The creators of isology®

It’s not uncommon to see a businesses Management System left to collect dust, either because it’s not fit for purpose or simply a carbon copy of an ISO Standard.

Sound familiar?  Do you think your business and your employees deserve better?  Your ISO Management System should represent your businesses way of saying – “This is what we stand for, this is our vision, values and processes.”

Today, Mel explains why it’s so vital to ensure your Management System is fit for purpose, and give some examples of where you can add value and reduce risk.

You’ll learn

• Pitfalls of an archaic Management System
• Why you should consider revamping your Management System  
• How you can update your Management System
• Guidance on what should be included in a Business Management System
• Examples of what could add value or reduce risk for your Management System
• How you can update the look and feel of a Management System

Resources

• Need support with revamping your Management System? check out our ISO Support Plan
• Need guidance and support with ISO Standards? isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[01:03] Examples of poor quality Management Systems Mel’s come across  

[02:19] The importance of having a bespoke Management System

[03:33] How out-of-date Management Systems can be detrimental

[04:40] Latest offering: A free Management System review and consultation – Simply contact us

[05:05] Why it’s important to continually update your Management System   

[06:25] How initiatives / functions can get overlooked if they’re not referenced in your Management System 

[07:38] Guidance on what should be included within your Management System to add value and reduce risk

[08:01] Examples of how a Social Media Policy / Process could be included and how it adds value

[09:45] How we at Blackmores follow our Social Media Process, record results and use the captured data

[11:10] How you can add risk mitigation to your Management System  

[12:35] Other reasons why your Management System may be ready for a revamp

[13:10] Guidance on how you can improve the look and feel of your Management System

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
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This episode is Part 3 of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.

Our resident Carbonologist David Algar is back to talk through the third step of the Carbonology process, Commitment.

David explains how organisations can identify the type of targets to put in place, the importance of having a launch and communications plan, and shares some popular ways organisations can reduce their carbon emissions.

You’ll learn

• How organisations can set targets for their Carbon Neutrality.
• Why it’s important to make a formal commitment.
• Popular ways organisations reduce their carbon emissions.
• The benefits of changing your vehicles from diesel to electric.
• Some of the incentives to achieve emission reductions.
• The importance of having your staff involved with your plan.

Resources

• isology Hub
• Blackmores
• Carbonologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:19] How to begin the commitment stage of Carbonology.

[04:00] Why organisations need a plan to achieve PAS 2060.

[05:27] Popular ways organisations can reduce their carbon emissions.

[06:40] The approach you need to take when setting targets.

[09:30] Typical targets organisations can put in place.

[11:31] The importance of having a launch and communications plan.

[12:06] The typical outcomes and deliverables organisations will be provided.

[13:31] The expectation of businesses to have a carbon footprint management plan.

[14:19] The importance of having your staff involved with your plan.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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This episode, we’re joined by Transformational Marketing Strategist, Podcaster, and Speaker Jürgen Strauss to talk about ISO 9001, and how businesses can identify their ideal client.

All businesses need customers and they need to understand who their ideal client would be, as only then can you clearly identify what your ideal clients needs are.

Jürgen explains how to identify your ideal client, how using an empathy map can assist with this, and how this all influences your marketing strategy.

You’ll learn

• Why every business needs to have a model of their ideal client.
• How to understand who the ideal customer for your business is.
• Why mapping out your customer journey is so important.
• Ways you can build a relationship with your clients through an empathy map.
• When it’s right to turn business away and how to reject customers.
• Why customer journeys are important from a marketing perspective.
• Why it’s important to document every process and system in your business.

Resources

• Innovabuzz
• XPLANE
• Blackmores

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:37] How Jürgen Strauss was involved in ISO 9001 implementation and how it helped him improve his business efficiency.

[04:20] How Jürgen developed his podcast based on the principles of ISO 9001.

[06:15] The global audience you can reach through podcasting.

[07:27] What makes a ‘dream customer’ and how Jürgen reaches them through his podcast.

[09:00] Why it’s important to have an ideal client for your business.

[12:23] How to identify who your ideal client is and what they’re needs are.

[14:23] What an Empathy map is and how the tool can help you locate your dream client.

[18:42] How an Empathy map helps you truly understand your customers.

[22:36] How to reject a client that you don’t want to work with.

[24:13] Why it’s important to identify what the customer journey is and how it relates to marketing.

[28:35] The circular nature of the customer journey.

[30:22] The importance of creating processes and systems, and common resistance points people have with creating an ideal client profile.

Contact Jürgen on LinkedIn

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The aim of this episode is to have a clear plan for your ISO System for Success – from choosing the ISO Standard, to branding and establishing a place where everyone can access the system – so that you can move onto creating your ISO System.

You’ll learn about:

• Setting your expectations
• Deciding which ISO standard(s) and scope
• Getting leadership buy-in
• Resourcing
• Choosing a certification body
• Creating a Project Plan
• Deciding on branding of your ISO system
• Establishing a ‘home’ for your system
• Creating a Communications Plan
• Identifying your current level of compliance

1. Set your expectations
2. Clarify why you want to achieve an ISO certification
3. Identify what you’ve already got in place
4. Decide on your goals for the set time
5. Shortlist which ISO Standard (s) to implement
6. Decide whether ISO Certification is the right choice

• Decide which ISO Standard(s) and scope
• Research your standards options
• Identify what your stakeholders are seeking reassurance for
• Brainstorm where your operational weaknesses are
• Where do you need to raise standards within your business?
• What would be beneficial from a Sales and Marketing perspective?
• Establish the scope of your system
• Decide what your scope of certification will be

• Get leadership buy-in
• Validate your ISO initiative
• Present the benefits and ROI
• Establish timescales and resources

• Resourcing
• Establish project sponsor
• Establish a project lead
• Establish your ISO Champions
• Consider getting assistance i.e., at www.isologyhub.com

• Choosing a Certification body
• Get quotes from an accredited Certification body
• Review the costs of certification over the 3 years your certificate is valid.
• Check if the Certification body has experience in your sector for the standard you are interested in.

• Create a Project Plan
• Establish roles, responsibilities, accountabilities
• Establish Project milestones
• Decide on timescales for project milestones
• Identify key dependencies

• Decide on the branding of your ISO system
• Decide how you want to position your system within the company
• Choose a name for your system
• Choose your system branding

• Establish a ‘home’ for your system
• Where will your system live?
• Identify how employees will access the system
• Decide if the system is to be integrated with other systems
• Determine how you would like employees to get the most from the system

• Create a Communications Plan
• Establish what you are going to communicate, when, how, and with whom
• Brainstorm ideas for your Launch
• Start to consider the communication of your success once your company has achieved certification.

1. Identify your current level of compliance
2. Purchase a copy of the ISO Standard
3. Review your company policies and procedures against the requirements of the standard
4. Create an Action Plan with responsibilities and timelines for the completion of tasks.

Hopefully, that’s helped understand what’s involved at the planning stage of introducing an EMS.

If you would like any help implementing ISO 14001, then make sure to sign up to the isology hub waitlist! This is going to be a game-changer in the ISO standards field, which is why we won the support of the UK government through their sustainable innovation grant. All the resources that you need on ISO 14001 will be available on www.isologyhub.com. So, click on the link to join the waitlist to be notified of when you can get access to our online membership portal. It is the go-to place for all things ISO. We’ve got video tutorials, check sheets, quick wins, eLearning courses, and just about everything you need to create, launch and build your ISO system for success.

Don’t forget to download your FREE ISO standards blueprint hereto get your EMS kick started!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:

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Today’s podcast is unlike any other podcast we’ve recorded before. That’s because we’ve got a special announcement to make about a ground-breaking innovative game changer in the ISO Standards landscape – the isologyhub, which is due to be launched in May 2021.

What you’ll learn:

• March 2020 – how the isology concept was born
• Innovate UK competition
• The isologyhub
• Who is the isology hub not for?
• B1G1
• ISO Coach

Now, I’m recording this in April 2021, but I’d like to take you back to March 2020 to explain when and why my journey began with initiating this innovative online solution. I think it’s quite important to appreciate that this sort of innovation probably would have taken us three to four years to come up with. But COVID-19 has encouraged many organisations to think outside of the box, to think differently, and to look at sustainability in a very different way.

So, let’s go back to March 2020 and find out how the isology concept was born!

March 2020

In March 2020, the UK like many other countries across the globe were thrown into lockdown, and life was turned upside down, as we were hit with a global pandemic. Little did we know…that life as we know it was never going to be quite the same again!

Now, at the time, we felt that we had the curve. Partly because we’d already been using Teams to have meetings online and to do internal audits, mostly with some of our international clients at Blackmores.

