leaders and really thought this one through. Others may have sat down (or have had to sit down) on their own and come up with a few interested parties just to tick the box for ISO 14001 certification. But this requirement is so important to making the EMS truly useful to your business. A genuine understanding of interested parties concerns can prioritise your attention on those environmental impacts which may have more business risk.

Putting the effort in to recognise those interested in what you do, finding why they are interested in you and engaging with their concerns can prevent or mitigate current and future risks to your business and may even generate some unexpected opportunities.

Knowing about interested parties who may have taken an uninformed view of (mistaken or otherwise) your environmental impacts can cause problems. Engaging with these same interested parties can help to prevent misconceived prejudices and perceptions, prevent and manage business disruptions and also help you to identify and focus on future societal trends. Every generation from the 1960s onwards – and probably before – has worried about the state of the planet. Climate activists have recently sprung up from seemingly nowhere – again. I’m sure David Attenborough’s BBC series “Blue Planet” was the hot topic of conversation in packaging firms up and down the land. Some of those companies who had been listening would have a “plan B” to respond to the new environmental pariah – plastics – whilst others wouldn’t have a plan at all. Environmental activism seems to be reigniting across Europe with new Members of the European Parliament about to take their seats.

On a staff engagement level I know of many businesses who have reached out to local charities, schools and wildlife groups providing some relatively inexpensive materials and time to make a difference to their local communities. Businesses spend a fortune these days on team building, staff engagement and improving internal work cultures – perhaps a lick of paint, a bit of wood and allowing your employees to give some of their time to a worthwhile cause could be an answer to engendering a positive work culture, making internal bonds and re-energising your people.

Businesses need to listen to the prevailing discussions within society as these voices are your current and will be your future customers and employees. Understanding what is being said should inform your business direction and not to listen can be a fatal mistake for some businesses.

And finally, my apologies to film buffs everywhere for the (not so subtle) twist on what is a classic Humphrey Bogart line…

Wendy Bowman, Senior Consultant

For more information about ISO 140001 training, audits and certification or to find out about our full range of services available, why not talk to one of our team on 01908 793246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Managing an Effective Internal Audit Program

June 5th, 2019

Six Simple Steps to Managing an Effective Internal Audit – Download Your FREE Whitepaper Report NOW

To plan for growth, ensure sustainability, monitor excellence and be an organisation that manages risk intelligently, you need to know where your business is now and where you are going in the future.

An accurate view of process and performance is vital – and this is where internal audits are invaluable. If your organisation still views an internal audit as simply a compliance or contractual requirement or focuses solely on finding fault and not using the information to evaluate performance, you could miss the advantages a well-planned and well supported internal audit program can provide.

To find out more, click here to download SAI Global’s free full whitepaper report. For further information on how we can help you with your ongoing requirements, please call our team on 01908 448 213 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com.

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SAI Global – In-house bespoke L&D and Training Solutions

May 21st, 2019

All SAI standard public training courses can be delivered “as-is”, in-house at your location and cover multiple disciplines, including quality, environmental, health & safety, food safety, plus specialised courses in risk management, process improvement and in the automotive and aerospace sectors

For sure, the delivery of standard courses in-house comes with all the advantages associated with that, such as;

• Reduced training, travel and accommodation costs per delegate

• Use of real-life examples to make learning points more relevant

• Team building during the events

• A relaxed familiar environment

• Less disruption to business as usual

However, it can be SO MUCH MORE than that.

SAI Global bespoke, customised L&D solutions can develop and embed the knowledge and skills, coach positive attitudes creating the right positive mind-set and capability to develop your people in ways that are relevant to their roles and the goals of your organisation.
SAI Global can manage the complete Training and L&D Cycle on your behalf. Our customised L&D programs will be tailored to your specific organisational needs, the key challenges your business is facing and help you to manage actual change and drive real improvement.

“We decided to take full advantage of the greater business impact and value to be gained from in-house bespoke L&D solutions delivered by SAI Global. The tutor was superb and the specifically designed sequence of phased training events delivered, all made perfect sense to our business and really improved performance in the areas important to us.” SAI Client Feedback, March 2019

SAI Global have the experienced, professional and capable tutors to;

Conduct training needs analysis in line with the context of your organisation and its current and future goals, policies, needs and performance expectations.

This is the diagnostics phase. Using the diagnostics followed by further open discussion with your management, we will design and build your training solution ranging from a single event to a phased sequential L&D solution, precisely matched to your needs and available budget.

