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ISO has currently published tens of thousands of different standards. However, four of the most common ones include ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001. In this post, we’ll be taking a look at each of these standards, their purpose, and also how to become an accredited business.

ISO 9001

What is ISO 9001?

The ISO 9001 standard is one of the most well-known and widely-used standards in the world. It is designed to help businesses adopt quality management systems that can have a significant positive impact on their company. ISO 9001 quality management systems are used to monitor quality control in various different areas of business, and they are also used to identify areas of your business that can be improved upon.

What is required by the ISO 9001 standard?

ISO 9001 is based on seven key quality management principles. These are; leadership, customer focus, engagement, process approach, good decision making, relationship management, and consistent improvement. In other words, achieving ISO 9001 compliance means that your business is able to demonstrate excellent quality management practices that benefit both your staff and your customers.

ISO 9001 is actually the only standard within the ISO 9000 series that organisations are able to certify for. The latest revision, known as ISO 90001:2015, helps and organisation show that they’re able to follow the standard’s guidelines, fulfil their own requirements, are able to meet customer and regulatory requirements, and maintain the right documentation.

Why do businesses need ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 helps businesses improve their products and services. Regardless of how small or large your business is, achieving ISO 9001 certification shows that your business is dedicated to customer service and understands the importance of properly managing employees and quality control. It shows that you’re willing to improve every aspect of your business, and it also leads to some benefits such as reducing expenses and improving your reputation. Credibility is another one of the biggest benefits of achieving ISO 9001 certification.

Certain industries may require a business to have ISO 9001 certification. Depending on factors such as the industry you’re in, ISO 9001 certification could be legally mandated. As such, it’s a good idea to see if your industry requires you to have ISO 9001 certification. But regardless if you need it or not, it’s a great way to ensure that your business is following the guidelines necessary to make it a stable and dependable business.

Achieving ISO 9001 compliance

Achieving ISO 9001 compliance means adhering to the changes and requirements expected of the standard. For a business to confirm that they’re able to do this, a registrar is required to carry out an audit of a business to check that it fulfils the necessary requirements. Once the audi has passed, the business will be awarded the ISO 9001 certification and the documentation to prove it.

ISO 45001

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is the first international standard that pertains to occupational health and safety. It offers a clear and concise framework to help organisations ensure that health and safety becomes a priority in the workplace regardless of the industry they’re in.

ISO 45001 covers many different aspects of workplace health and safety. From physical concerns such as hearing protection and helmets to cognitive health concerns, ISO 45001 covers the entire spectrum of what could be considered a workplace health and safety concern. The goal of the standard is ultimately to help improve processes that allow for increased workplace health and safety.

What is required by the ISO 45001 standard?

ISO 45001 is used to establish a more effective occupational health and safety management system. Currently, there are no industries that require a company to adhere to the ISO 45001 standard. However, it can be helpful when recruiting new employees or generally improving your reputation. It’s applicable to organisations in all different industries and it doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or a large corporation. ISO 45001 can even go beyond what the law requires in order to make your workplace truly safe, giving everyone that works for you additional peace of mind.

The ISO 45001 framework is structured similarly to the older OHSAS 18001 standard that some workplaces may be familiar with. However, ISO 45001 is not an incremental update or revision. Instead, ISO 45001 is a complete rework that is designed from the ground up to ensure that organisations are able to follow the right guidelines to improve health and safety across a wide variety of different workplace circumstances.

Why do businesses need ISO 45001?

As mentioned, ISO 45001 certification is currently not mandatory for certain businesses. However, achieving ISO 45001 compliance can be a hugely beneficial move for companies in any kind of industry. The standard applies to all industries, so it’s important to consider achieving ISO 45001 compliance regardless of the type of company you operate.

In most cases, businesses can expect to achieve a better reputation after achieving ISO 45001. New and existing employees will have more peace of mind knowing their employee is actively looking for ways to improve their health and safety in the workplace, and it also makes it easier for you to achieve legal and regulatory compliance. It can also reduce business losses, creating a more resilient organisation that is protected with proactive risk prevention and innovative health and safety measures.

Achieving ISO 45001 compliance

ISO consultants such as JVR Consultancy are more than happy to help you achieve ISO 45001 compliance. If you have already achieved OHSAS 18001 compliance, then it may be relatively simple for you to migrate to the new ISO 45001 standard. However, it still requires an audit to ensure that your business meets all of the standards set by ISO 45001. Once the audit has been carried out, your business will be awarded the ISO 45001 certification.