Many of you know me as the Managing Director of Blackmores (as well as the podcaster on the ISO Show). Blackmores is my primary business and very dear to my heart. I’ve been running that business for 15 years and immediately I was concerned about the welfare of our employees and clients, and like many other businesses thinking “Okay, so how are we going to best get through this?!”. We went into our BCP mode (Business Continuity Planning mode) and we actually shared a lot of that information on the ISO Show!

We felt that we owed it to our listeners and our clients at Blackmores to share examples of pandemic business continuity plans. And at the time, it was really well received! In fact, we didn’t realise until we did that how much of a wide global reach of listeners we had. It was amazing! We had people contacting us from Papua New Guinea, Kula Lumpur and places all across the globe saying “thank you this is great!” or “this is really helpful” because at the time, businesses were looking for reassurance as well. So, we were more than happy to provide the support.

Not long after that…

it was just before the Easter weekend, so April last year. We had a quarter of our clients cancel within the span of 10 days! Straightaway we thought ‘okay, this is going to affect us’. We quickly realised that a lot of our clients are in manufacturing or in the events industry, and they simply could not operate!

So, we had to shift gear…and adapt!

We had to change the way assessments were undertaken and the way we deliver our consultancy services to do it all remotely. That’s when I realised that actually…there is an opportunity for certification bodies to do part of their assessments remotely. Obviously, for some types of assessments this wouldn’t be applicable. But in many cases, I could see that there was a significant opportunity for us to reduce our environmental footprint and work remotely!

At that time, we were already creating eLearning courses, and there was some work taking place internally within our team on developing a learner profile. So, taking an individual from a grassroot level, with no knowledge whatsoever about an ISO standard, right through to professional status. So, work was already underway. When we looked at the possibility of offering our services online and after the research we did, we realised that actually, it would be really good if we could provide an online solution that all of our ISO show listeners could also access!

That was when the initial concept was born for creating a state-of-the-art online, learning and support membership.

This was made for organisations looking to not only achieve ISO certification, but also for those businesses that are already certified to ISO standards, but their system just isn’t working for them. They might be stuck in a rut…they’re stuck in the trenches there because there may be certain issues like a lack of engagement, leadership, or even compliance. So, I came up with this concept of creating an online membership platform so that it was accessible to all regardless of the industry, the location, the time zone, and to be able to provide the equivalent of a Netflix version of ISO standards support!

I had heard from a funding body, within the government in the UK, about an Innovate UK competition. This competition was all about helping businesses to be innovative and provide sustainability solutions as well and to help businesses through COVID.

It was then that the penny dropped…

I thought well, actually, why not go for it! If we win it, we win it. If we don’t, then we don’t! So, I put together a business plan and got a lot of advice from a European enterprise network and put together a bid for this competition.

There were actually three rounds to it! Let’s find out how they went…

Innovate UK competition

So, round one…

I hadn’t done anything like this before and it had taken weeks to put together that bid. We found out about a month later…that we had failed! But only by a very slim margin, which was very frustrating. But this encouraged me, particularly as a result of the positive comments from the assessors, that assess the application, saying that there was quite a bit of mileage in this innovation.

Now onto the next round…

The deadline for the second round was only two days after we got the feedback from the first round. My advisor said “you know there isn’t much point in rushing this, you want to spend time to get this absolutely perfect, so that you can absolutely smash it at round three”. This was the final bite of the cherry…it was a last chance saloon. I thought well…if we get it, we get it, and this is going to be a game-changer. If we don’t, that’s it.

Fortunately…we won the competition; we won the funding!

There are five different assessors from all sorts of different industries that recognise this as being a game-changer in our field. They believe it could have a significant positive impact on the environment. Because our MVP (minimum viable product) is a part of this membership platform and is all about environmental management standards. So, we’ve been working hard over the last few months to bring together this MVP, and we’re due to launch it in May 2021. It’s going to be called the isology hub and it’s based on isology methodology…which is ultimately seven steps to implementing any ISO standard!

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering…who is isology for?

The isologyhub

This membership platform is for anybody who needs to achieve ISO certification. This might be because you need to win a tender, or you just want to raise standards within your business, or you may have stakeholders that are demanding that you provide some type of commitment in some area, whether it be sustainability or information security. It’s also for those people that have spent countless frustrating hours trying to understand how an ISO standard could actually be interpreted within their business. It’s also for those people who have an ISO management system…but it’s archaic. It was written in the dark ages! And it doesn’t bear any resemblance to how you operate as a business right now. In effect, it’s working against you. So, you need some type of solution to revamp it, give it a makeover, getting engagement and in making sure that it is a system that helps you to build success for the future of your business.

It’s also for those of you that would like to integrate other standards into your existing management system. So, you might be looking at cloud security standards, or carbon neutrality standards. So, it’s for those businesses that are already working hard to raise standards within their business, but they want to go the extra mile…they want to go above and beyond, and they need the systems, tools, templates, eLearning and guidance to help them to do that. It’s also for those individuals that would like to achieve qualifications in ISO standards to improve their knowledge and to support career development as well.

So, what we’re trying to avoid here is having any overly technical and expensive training courses. You can access it whenever you want, from wherever you want. It’s a place for organisations to learn how to achieve ISO standards, and also to get gameplans for raising their game. It’s packed with in depth, practical training and resources on all aspects of planning, creating and managing a successful ISO system.

Now, we have also created an ISO standards blueprint, which is a free download for you to get access to, if you come over to the isology hub website. All you need to do is Google www.isologyhub.com and you’ll be able to download your free ebook on how to plan, create and manage a successful ISO system ready to get you certified

And that applies to all ISO standards!

Now, I’m sure you must be thinking…what makes isology hub so different?

Well, this is a ground-breaking approach. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get ISO certification that gets results. But it’s not just about the accolade of getting certification through your certification body, but having that results driven, systemised way of managing your business, to give you that freedom and time so that you can grow your business.

It also gives access to expertise. Over the last 15 years, we have implemented ISO standards for hundreds of organisations across the 19 standards and over 25 different countries. So, you’re actually tapping into over 200 years of combined experience now (that’s not me personally obviously) that’s our team! It’s our team that’s helped put this together. All our intellectual property and all of the work that we’ve been doing over the years to support businesses in all industries is going to be put together in the isology hub. That’s where you can get access to that.

And, of course, walk the walk and talk the talk’…

We have done this time and time again. These are the proven concepts. Isology and the seven steps have been put to the test and it’s been successful…time after time!

And we are pretty straight talking!

We are very friendly, very approachable and we want that to come across with the membership platform. So, you’ll be able to listen to our tutorials and join us for our monthly live Q&A sessions if you’ve got any questions or if you’d like to discuss anything at all to do with ISO standards.

Ultimately, we live and breathe ISO standards…you get our full commitment, and you get that team behind you through the membership portal.

But I must say…the isologyhub isn’t for everybody!

Who is the isologyhub not for?

If you simply want to tick a few boxes and get the badge…this isn’t the right solution for you. If you want to go down the non-accredited certification body route…it’s not for you. And If you’re looking for ISO in a box so you don’t have to do any work at all…it’s not for you either. It’s also not for you if you’re expecting guaranteed results. That’s because it is down to you to put the effort in to actually make it happen. Although we’ve got 100% success rate in helping our clients get through certification because we’ve helped to do a lot of the work with them, the membership portal is there to guide and support you…so you have to put the work in yourself. The templates, tutorials, guidance, action plans are all provided for you. But you do need to spend the time to actually completing them and implementing them within your business.

B1G1

One of the things that we’re passionate about at Blackmores is acting responsibly and doing the right thing. With having an online system, we are donating for every new member that joins the isologyhub.

This will be done through B1G1 (buy one, give one!)

We will tackle climate change and poverty, one member at a time. The project we have selected is in Madagascar. Unfortunately, Madagascar is a country in crisis. 70% of the country lives in poverty and half of its rainforest has been eradicated due to the strain of population growth in the country. So, we’ve picked out a project whereby we can support the planting of trees and also provide sustainable agriculture training as well so that the communities are self-sufficient. This will enable them to send their children to school to be educated. We’ll also have a live widget on the isology hub website. So that we can see our STG goals are updated whenever a new member joins!

Now let’s get back to isology!