Deliver the training or L&D solution to plan and instead of using generic sessions and case studies, for example, SAI can use real information and workplace scenarios that reflect your organisations specific needs.

Work with you to measure and verify the effectiveness of the customised training solution and return on investment for your organisation.

Training and confidentiality

In-house customised training allows access to your organisations data & information whilst maintaining and preserving confidentiality, especially when access to such data is crucial for the design and effectiveness of learning. Customised, in-house training taught in your workplace ensures only the right people learn your proprietary information, business plans and operating methods.

Higher information retention and valuable Return on Investment

In-house delivery enables greater group interaction and reinforces learning and professional development across the functions and roles in your organisation. Your performance will also benefit from increased collaboration across teams, built upon engaging, interactive and highly relevant learning.

To find out more about our In-house training solutions please call our team on 01908 793 246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

Posted in Automotive Courses, Environmental Courses, Food Safety Courses, Health And Safety Courses, International Courses, IQMS Latest News, Quality Courses | No Comments »

The Impact of Leadership on Internal Audits

May 15th, 2019

The specific requirements for internal audits have not really changed much, apart from introduction of the “impartiality and objectivity” requirement. The current version of the Standard (ISO 9001:2015) does, however, contain significantly more requirements for top management engagement. Clause 9.2.2 requires that the organisation’s internal audits shall be conducted to confirm that the QMS conforms to the requirements of the international Standard and that the QMS is effective. That is, the internal audit programme shall cover all ISO 9001 requirements, not just some of them.

It follows thereby that ISO 9001’s Clause 5 – Leadership, is included as a key element of an internal audit, as are other related clauses. Clause 5 relates to top management’s responsibilities and accountabilities. “Top management” includes executives, functional business directors and management system owners, and requirements apply when they individually and/or collectively have to ensure the creation, resourcing, support and performance of an effective QMS.

Leadership in organisations (that is, top management) sets the business’s strategic direction based on its understanding of the organisation’s context, interested parties’ needs, and the risks and opportunities associated with both.
This means that when top management faces strategic or operational challenges – internal, external, or both – they must consider and respond to the corresponding risks. These include risks to successfully delivering on opportunities, deploying organisational structures, and quality management system design and deployment.

Thus, the programme of internal audits must now verify all ISO 9001:2015 Clause 5 requirements are effectively addressed; this is a significantly greater challenge for internal auditors than previously. With more management system requirements than ever before, top management must be involved and engaged with the QMS. Examples of these requirements include:

Ensuring the organisation’s context (e.g. determined internal and external challenges) is considered when scoping and building the QMS and its processes
Ensuring the QMS (including its policy and objectives) aligns with the organisations’ strategic direction
Ensuring the QMS’s requirements are integrated into the organisations’ business processes
Ensuring the QMS addresses known risks and opportunities that are considered a priority
Promoting the process approach and the application of risk-based thinking
Taking accountability for the QMS’s implementation and results
Ensuring that the quality policy is communicated, understood and applied by the entire organisation.

This greater focus on leadership in the Standard requires internal auditors to be able to verify the effectiveness of how top management:

Demonstrates a clear understanding of the business context
Addresses risks and opportunities
Is accountable for the QMS’s performance, effects (risks and opportunities) and impacts on relevant parties (including the organisation and its strategic direction)

Hence, an organisation’s programme of internal audits against ISO 9001:2015 must include top management and verify whether it has met the above requirements. This has a significant impact on the programme’s effectiveness; it also increases the capability and competence required of internal auditors.

In summary, how confident are you that your organisation’s internal audit process, and your internal audit resources, are capable and competent enough to verify the effectiveness of:

Top management actions in response to ISO 9001 Clause 5 (e.g. boardroom decisions and subsequent actions)
The processes used to determine and respond to issues derived from the organisation’s context (ISO 9001 Clause 4)
How other key management roles across the organisation manage their processes and key interfaces/inter-dependencies with other functions/processes (ISO 9001 Clause 4.4.1)
How managers at all levels apply risk-based thinking to determine and respond to risks and/or opportunities (ISO 9001 Clauses 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10)?

To find out more about our auditor training solutions please call our team on 01908 793 246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Survival of the Fittest

May 7th, 2019

How a Lack of Continual Improvement Can Damage a Business

Continual improvement is a vital strategy that makes the difference between the success and failure of a business. Because it’s so critical, it must be built into every layer of an organisation, from operational employees, through middle managers and up to the executive level.