If you’re in need of more assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch today to speak to an expert consultant that will understand your position and needs for ISO 45001 compliance.

ISO 14001

What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 offers guidance and requirements for use with environmental systems. It’s part of the 14000 series of standards which are all related to environmental management and exists to help organisations minimize their carbon footprint and ensure their processes do not negatively affect the environment.

There are currently well over 300,000 organisations that are ISO 14001 certified. These businesses have shown that they are dedicated to reducing the negative impact they have on the environment, and they’ve shown that they’re willing to switch to more effective use of resources and to reduce the amount of waste they produce.

What is required by the ISO 14001 standard?

The ISO 14001 standard helps businesses reduce the impact they have on the environment. It provides guidelines on how to manage customer expectations, appeal to stakeholders, and also help improve your organisation’s relationship with the local community. Unlike other standards by ISO, ISO 14001 doesn’t have strict requirements. Instead, it offers a framework that organisations are expected to follow.

Since your organisation has more freedom in how to establish a more environmentally-friendly business, it’s important to follow the advice set by the ISO 14001 standard. The standard is based on the cycle of “Plan-Do-Check-Act”. This refers to the steps that organisations should take in order to improve any processes that could negatively affect the environment.

Why do businesses need ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 helps businesses become more eco-friendly. This is becoming a bigger concern as of late and many customers are starting to choose businesses based on their approach to environmental concerns. For example, customers are likely to choose a business that advocates eco-friendly practices over a company that has not made a public stance on its approach to environmentally-friendly practices.

In addition, businesses that achieve ISO 14001 compliance can expect a plethora of other benefits. This includes improving employee engagement, incorporation environmental issues into strategic business management goals, and also improving overall business efficiency.

Achieving ISO 14001 compliance

ISO 14001 compliance isn’t mandatory for businesses. However, taking better care of the environment and being more conscious about your impact on the environment is extremely important. All organisations should be taking steps to mitigate the impact they have on the environment. Not only does this make your business more attractive in the eyes of consumers and stakeholders, but it also ensures that your business becomes more sustainable which helps to reduce costs and improve resource efficiency.

If you’re looking to achieve ISO 14001 compliance, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with JVR Consultancy for more information. As experts in achieving ISO certification, we’d be more than happy to help you secure ISO 14001 certification in the shortest amount of time.

ISO 27001

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is focused on information security management and the systems that allow organisations to manage the security of their assets. The ISO/IEC 27000 family involves many different standards, but ISO 27001 is the most widely known and provides requirements for information security management systems. It offers guidelines on how organisations should approach information security management, such as protecting financial information, intellectual properties, employee data, and more.

While the standard isn’t mandatory for businesses, it offers a variety of benefits for organisations of all sizes. It can be used to offer additional peace of mind to customers and stakeholders, and it encourages better data management and data security practices that can lead to a safer and more optimised business workflow.

What is required by the ISO 27001 standard?

The ISO 27001 standard has ten management system clauses. These are; scope, normative references, terms and definitions, context, leadership, planning and risk management, support, operations, performance evaluation, and improvement. There are also over 100 different information security controls within the standard. While not all of these controls need to be implemented, a risk assessment can help businesses determine which are the most relevant to their circumstances. There are also additional control sets that include areas such as information security policies, communications security, cryptography, operations security, and more.

Why do businesses need ISO 27001?

The main focus of the ISO 27001 standard is helping businesses operate more securely with data security in mind. As such, following these guidelines will help your business organise its data while also protecting it with well-established processes. This leads to increased resilience against cybersecurity attacks and more refined measures to control and monitor threats.

ISO 27001 can also be considered the first step to take in meeting regulatory requirements for information security and data privacy, such as adhering to the GDPR.

Achieving ISO 27001 compliance

Regardless of your industry or type of business, building an information security management system from scratch is much easier with the help of the ISO 27001 standard. If you’re looking to achieve full compliance, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with JVR Consultancy today to make it a lot easier.

Contact JVR Consultancy today

We understand the ISO certifications can be tricky to understand and the standards themselves may be challenging to navigate. That’s why JVR Consultancy is here to help. We have a deep understanding of ISO compliance and how it pertains to certain businesses and various industries. We have what it takes to help businesses reach ISO compliance no matter the area that they want to focus on.

Be it information security, eco-friendly practices, quality management or health and safety, we’re ready to help your business achieve ISO compliance. We go beyond just ISO accreditations too. So if you’re looking for a skilled consultancy team that can help your business achieve greater things, we’d be more than happy to work with you.

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