There is a wealth of information in there, and it’s not just about documents…we’ve got a unique roadmap that’s been trademarked, and this is based on our seven-step isology concept! We’ve provided an ISO roadmap for ISO 14,001 for the launch. This will take you through everything that you need to do to get ready for an assessment for ISO 14,001. It also provides everything that you need for an environmental management system, even if you don’t want to go for certification! So, how to create an environmental policy, what to look for in terms of creating your objectives, how to identify your environmental aspects and impacts, and how to launch your management systems…it takes you through the seven steps. In addition to that, we’ve also given you access to our eLearning courses. A lot of the learning is through videos, to action plans, guiding you step by step through your ISO roadmap. We also include checklists workbooks, cheat sheets, and templates, as well, to support you. So, some examples of those could be a launch communications planner, or even an email launch sequence and templates to go with it. Things like internal audit scheduled templates, report templates, samples of policies and procedures and so on. As I said it’s not ISO in a box, these are just examples of best practice. And we guide you through creating your own documentation for your own bespoke management system. And, of course, we’ve got our live Q&A’s, feel free to join us for those live Q&A’s within the membership, or we can answer any questions that you’ve got.

The other thing that we’re really excited about launching as well is our ISO coach programme!

ISO Coach

We’re conscious of the fact that some businesses might just want to join the membership and get on and do it all themselves. Or they might need some guidance and support. There is an upgrade available, which is the ISO coach programme and that’s a six-month programme, where you’ll be part of a small group of up to seven other individuals. On a fortnightly basis, you will have group coaching sessions on the seven steps. Then on the alternate fortnight’s, you can book one-to-one sessions with your ISO coach to go through and discuss any queries concerns or review documents that you’ve created, just to help you on your journey and make sure that you stay on track as well. This programme does start at specific dates! The next date that we’ve got starting will be the 2^nd of June. So, if any of you are interested in joining the ISO coach programme, please do get in touch with us!

Because the isology hub is new, we would absolutely love to hear about any suggestions or ideas on content that you’d like to include within the isology hub. Every single month we’ll be adding new content, whether it’s an ISO roadmap for implementing another ISO standard. So, I’d be delighted to hear from you and also to answer any questions that you might have about the isology hub.

So regardless of whether you’re just starting out on your ISO journey, or you’ve already got a system in place but just want to raise your game that bit further, we would love for you to join us as a member on the isology hub!

Thanks very much for listening and I look forward to catching up with you on the next ISO show!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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Seacourt is the highest scoring B Corp printing company on the planet, they believe in business as a force for good for society.

Fun facts: Seacourt is the winner of the Queens award for sustainable development. They’ve won this three times! In 2017, they were also crowned Europe’s most sustainable SME! No wonder they are recognised as one of the top three leading environmental printers in the world!

Seacourt Managing Director, Gareth Dinnage, joined us for an interview to tell us about Seacourt’s journey and its initiatives. Gareth has been part of Seacourt’s sustainability journey from the very start. He started his journey first as apprentice and then heading up to Sales and Marketing and finally owner and Managing Director.

You’ll learn about:

• Seacourt’s sustainability journey
• Environmental management as a guiding principle for Seacourt and their contributions to the environment
• Seacourt’s journey to understanding their carbon footprint
• Significance of being Net Carbon Zero
• B Corp
• How ISO 9001 and 14001 helps Seacourt run their business
• Understanding your supply chain

Let’s start right back at the beginning of Seacourt’s journey!

Where did Seacourt begin and where did its sustainability journey begin?

Seacourt started in 1946! They were set up as a commercial printing company in Oxford, working with local businesses. Not much changed for them until the mid-90s, when the owners at the time had the good fortune to attend a seminar focused on sustainability.

We know what you must be thinking, whoever put together this seminar must have had incredible foresight, to have looked into commercial impacts and sustainability!

The owners realised that the printing industry is among the fifth largest manufacturing sectors in the UK since 1996…

And that it’s also the fourth worst polluter!

That’s when they decided that they don’t want to be part of the problem, but a part of the solution. This thought marks the moment of a change of goals and priorities for Seacourt. From this point in 1996, the business changed from a linear business model, focusing on outputs, to becoming a value-based business, to considering the impacts on the environment and society, as well as profits.

This marked the magic transformation of Seacourt!

For the last 25 years, their philosophy has been “will this improve the environmental performance of our business. If the answer is “yes!”, then they do it regardless of the financial cost. So, without this fundamental change in mindset, Seacourt would not have been where it is today.

Guiding principle for Seacourt

Environmental management has been a guiding principle for Seacourt for the past 25 years. It’s fundamental and core to the company.

Currently:

• Seacourt runs on 100% renewal energy (and have done so for decades)
• They invented their own printing process called ‘LightTouch’. This has saved them gallons of fresh litres of water
• Seacourt no longer uses water or chemicals in their printing process!
• They have been zero waste to landfill for over a decade.
• They are carbon positive -and that’s scope 1,2 and 3! What this means, for those of you that aren’t familiar with this concept, is that Seacourt sees their impact in every element that they as a business effect. This includes their supply chain, so as a printing industry, they take their impact all the way back to forestry they use for their natural resources. They consider how trees are transported to the papermill, how papermills are run, the energy this it is run on and much more!
• They consider the end-of-life process by producing a natural material that has a massive recycling rate.

So, when you wrap all of this up in its entirety, Seacourt has created a concept called Planet Positive Thinking -which means that they give back more carbon into the atmosphere than they are responsible for consuming.

Seacourt’s journey to understanding their carbon footprint

A lot of businesses are new to the concept of Net Carbon Zero. So, let’s find out how Seacourt went about understanding what their carbon footprint was.

Seacourt does this by unravelling their entire supply chain and ask challenging questions to their supply chain, such as how they power their plants, what is the carbon impact per tonne of paper they are using, how they transport their materials from the forest and much more never before asked questions! They used the amount of paper they have purchased over a 12-month period and worked with their suppliers to get an accurate carbon impact figure. They created their own methodology and matrix, using the same process to identify the carbon impact figure that they used for their paper, for other areas in their operations, for example their ink.

By this point, Seacourt knew their carbon impact holistically for a 12-month period and sought to work on a regenerative project in the Amazonian basin. In this project, Seacourt safeguards 86,000 hectares of endangered forestry and are reforesting 12,000 hectares of deforested lands. They also have a social element where they support a programme with indigenous people. So, this is how Seacourt maintains their Planet Positive Thinking element, as they give back more than they consume in everything they have an impact on.

Significance of being Net carbon zero

Of course, we are conscious of the fact that we are in a lockdown where many businesses are struggling financially. So, this is for those of you thinking “is it going to be really costly for me to be Net Carbon Zero or Carbon positive?”. Gareth emphases the need to understand the impact of sustainability, to have a strategic plan and an idea of what goal you want to reach and how you will achieve it. Otherwise, your business will get left behind! Other business will pick up this leadership agenda and show exactly what business can do. Gareth identifies these businesses as the ones to be the most successful. This is already evident among investors refusing to work with fossil fuel-based business. That’s why business need to act responsibly to stay ahead of the game!

How management systems help Seacourt run their business

Seacourt has been certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for years. These management tool helps Seacourt set the business up to the highest standards and ensure continual improvement. The quality environmental management system provides a framework for delivering sustainable best practice.

B Corp

Now let’s move on to talk about B Corp!

B Corp is the global movement that aligns businesses who share the same philosophy, which is that businesses can and should be a force for good. Certified B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The unifying goal of B Corps is that the main driver is stakeholder value, not shareholder value.  

Understanding your supply chain

For those of you who have not yet looked into their supply chain, Gareth recommends:

1. Observing and controlling your building in terms of energy efficiency (make sure its insulated and you use renewable power)
2. Then send out supplier surveys to find out what your suppliers are doing or working on that you are not aware of
3. Then look at your key supply chain and identify if you can start mapping the carbon impact.

These steps would give you key findings and insights that you can use in your goals and strategy.

Contact details for Gareth, if you have any enquires or would simply like to connect with him, get in contact using one of the ways below:

Website URL : www.seacourt.net

Twitter handle: @seacourtltd

LinkedIn handle: Garethdinnage

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• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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Today, we’re joined by the Director of Corporate Assurance at Totally PLC, Falu Bharmal.

Falu plays a key role in working with NHS England and has in-depth knowledge and understanding of ISO implementation, Legal Policy relating to corporate governance, health and safety, and integrated Risk Management. He has extensive experience in establishing new corporate governance structures, systems, and processes to ensure organizations are fit for purpose.

Today, Falu is here to discuss ISO 27001 (Information Security Management), and why it’s so important to have consistent practices throughout a company.

Falu explains how he’s able to implement new ISO’s so effectively and some of the biggest improvements ISO 27001 has allowed him to make.

We talk about how best you can prepare before implementing a new standard, and how ISO’s can help systemise your way of working across a company.