Continual Improvement – A Simple Concept, a Difficult Change

Continual improvement is a deceptively simple concept that’s surprisingly difficult to implement. At its core, continual improvement is simply an ongoing discipline that defines, measures, analyses, improves and controls what a business does. Ultimately, it’s designed to “make things better.” Without it, businesses lack efficiency, increase their risk across the board and ultimately fail to understand and serve their customers.

Implementing continual improvement is difficult for two main reasons: lack of knowledge and lack of perspective - for further information on how we can help with your continual improvement requirements please call our team on 01908 793 246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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Upcoming Courses

May 2nd, 2019

IQMS, an SAI Global company has been specialising in the training and consultancy of management systems since 1990. Our management system training sessions are to the point, not overly formal and attendees never leave with too much homework. They’re exactly what organisations need to ensure their staff are following the rules, producing safe and quality products and ensuring satisfied customers.

Whether you work in a large or small organisation within the public or private sector, we provide our courses at public venues across the UK or in-house, whatever is most comfortable for you. There are benefits to both. Here are some of the courses that we have the last remaining spaces for:

1. ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor – 17-21 June 2019 – Easthampstead Park, Wokingham

2. ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor – 9-10 May 2019 – Deanwater Hotel, Woodford, North West

3. Food Labelling and Legislation – 24 September 2019 – Knowlhill, Milton Keynes

1. This intensive and highly interactive 5-day programme is CQI and IRCA certified and is for those who require a thorough understanding of the core principles, techniques and protocols which are associated with the Lead Auditor role.

Perfect for quality practitioners and particularly those with a responsibility to design, implement and manage an audit programme for internal audits, this course will help attendees to perform valuable audits but also develop their wider knowledge of quality management systems.

2. A highly interactive course which would be perfect for anybody who requires a sound understanding of how to undertake effective internal quality audits within their organisation.

This CQI and IRCA certified course will cover the methodology of the fundamental quality management principles, business process auditing, quality management system implementation issues and effective auditing practices.

3. Intended for Quality/Technical Managers, Label Designers and Food Marketing staff, this course delivers a brilliant introduction to Food Labelling and goes on to clarify current legislation, regulations and responsibilities.

By the end of this course, attendees will have an improved understanding of new Food Labelling Legislation and be able to identify any weaknesses in their labelling systems to ensure the current laws are being followed.

Courses can be fully-booked fast, so we’d recommend booking well in advance to ensure you’ve secured your places.

If you’d like some more information on any of the courses we have available, call 01908 793246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com and our sales teams would be very happy to talk you through your options.

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Board Room Impact on ISO 45001 OH&S Management Systems

April 23rd, 2019

Boardrooms face regulatory accountability for Occupational Health & Safety performance. This accountability is met head on through the effective application of ISO 45001:2018 OH&S Management Systems and 3rd party certification.

The purpose of ISO 45001 OHS Management Systems has been elevated to assist Boardroom Level Top Management Teams to meet their regulatory obligations and accountabilities for OHS performance within their organisations. The standard provides a systematic management system framework to enhance OHS performance, through continual improvement in their people and processes to manage OHS Risks and prevent injury and ill-health at work.

All Boardrooms MUST be constantly vigilant and continue to recognise and execute their accountability for OHS performance. This is perhaps even more crucial at times when the organisation is going through phases of planned strategic, structural and system change – the aligned and systematic approach ISO 45001 brings to the Boardroom in times of change is one of its core values.

To ensure that OH&S Risks are mitigated effectively during times of stability and during changes to Strategy, Structure, Organisational Context, and/or the Management System itself, Leadership are accountable for ensuring that;

The OHSMS and its policy and objectives stay compatible with strategic direction

OHSMS processes are integrated with the organisations business processes

Existing and emerging hazards and risks (opportunities and incidents) are managed and mitigated effectively at all levels

OHSMS planned performance outcomes are achieved and emerging hazards/risks are dealt with as the context, structure, systems and/or operations of the organisation change

The fact that ISO 45001:2018 brings OHS Management Systems into the Boardroom is a hugely significant opportunity for Leadership to direct and truly ensure that their OHS system is never adversely impacted on by strategic and organisational level changes and vice-versa.

Dave White, Senior Consultant

If you are a Boardroom member with full accountability or a senior manager with some level of responsibility for health and safety in your organisation and you want to know more about the full range of services available from SAI Global to help capitalise from the full array of benefits ISO 45001 training and certification can bring, then don’t hesitate to contact our team on 01908 793 246 or email uk.training@saiglobal.com

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