Visit the Totally PLC website to learn more about their services.

You’ll learn

• The benefits of working as a group with consistent practices throughout a company.
• How to effectively prepare for and implement new standards.
• How ISO 27001 is used as a best practice mechanism.
• How implementing standards can help to systemise the ways of working across a company.
• How many people you need to be involved with the implementation of new standards.

Resources

• Blackmores
• Totally PLC

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:29] The services Totally PLC supplies and how they support the NHS and reduce A&E waiting times.

[03:30] The different divisions that makeup Totally PLC.

[05:36] The ways Falu as Director of Corporate Assurance is involved with ISO implementations.

[06:34] How Falu implements ISO standards effectively.

[07:21] How ISO 27001 is used as a best practice mechanism for Totally PLC.

[08:20] Some of the biggest improvements Falu’s made through using ISO 27001.

[09:25] How ISO standards help to systemise ways of working across a company.

[10:14] The different roles Totally PLC has dedicated to ISO implementation.

[12:18] The best things you can do before implementing a new standard.

[13:46] The extra pressures Totally PLC has faced due to the pandemic, and the new opportunities this has brought.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 27001 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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Steve Mason is a Senior Consultant at Blackmores (UK) Ltd, and has a 100% success rate of supporting clients in achieving their ISO 9001 & ISO 27001 certifications on their first time.

With over 38 years of experience working with standards, Steve is incredibly knowledgeable about how to ensure companies get the best benefits when implementing new standards. Steve has never stopped advancing himself and continues to broaden his knowledge of new standards as they come into existence.

Today, Steve is back to discuss the new ISO 27017 (Information Security Controls for Cloud Services Standard), and why it is needed in addition to ISO 27001.

The current publication of ISO 27001 was released back in 2013 before cloud security was as big of a concern. Due to this, it does not adequately cover cloud security and hence the new standard ISO 27017 was released.

It is wise not to assume that the cloud is secure on its own, you need a provider that can demonstrate protection from hacking and guarantee you security.

There are 7 new controls that the standard brings –

• 6.3.1 Shared roles and responsibilities within a cloud computing environment
• 8.1.5 Removal of cloud service customer assets
• 9.5.1 Segregation in virtual computing environments
• 9.5.2 Virtual machine hardening
• 12.1.5 Administrator’s operational security
• 12.4.5 Monitoring of cloud services
• 13.1.4 Alignment of security management for virtual and physical networks

In this episode, Steve talks through some of these new controls, explains why they’re so important, and describes who can benefit from implementing this new standard.

You’ll learn

• How the standard works for both customers and providers.
• How ISO 27017 works as a unique selling point for businesses.
• The new controls and how it demonstrates security within the cloud.
• The benefits of adopting ISO 27017.
• How doing a gap analysis can help you to understand what cloud controls you already have in place.

Resources

• Blackmores

In this episode, we talk about:

[01:30] Why it’s important to have a standard for cloud security when we already have ISO 27001.

[02:46] The type of new controls and how they make the standard ‘cloud effective’.

[05:37] Some examples of the new controls.

[07:20] The prerequisites you need before implementing ISO 27017.

[08:37] The type of certificate you get with ISO 27017.

[10:22] How ISO 27017 can set companies apart from their competitors.

[11:03] What the future for ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 looks like.

[13:03] Advice for anyone thinking of implementing the standard.

[14:20] The main benefits there are from implementing ISO 27017.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 27017 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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So this is for our ISO Show listeners that are already certified to ISO Standards, in some cases – not that often, some companies can get really fed up or frustrated with their certification body provider.

Now on the whole, accredited CB’s are great – however over the last 14 years we’ve come across the good, the bad and the ugly too!

So, this podcast is for those companies that maybe looking to switch, so we’ll cover…….

Why companies decide to change CB’s

• Can’t get hold of anyone to help them – inform them of change in business and the CB is not adaptable.

• Frustrated with lack of organisation – not keeping client informed, assessor showing up to audit the wrong standard.

• Their CB is not listening to them

• Not happy with the assessor – No really a hard reason – Just request a different Assessor

• Lack of value – assessor shows up later and leaves at 2.00pm and you don’t get the report for another 2 -3 weeks after chasing.

Why switch?

Because you can – you have a choice

• You are the customer – if you raise your concerns and are not being heard, go to another CB that will look after your every need.
• You may get a more competitive service and costs – example clients grown through acquisition
• You are expanding internationally – need a CB with an international presence

How to switch

1. Here in the UK – If you are certified by a UKAS accredited certification body the switch is free of charge to another UKAS accredited CB.
2. Establish your scope of certification and requirements – sites, services, standards.
3. Review your timings – should it be before or after your next surveillance visit?
4. Get three quotes from accredited Certification bodies – explain you’d like a quote for the period of certification including the recertification costs.
5. Provide your requirements – also explain why you are looking to change CB’s as you want assurance that they will be able to provide you with the service you need.

• Consider –
  • Costs
  • number of assessors for your standards on the payrole,
  • Continuity of assessors
  • Location of assessors and your locations
  • Support
  • Key Account Manager / customer services
  • Experience/reputation in your sector / standards
  • Any value adds i.e. webinars, whitepapers, events.

How we can help? – Free service to send an RFQ to CB’s so you can get comparative quotes. We don’t have an exclusive relationship with any 1 Certification Body, but we can help you gain a quote as a free service we offer. If you need help getting a quote, contact us!

Look out for our directory of recommended CB’s in 2021.

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin

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Richard Matheron is the Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager at BP Chargemaster. He’s had a long career as a quality professional and hands-on Manager, with his background mostly being in engineering and manufacturing management.

Currently, Richard is working for BP Chargemaster helping them transform themselves from an SME to an international world-class business. BP Chargemaster is the UK’s biggest name in electric vehicle charging. They design, build, sell and maintain the most popular charging units in the country, and have begun to expand their business worldwide.

Today, Richard is here to discuss his experience with implementing ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management). These have been a fundamental component in his management of transitioning the company from an SME to an international organisation.

Richard explains why these ISO’s are so necessary, and why it’s so important that a company has someone who can focus on continuous improvement within their business. He reiterates the importance of people to not be afraid of change and discusses some of the most effective ways to carry out positive improvements within your organisation.

He explains the ways having a priority board and suggestion box can help to drive continuous improvement, and how often the best solution for an issue isn’t a complicated one but is one of the simplest…

Website: www.bpchargemaster.com

Mobile phone: 07813098736

Email: Richard.matheron@bp.com

You’ll learn

• How the demand for electric charge vehicles is changing. 
• The types of tax incentives and grants that are available for businesses who use electric cars.
• Why digital security is more important now than ever before.
• How to grow your business from an SME to an international organization.
• The most effective ways to drive continuous improvement.
• The best ways to track the effectiveness of new improvement measures.
• How ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 have helped Richard.

Resources

• Blackmores
• BP Chargemaster
• Egonomics

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:30] Who Richard is, what he does for a living, and what he’ll be sharing with us today.

[01:50] The types of dance that Richard teaches in his free time.

[03:44] BP Chargemasters position in the electric vehicle charging market.

[04:55] How demand for electric cars has changed over the last year.

[05:39] The tax incentives and grants that are available for businesses for using electric cars.

[07:14] What Richard does as the Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager at BP Chargemaster.

[10:05] The value of data and the importance of digital security.

[12:29] How to best manage a company that’s growing from an SME to an international enterprise.

[18:22] The way Richard drives continuous improvement at BP Chargemaster.

[20:43] What ‘8 D’ is and how it can help to identify the causes of problems and the best ways to improve on them.

[25:06] How Richard tracks the different improvements that he puts in place.

[27:27] The book Richard recommends to those working in the business world.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin

Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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This episode we are joined by Mark Frudd, Managing Director and Founder of Security and Software Development at company TriplePs.

Mark’s here to tell us about the information security Standard ISO 27001. It’s brought his business countless benefits, allowed them to expand, and win government contracts. But it hasn’t been all easy sailing, the ISO has brought up some unique challenges for Mark to overcome. He explains what these are, how he tackled them, and what he wishes he knew before embarking on this journey…

Mark Frudd is the Managing Director and Founder of Security expert at software development company TriplePs. His work history revolves around the cybersecurity industry and delivering high profile public sector projects.

With a personal motto that IT and security doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective, Mark now focuses on providing affordable security, and software solutions, that meet the needs of both his clients and their end-users.

This episode, Mark is here to talk  about his experience implementing and managing the information security standard ISO 27001. After putting the ISO into place his company quickly expanded in size and Mark soon realized that the standard wasn’t being effectively implemented across his business.

He explains  why this was, what he did to rectify it, and how he could have avoided that happening in the first place.

In his own words ‘An ISO isn’t just for Christmas, it’s there every single day. You don’t just manage it, you adopt it.’

Mark explains  how having ISO 27001 helped expand his business and why it’s so important when trying to gain government contracts.

Finally, he explains how following this standard has shaped TriplePs business strategy and the different benefits that it has brought to his business…

Website: https://www.triplepsltd.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TriplePsLtd

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/triplepsltd

You’ll learn

• How Mark ended up implementing ISO 27001.
• Why ISO 27001 is important for maintaining a high information and security standard.
• The challenges involved in implementing ISO 27001.
• The benefits of following ISO 27001 and how it can help with expansion.
• How Mark manages ISO 27001 across his business.
• The importance ISO 27001 has when gaining government contracts.
• Why Mark decided to bring in a specialist to help implement the standard properly.

Resources

• Blackmores
• TriplePs

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:33] Who Mark Frudd is and how he ended up implementing ISO 27001.

[01:04] Who TriplePs are.

[01:51] Mark’s history working in Butlins, and what he learnt there.

[02:51] The type of security work TriplePs does.

[05:35] Why TriplePs decided to work with Blackmores when implementing the ISO 27001 procedure.

[07:22] What Mark’s role in TriplePs is and what his daily work life looks like.

[09:00] What the process for implementing ISO 27001 looked like.

[11:16] The importance of maintaining the right ISO standards when your company goes through rapid growth.

[13:18] The importance of adopting ISO’s into the heart of your businesses culture.

[15:52] How ISO 27001 has shaped TriplePs business strategy.

[18:57] The best way to implement a new ISO standard.

[20:51] The benefits involved with following the ISO 27001 standard.

[23:34] Mark’s favorite book.

[24:36] How ISO’s are a constant and not ‘Just for Christmas’.

[25:27] How to find out more about TriplePs.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 27001 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin

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Andy Pavlovic is the Compliance director at Maris. Maris is certified to four ISO standards, ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 45001 for health and safety, and ISO 37001 for anti-bribery standards. He manages and maintains all of these ISO standards for Maris and makes sure that the company upholds these standards across the board.

This episode, Andy Pavlovic is here to share with me what he’s learnt from his years working as Maris’s compliance director and overseeing the implementation of four different ISO standards.

Andy speaks about how ISO standards enable Maris to maintain consistency across the company in the quality of their work, their health and safety procedures, and their environmental impact.

He explains how implementing standards allow organisations to be scalable and how having multiple standards doesn’t necessarily mean spending more time on them.

With ISO 37001 being a relatively new standard, he explains the value following this standard has not only for the ethos of Maris but also to the commercial side of his business.

Finally, he explains how Maris keeps their employees compliant with their standards and what the key benefits of having an integrated management system are…

Website: https://www.maris.co.uk/

Linkedin:

You’ll learn

• How ISO standards allow organisations to be scalable.
• Why implementing the correct ISO standards is even more important than ever during COVID times.
• The importance of choosing the right systems for your organisation.
• How to maintain consistent adherence to standards across your company over long time periods.
• The best ways to train your staff to be compliant with new ISO standards.
• The benefits of having an integrated management system when dealing with multiple ISO standards.

Resources

• Blackmores

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:32] Who Andy Pavlovic is and the different ISO standards that Maris are certified with.

[01:48] Andy’s experience working with ISO standards.

[02:18] What Maris does and the industries they work in.

[03:05] Andy’s ISO responsibilities as the Compliance Director.

[04:00] How ISO standards work across different cultures and the importance of having these in place.

[05:12] How Andy manages four different ISO standards, and how having these standards enable companies to be scalable.

[08:07] The importance of organisations accepting standards as part of their culture.

[09:52] The importance of giving new employees a proper formal induction and what this process looks like.

[11:52] The commercial advantages of having ISO standards and how this has helped Maris win new business during the COVID pandemic.

[13:34] What the benefits of having an integrated management system are.

[15:16] Advice Andy has for anybody who is looking to implement ISO standards.

[16:45] Andy’s book recommendation to anyone looking for self-growth.

[18:19] The importance of having someone with the right expertise in house when implementing ISO procedures.

[19:14] How to get in touch with Maris or Andy himself.

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 or ISO 37001 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin

Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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Yousif Rajah is the Head of Info Sec at dotdigital, a UK-based tech company that builds software service solutions to help customers engage with their clients. He coordinated most of the work involved with creating the ISO 27001 system, and recently has contributed to DotDigital becoming ISO 27001 certified.

« It sounds dauting and it feels daunting, but if you have a program in place already, chances are you’re quite a long way down the road already. » – Yousif Rajah

Picture this: Your digital marketing company is expanding, and you know you need to comply with data protection requirements, protect your reputation and demonstrate to customers that you have taken the steps to protect your business and their personal information. You’ve heard of the importance of becoming ISO 27001 certified but are unsure where to start. Join us today as our guest, Yousif Rajah, explains his company’s journey in becoming ISO 27001 certified, the changes he has noticed since implementing this ISO standard, and how you can get started on becoming certified today.

Website: https://dotdigital.com/contact-us/

You’ll learn

• What dotdigital is, what it provides, and what Yousif’s role is
• The company’s main driver behind implementing ISO 27001
• How long it to become ISO 27001 certified
• The scope of the ISO 27001 certification
• Gap analysis after becoming ISO 27001 certified, and reaching the standard
• The benefits and risks associated with expanding globally, while maintaining the ISO 27001 standard
• The benefits, in general, of implementing ISO 27001
• Tips of implementing ISO 27001

In this episode, we talk about:

[01:13] What does dotdigital do?

[02:14] Something not many people know about Yousif

[03:34] Main driver behind implementing ISO 27001

[04:57] The journey of becoming certified and going through the assessment 

[05:52] What is the scope of the certification?

[7:56] What was the biggest gap in the gap analysis?

[9:16] Reaching the gaps and the difference it made within dotdigital

[11:04] The benefits of certification on a global scope

[12:35] What Yousif has learned since implementing ISO 27001

[13:28] Main benefits to dotdigital in achieving certification

[15:30] If you could give any tips to someone implementing ISO 27001, what would they be?

[16:11] If you could gift a book to somebody what would it be and why?

[16:49] Favorite quote to leave listeners with 

Need assistance with ISO 27001? – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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Today’s Guest

Ian Van Der Pool is the chairman of the European Facilities Standards committee and co-author of ISO 41001 and ISO 41014. He also has his own business, which is ISO 41001 CSI. He currently works with the Dutch Ministry of Defence and is responsible for implementing a brand new FM system fully compliant to ISO 41001.

Tune in to this episode to learn from Ian Van Der Pool, who has lots of valuable experience implementing ISO standards for facilities management. Ian speaks about how he got involved with ISO 41001, why it’s important to have an ISO standard, and how such a standard is created. He details the commercial value in ISO 41001, the benefits and main drivers of having a facilities management system in place that is aligned with the standard, and the risk of not having one implemented. The uncertainty of returning to the office amid a pandemic is discussed, along with the effects of this uncertainty. Then, Ian shares his top tips for implementing facilities management systems, noting a valuable lesson he learned in all the organizations he has interviewed.

Website: www.iso41001csi.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ianvanderpool

Course Date: 18th September 2020

Course cost: £500

You’ll learn

• How Ian got involved with ISO 41001
• Why it’s important to have an ISO standard for facilities management
• How multiple countries come together to create these standards
• What drives companies or venues to implement ISO 41001
• The commercial value in ISO 41001 and the risk of not implementing it
• The effects of uncertainty of returning the workplace during coronavirus
• The benefits of having a facilities management system in place
• Ian’s top tips for implementing facilities management systems: where do they begin and how do they comply with the standard?

Resources

• ISO Support Plan
• ISO Elearning
• ISO Steps to Success

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:43] A bit about Ian Van Der Pool

[02:50] Something not many people know about Ian

[03:40] How Ian got involved with ISO 41001

[06:51] Why is it important to have an ISO standard for facilities management?

[08:32] Is ISO 41001 the only certifiable standards that organizations can be certified against?

[09:30] How does a standard get created?

[12:25] Main drivers for implementing ISO 41001 for a facilities management company or venue

[14:39] The commercial value in ISO 41001

[17:39] The risk of not having it implemented

[18:55] The effects of uncertainty regarding going back into the workplace

[20:43] The benefits of having a facilities management system in place that is aligned with the standard

[22:37] Why would you need ISO 41001 in addition to or instead of other standards?

[27:30] Tips for implementing facilities management systems + A valuable lesson learned in all the organizations Ian has interviewed [31:02] How to learn more about and contact Ian + About his ISO 41001 foundation training course offered by CSI

If you need assistance with implementing ISO 41001 – Contact us!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

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To celebrate hitting 50 episodes, I wanted to bring to bring to you something a little extra special today. and that is ‘How to implement any ISO’, but before we do, I’d just like to say a huge thank you to all our listeners.  Keep sharing the ISO Love, and share this episode with anyone who is looking to take their business to the next level.

In this episode I take you through 4 simple steps to implementing any ISO Standard.

• Understanding your business (I mean really understand your business – warts and all!)
• Create
• Share
• Engage

When you break it down, the same ingredients apply to how you approach to implementing and ISO Standard.

To celebrate hitting 50 episodes, I wanted to bring to bring to you something a little extra special today. and that is ‘How to implement any ISO’, but before we do, I’d just like to say …….

Thank you, thank you, thank you – for listening in, and giving your time to listen to the ISO Show, I’ve loved recording the last 50 episodes with some amazing guests, and I really hope you’ve found them beneficial and taken away some great tips and insights into how other businesses have succeeded and how they’ve transformed their businesses with ISO Standards.  So I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to them too, if you did please could leave a review and hit subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts, because that that means that we can continue to inspire and educate others, and it also means we can keep getting epic guests on the show.

I’d also like to give a quick shout out to Steph Churchman, our Communications Manager here at Blackmores, who has been my saviour in doing these recording – especially when we’ve had technical issues, and even lost guests midway through recording.  She’s been absolutely fabulous in making my vision for the ISO Show become a reality! So huge thank you Steph! You are a star!

So, onto today’s episode which is ‘How to implement any ISO Standard’ – you may think, hey that’s a bit of a bold statement, there are thousands of ISO Standards! Yep! But when you are implementing an ISO Standard to improve a business, there are a few secret ingredients, and I’m going to let you in on those today.  But I don’t just want to do that, I’m going to provide a free check-sheet on ‘How to implement any ISO Standard’ which will be available to download from the show notes.

I’m going to share with you our ISO Steps to Success – this is a proven methodology that, at we’ve refined over the last 14 years, and implemented for over 250 companies – 250 companies, in over 20 countries. Not only that – with a 100% success rate, yep, an awesome 100% success rate.  So here’s what we do

# 1   Understanding the organisation

You need to fully understand what your businesses biggest risks are but also establish where you most impactful opportunities are.

• Gap Analysis,
• Identify risks, opportunities, interested parties, – SWOT/PESTEL
• Understand legal requirements. – Statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements
• Finally – establish a clear SCOPE – what is your ISO Management system going to cover?

It’s only really when you’ve fully understood your organisation that you can create a roadmap to achieve success with where you are trying to get to.

# 2    Creation  

Create the Management System policies, procedures and templates – long gone are the days of Quality Manual or worse still ISO Manual – you label it to suit your company brand, culture and vision. Give it some thought, as this will be the central point that you want employees to go back to I they need any guidance and support on their way of working.  For the purposes of this podcast, I’ll simply refer to the Standards terminology of ‘Management System’.

So lets get down to the creation of your management system…..

Top tip alert – where the standard says ‘shall’ it is basically saying – don’t bullshit me – you’ve got to god damn have this in your system or it will fail an assessment!

So if the standard says’ top Management SHALL establish, implement and maintain an environmental Policy – it means, DO IT!

If the standard says ‘The organisation SHALL establish environmental objectives at relevant functions and levels – DO IT!

The standard is there to HELP your business, and it is crystal clear in the ‘SHALL’s’ exactly what you need to do to achieve success.

# 3 Sharing

There is no point having an awesome ISO Management System sitting in a manual or buried in a server somewhere if no one knows about it, or they can’t find it!

You need to SHARE it with everyone, after all its been created for the organisation to succeed – to be more profitable, productive, reduce risk, be more sustainable – so everyone needs to be AWARE of the management system AND be empowered to take responsibility for it!

There is no point in having an Information Security System in place, if know one knows what a security breach is in your business is or who to report it too!  What’s the point!

So you need to have….

• A Communications Plan – Internal Comms, External Comms – website, social, newsfeed.
• Awareness training (classroom or eLearning), recordings  
• Make it accessible – not everyone may have access to a PC – think outside the box – how can you get your ‘Way of Working’ to the workforce? – screens in meeting areas, virtual noticeboards.
• Themes – World Environment Day – Create a buzz, create energy and enthusiasm for getting involved and making a difference.  You can use this either for the launch or for refresher sessions.

 # 4 – Engagement

• You need to get the company ‘Way of working’ which are your policies and procedures, systems into the business DNA – be crystal clear on accountabilities and responsibilities.

Engagement is so critical to making this a success……

If you are launching a new client onboarding process to improve the customer experience – make it clear, how the process works, what results you expect to see, how you are going to monitor the results, and who is going to make it happen!

Get those responsible to own it and take pride in their achievements.

• Next, I know you may think you are wonderful, and I’m sure you are amazing, but in all honesty you can’t successfully embed an ISO System on your own!

In all businesses there are usually closet ISO Champions – just waiting to be asked to contribute – so why not encourage engagement?

Why not Create a hub for Champions? – give them the tools and platform to make it happen!

This isn’t just about when you launch a new ISO System, but to demonstrate how you are continually raising standards! so let’s say you have a Health and Safety System – ISO 45001 – Your H & S Champions could be championing the COVID-19 H & S Risk Assessments, controls and awareness for your employees across all area of your businesses.

Having these champions, will make Management’s life easier to communicate key issues and solutions, to create a better working environment and happier clients.

• Carrying out Internal Audits – So this another ‘Shall’.  It is not optional, and this is where ISO Standards can get bad press, as a result of lazy or incompetent auditors (or worse still lazy and incompetent) just using it as a ‘tick-box’ exercise.  Use this opportunity to really engage with your workforce – this is such a value tool in the tool box if done in the right way – it helps you to understand an employees:

• Level of understanding

• Opinions and views of the process

• Opportunities for improvement

• Gauge level of compliance and readiness for the assessment.

• Engaging in the Leadership Team through Management Review

So that’s it in a nutshell, that’s how you implement ANY ISO Standards. 

I’d love to hear what your top takeaways were on the show today, and share that with me, I absolutely love reading the reviews and suggestions.

Don’t forget to follow us on Linkedin. Also, ISO Show listeners will get a 10% discount on ISO Steps to Success, ISO Support Plans and ISO Elearning. Just quote ‘ISO Show’ in your enquiry.

………before I go I just wanted to say thank you so, so much for being here and  listening to the ISO Show, and showing up today – if you know anyone, colleagues, associates, friends in your life that would really benefit from having an awesome System in place to take their business to the next level – to be more efficient, sustainable and profitable then please share this episode with them.

Thanks once again for listening, and I look forward to catching you on the next ISO Show….

Awesome resources

ISO Steps to Success – Free consultation to discuss the feasibility of ISO for your business

ISO Support Plan – Free health check on your ISO Management System

ISO Elearning – Wide range of ISO Standards courses for just £50 per course.

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Today’s guest is Alex Street, from EMCOR UK a world leading Facilities Management Company. EMCOR are the epitome of high standards, in fact EMCOR are certified to 8, yes 8 ISO Standards, which is pretty impressive.  Though we are just going to focus on one in particular that is extremely topical at the moment – Business Continuity.  Mel first met Alex when EMCOR engaged in our services to implement the Information Security standard and also ISO 22301 the business continuity standard 4 years ago.  The company has gone from strength to strength over the years, so Alex is joining us today to discuss ISO 22301 and how the system is helping them to not just survive, but thrive during these difficult times.

Some highlights:

• EMCOR adopted the early BS 25999 and later migrated to ISO 22301 after drive from customers as well as natural progression to the updated version

• Recognized the benefits of having a robust Business Continuity Management system in place

• Went through the process of a Gap Analysis and Business Impact Analysis to identify where the system needed to be addressed and built on. This led to the review of objectives and business continuity plans in accordance with 22301’s more detailed requirements.

• A key focus should be training and awareness for all staff once plans have been agreed – so that everyone knows what their role is in any given situation.

• Keep up with testing and auditing of the Business Continuity plans to ensure they run smoothly and are still applicable in execution

• EMCOR had been monitoring the COVID-19 situation as early as December and since February 2020 – had been having meetings with Executive teams (Gold and Silver) to discuss next steps. Thanks to ISO 22301, they’d already had tested processes in place for moving towards remote working.

• A consistent approach to all areas of Operation is key – from ground level to executive

• Communication and collaboration with supply chain and customers – ask them if you could be doing anything more to help

• Support your own supply chain – Taking the current situation into account, everyone is in the same boat so help where you can

• It can take a live incident to fully test a Business Continuity plan – take lessons learned from live events forward. Actively work to continually improve your system.

• Alex’s helpful tip: ‘Don’t get caught out’ – The standard is there to help but you need to put the work and effort in to make it work for you. ‘The benefits far outweigh the risks of not having an effective Business continuity management system in place’

Further resources:

To Learn more about EMCOR, visit their website HERE

Free standards available from BSI HERE

Need assistance with ISO 22301? We’d be happy to help

We also have an Introduction to ISO 22301 E-learning course available HERE. Use discount code: ISO2230110 for 10% until the end of July 2020.

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As anyone who has experience of business continuity – i.e. the current Covid-19 pandemic – will understand is that effective communication is absolutely vital to ensure an effective response.

Planning for how you will communicate, who will communicate, when you will communicate and pre-drafted message for reasonably foreseeable events can make or break an effective BCP response. 

Awareness of the BCP and the part they play within the plan is critical for your staff.  Therefore, there’s a requirement to undertake awareness training for staff -both those that have a role to play, and those that are simply required to follow orders given.

And we mustn’t forget the additional training that may be required for ‘deputies’ within a response plan. 

People can react differently to that expected in an emergency situation, so it’s vital that staff are aware of how they will be made aware of a BCP event, and what role they play within in.  If they have a role to play, they need to have additional training on the specific response plan so that it’s followed should it ever be invoked. 

Part of this awareness training and reinforcement can be supported by ‘exercising’ and ‘testing’ the plan as a team.  This is an effective way of walking through the theoretical, taking the time to consider various scenarios and making informed decisions within a calm environment.  This can prevent knee-jerk or incorrect decisions being made during the time of an actual response.  Exercising and testing can and should also involve any key interested parties outside of the organisation in order to stress-test their ability to support the business in times of crisis.  Any lessons learnt from exercises, tests or actual BCP events should always be followed up from a lessons learnt point of view to ensure that response plans are updated in line with any changes or issues not previously considered – and then they need to be re-communicated in the business.

Join us next week as we discuss how to engage staff with your BCP effectively.

Need assistance with ISO 22301? We’d be happy to help

We also have an Introduction to ISO 22301 E-learning course available HERE. Use discount code: ISO2230110 for 10% until the end of July 2020.

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What is Business Continuity Management and what are the benefits of ISO 22301?

Whist many businesses have adapted to remote working, in some industries such as manufacturing or construction they now looking at ways to try to return to some type of ‘business as usual’.

One standard that is completely focused on resuming operations to get back to ‘business as usual, is ISO 22301, the Business Continuity Standard. This standard is very much about minimising damage to a business and planning for business recovery as swiftly as possible.

So, what is Business Continuity Management?

Business Continuity Management involves the recovery or continuation of business activities in the event of any business disruption.  COVID-19 is a prime example of a situation that is pretty much affecting all businesses globally. 

By having a holistic Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) in place will not only help your organisation recover from disasters, it will also prevent the reputational damage that can arise from any operational outages, missed deadlines, upset customers, or direct financial loss.

ISO 22301 provides a comprehensive set of controls based on Business Continuity ‘Best practice’ from across the world.

The BCMS should also include Risk Assessment (RA) and Business Impact Analysis (BIA), which are an inherent part of ISO 22301 and an essential component to identifying prioritised activities, dependences and resources supporting their key products and services, as well as what the impact of their failure would be on the organisation.

What are the benefits of ISO 22301? 

Protection and recovery of business critical functions and processes

• Identification and understanding of the most valuable and critical business processes and the impact of disruption.
• Timely and orderly responses to incidents and business disruptions to continue business operations at an acceptable pre-defined level as promises in contract or agreement
• Demonstrate credible responses through scenario-base exercising
• Increase the survival chance of both the organisation and employees jobs and other dependents.
• Increased levels of resilience and recovery capability, and the continued survival of the organisation

Financial

• Improved risk profile when renewing your insurance policy, resulting in reduced insurance premiums.
• Significantly reduced financial impact of incidents, disruption or even under disaster.
• Provides evidence to support financial claims.

Reputational

• Advantage gained over less resilient competitors.
• Reputation maintained, or even improved, through demonstrating a professional approach to managing disruption.
• Positive message communicated to the media and stakeholders in crisis conditions.

Demonstrates leadership commitment to resilience

• Demonstrate management commitment in overall risk management with visible evidence to stakeholders.
• Encourages clear communications on what employees need to do to recover from an incident and supports cross-department and cross-organisation coordination.
• Compliance with the expectations of regulators, insurers, business partners and other key stakeholders.

What are the options when it comes to improving business resilience during COVID-19 and other business disruptors your company may face?

1. Buy a copy of ISO 22301:2019 and review your business against the requirements and develop a business continuity system accordingly.
2. Partner with a Business Continuity specialist such as Blackmores and work in collaboration with your partner to complete a Gap Analysis, Risk Assessment, Business Impact Analysis, Business Continuity Documentation and possibly a compliance audit.
3. Partner with a training provider to bring more knowledge on the subject in-house – this could be eLearning, BCP workshops or certification body auditor training.
4. If you are serious about demonstrating how resilient you are as an organisation, consider certification to ISO 22301 with a UKAS Accredited certification body.

Further resources:

Further information on ISO 22301

Further information on ISO 22313

For a copy of our example BIA, simply contact us: enquiries@blackmoresuk.com

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As a leader in its field, Blackmores have worked in collaboration with the Brewery over the last 5 years, firstly with implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 20121 and then providing on-going support through our ISO support Plan.  So I’m delighted that Arantza (Quality Assurance Director for The Brewery) has joined us today to share with our ISO Show listeners her experience and ISO Journey, along with hints and tips for making events sustainable.

Here are a few highlights:

1. I know that you have been with The Brewery for many years, please could you share with me your journey to implementing ISO 20121 and ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 provided the structure

Socially responsible organisation, one of the first organisations in the UK to be certified to ISO 20121.

Profit, people and planet, the three pillars go hand in hand at the Brewery

• Why choose to be certified to ISO 20121?

Help to be more sustainable, also looked at ISO 14001 the Environmental Standard.  The social and economic was important, ISO 20121 gave a more holistic.  With ISO 9001 it helped to provide a structure to bring together all the elements that were in place.

• What are the main benefits?

Two main benefits that we hadn’t considered, not as a company we have more awareness of how our operations have an impact not only for clients, but stakeholders and are socially responsbible i.e. neighbours.  We have to consider how everything that we do, how to negate any negative affects.  Have to be sustainable not just to reduce plastic,

Benefit – commitment from staff, agency staff.  The issue can be a lack of commitment due to the short-term period of employment which is based around events.  Any  issues have to be investigate, find the route cause,

Interestingly, Arantza has used the Corrective and Preventive action clauses, to improve communications to prevent any issues from happening again.  Now, any issues are raised straight away and management are informed, therefore there is greater trust and empowerment, as issues are not only being raised be staff, but staff are saying why and what can be done to correct the issues. This has helped to develop a culture of continual improvement.

• What would you say you’ve learnt from the experience of implementing ISO 20121?

The standard tells you what to do not how to do it.

Engage the team, support and explain to staff the reason why.

• What top tip would you give to someone implementing an ISO Standard?

Consider how we affect the social network of the company to be sustainable. 

If you’d like to learn more about what The Brewery does – visit their website!

If you need assistance with ISO 20121 – we’d be happy to help.

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When I first launched the ISO Show in 2019 to dispel myths and share tips on ISO Standards, my plan was to make the podcasts evergreen – so they could be timeless in theory and listened to at any point in time.  However, I’m recording this in March 2020, just over a year since we launched the ISO Show and sadly a pandemic – the coronavirus has broken out globally, with over 110,000 reported cases across 95 countries.  So I thought it would be helpful to share with you some guidance to try and minimise business disruption caused by the Coronavirus through Business Continuity Planning (known as BCP).

How does this relate to ISO Standards? Well there is an ISO Standard for Business Continuity Standard ISO 22301 (formerly a British Standard BS 25999).   However, our ISO Show this week is not about ISO 22301, but How to create a Pandemic (Coronavirus) BCP. In fact, we provide you with a Pandemic Coronavirus Business Continuity Plan template for FREE.

As a founder and owner of Blackmores, a consultancy which implement ISO 22301 I felt we had a duty to share guidance on COVID-19 business resilience .  So, I’d like to thank Rachel Churchman, one of our Business Continuity Consultants for sharing with us a Pandemic Business Continuity Plan.

Many businesses have BCP’s, and these are typically scenario based – identifying scenarios that jeopardise the ability for you to run your business in the usual way.  In BCP terms this is called (BAU). i.e. loss of power, loss of staff members, inability to access your building – so something that would have an impact of the continuity of the services or product that you deliver.

The next step is to carry out a BIA (Business Impact Analysis) to determine the impact in an event from a financial, operational or reputational perspective.  This then enables you to create a BCP for a particular scenario – which is what I’m sharing on the ISO Show.  To request the FREE PANDEMIC (COVID-19) BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN, simply contact us at www.blackmoresuk.com.

The Pandemic BCP also includes useful sources of reference material, and guidance on Preventative measures, awareness and responsibilities. We’ve included a ‘Guidance on hand hygiene and use of Face Masks’ as an example of this. Feel free to add any other guides that would be helpful for your business.

The BCP helps to minimise the potential impact on your company and helps define the information employees will find helpful. This will be different in all companies but in the sample provided we cover:

• Summary
• Background
• Introduction
• Aim
• Reference Material
• Objectives
• Potential Impact
• Roles and Responsibilities

For supporting information check out:-

FREE copy an example Pandemic Business Continuity Plan – just contact us at enquiries@blackmoresuk.com

Want to learn more about ISO 22301? Take a look at our Steps to Success.

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Before I dive into the most popular standard in the world, I’d like to begin by busting some of those myths around ISO 9001.

Myth – You need to have a Quality Manual

Myth – You need to have lots of lengthy irrelevant procedures

Myth – You need to have a Quality Manager

Myth – It’s just a tick box exercise

None of these statements is true – Maybe some of them were correct in 1982 (the old BS 5750 standard), but not in 2020!

This weeks ISO show provides an overview of ISO 9001:2015, where we interpret the standard (as a technical document) and break it down into very simple terms what the requirements actually mean.

Although there are 10 clauses, only 7 of these are actually requirements that you need to put in place (Clauses 4.0 – 10.0), and they all make sound business sense.  What business doesn’t need to have a system to explain to employees what they need to do? What business doesn’t need to monitor and measure the performance of their business (including any costly mistakes)?

ISO 9001 is basically a model for running a successful and profitable business – if implemented in the right way (which, by the way, is not buying a certificate and ISO in a box online – that’s for the cheaters!).

The quality standard provides a common framework for things that all businesses should have in place, including defining your companies unique ‘way of working’.  It provides a ‘hub’ a ‘go to place’ for all company policies, procedures and forms/templates.  So ultimately your ‘blueprint’ for business operations and success.

I walk our ISO Show listeners through the 7 Key requirements and highlight some of my favourite parts that I believe add the most value in terms of investing in ISO 9001.

7 key requirements

• Context of the organisation
• Leadership
• Planning
• Support
• Operations
• Performance evaluation
• Improvement

For supporting information check out:-

FREE copy of a Communications Template – just contact us at enquiries@blackmoresuk.com

Want to learn more about ISO 9001? Listen to our Steps to Success Series.

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Tony Bennett, Senior Information Security Executive shares his journey on achieving certification to ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 27001 (Information Security) and ISO 22301 (Business Continuity) in one hit!

Kingsley Napley, is an internationally recognised Law firm based in central London.  To exceed clients’ expectations, they decided to develop their systems to meet the requirements of these leading international standards.  Tony worked in collaboration with Rachel Churchman of Blackmores to support the delivery of the project, and bring together all the requirements of the standard into one holistic framework.  This led to gaining a greater understanding of the organisations operations, risks and strengths, which led to the creation of a ‘Best Practice’ Framework.  As the first Law Firm in the UK to achieve certification to all three standards as an integrated management system, Kingsley Napley are clearly demonstrating how to raise standards within their profession.

As an experienced Information Security professional, in this weeks’ ISO Show Podcast, Tony shares invaluable guidance on:-

• Why Quality, Information Security and Business Continuity is so crucial in the legal sector
• How he delivered the project within 12 months
• The drivers behind implementing all three standards as an integrated management system
• Explains how the assessment was actually an enjoyable experience!
• Key tips on overcoming obstacles and challenges – Communication, communication, communication!
• How leadership plays such an important role in the success of initiating change management
• Specific advice for those in the legal sector who may wish to raise their standards and achieve certification

For further Information on Kingsley Napley and their journey on achieving certification, visit their website.

For support with achieving ISO 9001, IS0 27001 and ISO 22301, see our Steps to Success.

For a FREE consultation Contact Us

For further information on the Standards:

ISO 9001 Quality Management

ISO 27001 Information Security Management

ISO 22301 Business Continuity

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How to build assurance into IT services

Not satisfied with just achieving certification to ISO 9001, this IT Services company is certified to

• Quality – ISO 9001
• Information Security – ISO 27001
• Service Management – ISO 20000
• Environmental Management – ISO 14001
• Secure shredding standards

As a Quality Manager with responsibility for looking after the Management System, Damian highlights in the ISO Show Podcast this week:-

• Benefits ISO 9001 – Some people struggle with the term ;Quality’ and prefer ‘Customer’ requirements
• How standards are used to run an IT business
• How to focus on what is important and not using standards as a ‘tick-box’ exercise
• How ISO Standards can be used as a great communication tool – making everything transparent and not hidden form employees.
• Approaches to Leadership commitment at XFM – How the ‘Big conversation’ provides areas for employees to focus on (objectives) and provide an update on changes.
• As an employer of 500 people, how an IT firm reduces its environmental impact through an Environmental Management System (ISO 14001).
• How the Service Management Team have embraced high standards by introducing ISO 20000 and how this compares with the other ISO’s
• Two top tips for overcoming challenges – Focus on communication and Top Management commitment.

To find out more about XMA, visit their Website.

If you would like to find out more about ISO 20000, we have a free webinar available to watch on demand.

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We often get asked which is the best ISO Standard to go for and what are the benefits.

In this week’s ISO Show we highlight the top 5 from the Annual ISO survey published by the International Standards Organisation.  Here’s a summary of the countdown, but worth noting are two runners up!

• Medical devices standard ISO 13485, which is most popular in the USA, followed by Germany.  Interestingly, this is the only standard where the USA is top of the charts.
• ISO 45001 the Health and Safety Standard.  For years, the predecessor the Occupational Health and Safety Standard 18001 was popular in manufacturing and construction, however since this standard became an ISO Standard a year ago it has seen a significant increase in demand, not only with OHSAS 18001 companies migrating to the new ISO standard, but new companies keen to commit to higher standards of Health and Safety.

So which ISO standard is the 5^th most popular in the world?:

Starting in reverse order, I’m going to give an overview of the top 5 standards.

#5  ISO 50001 the energy standard – When ISO 50001 was launched a few years ago, there was some debate about whether it was even worth having a standard for energy management – well clearly there is because thousands of organisations are treating their energy management very seriously by implementing an energy management system and getting certified.

#4  ISO 22000:2018 the food safety standard -countries that are taking the lead with this one – namely, China, Greece, India and Japan leading the way in food safety.

#3 ISO 27001 the Information Security Standard – Why has ISO 27001 become so popular?  Apart from governments putting pressure on businesses to secure personal data, businesses are demanding higher standards of protection for commercial data.  Now, there is a common misconception that ISO 27001 is just about data – well it’s not, it also covers Personnel and Physical security along with Business Continuity.

#2 ISO 14001 the Environmental Standard – All businesses should be accountable for their environmental footprint.  If we are to be carbon-neutral by 2050 we need a real mechanism for change, not just having a piece of paper labelled an ‘Environmental Policy’.  This is something, that I am personally extremely passionate about, and at Blackmores we will be focusing on how businesses can help to reverse the damage they are doing to the environment over the next decade.  It will not be easy, but it does have to be done, as we are putting our children, grand-children and future generations at significant risk by NOT doing anything.

So whether your organisation has a desire for ISO 14001 certification or not, I implore you to start today by considering how your company can be more efficient with your resources

If you’d like to find out more about this check out the ISO 14001 Steps to Success series, ISO Show # for the low-down.

#1 ISO 9001 the Quality Management Standard – Consumers will always expect high quality services and products, one may argue consumer demands are getting higher.  With over 1 million organisations certified globally, the economic benefits are clear, businesses need systems to operate efficiently to be profitable and demonstrate a commitment to quality to clients to retain their business, and win new business. 

Other resources: Annual ISO Survey

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