The ISO Show

How often have you heard someone say they aspire to be an ISO consultant? Likely not at all! That's not surprising as it's quite a niche world to find yourself in, yet despite that, there are still thousands of ISO professionals worldwide.

We're continuing with our latest mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification.

In this episode we introduce Anju Punetha, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to share the journey of how she transitioned from special education in India, to ISO consultancy for international organisations.

You'll learn

· What is Anju's role at Blackmores?

· What does Anju enjoy outside of consultancy?

· What path did Anju take to become an ISO Consultant?

· What is the biggest challenge she's faced when implementing ISO Standards?

· What is Anju's biggest achievement?

Resources

· Isologyhub

· From Silos to Synergy: The benefits of Implementing an Integrated ISO Management System Webinar registration

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Anju Punetha, a QHSE Consultant here at Blackmores, to discuss her journey towards becoming an ISO consultant who specialises in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 20121 and ISO 55001.

[04:05] What is Anju's role at Blackmores? Her role primarily involves supporting clients in two key areas: maintaining and continually improving their existing ISO management systems and helping them establish and implement new standards.

As part of that support, she:

· Conduct internal audits

· Reviews and updates management system documentation

· Facilitate management reviews

· Train internal teams and prepare them for certification audits.

When implementing a new ISO standard, she'll start with a gap analysis – i.e comparing their current practices against the standard's requirements. Then break down those requirements into simple, easy-to-understand language and create a practical plan to bridge the gaps.

Depending on the standard, she may also facilitate strategic business risk assessments, environmental aspects and impacts assessments, or information security risk assessments.

Additionally, Anju helps clients develop and implement policies and procedures, create legal and compliance registers, and verify their readiness for certification body audits.

[05:55] What does Anju enjoy doing outside of consultancy?: Anju loves spending time outdoors with long walks being her go-to, as they help her unwind both physically and mentally.

She also enjoys cooking for her family and friends. Experimenting with different cuisines and blending spices is something Anju finds incredibly relaxing.

[08:00] What was Anju's path towards becoming an ISO Consultant?: Like many of the Blackmores team, Anju never planned to become an ISO consultant.

She began her career as a Special Educator, working with children with special needs in India.

Later, she transitioned into the development sector as a Research Assistant, working on projects funded by The World Bank and the UN World Food Programme. These projects focused on microfinance, training and development, and women & child health.

However, that role involved a lot of travel, which became challenging after the birth of her first son. So, Anju decided that would be a good time to take a career break.

When Anju was ready to return to work, she looked for an office-based role which resulted in her joining Ericsson, a Swedish Networking and Telecommunication Company as support staff, and progressed upwards to become the Learning and Development Manager at their rapidly growing Global Service Centre in India.

This involved managing training requirements of an employee base of around 4000+ employees, involvement in stakeholder management at all levels and vendor management.

As part of the Operational Excellence initiatives, she also got involved in preparing different business teams for their internal and external audits.

During that time, Anju became interested in Ericsson's Group Management System, which all legal entities had to comply with. She then moved into the newly formed Quality Department and helped them to gain various ISO certifications.

She was the Project Leader for implementing Ericsson's Operational Maturity Model compliant to the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and OHSAS 18001 (ISO 45001's predecessor).

Joining Blackmores as an ISO Consultant felt like a natural next step when she relocated to UK. She's now been a member of our team for over six years, and continues to inspire others with her level of dedication to her work and clients.

[13:35] What is Anju's favourite aspect of being a Consultant? – The variation in daily activities is a big positive for Anju.

One day she may be conducting a gap analysis for Environmental Management System for an IT company, and the next drafting policies and procedures for managing Events Sustainably for an Event Management company or auditing a client on their Information Security Management System. No two days are the same!

She also enjoys being able to work with a wide range of clients across sectors like IT, construction, facilities, asset management, event management, and train operating companies, all ranging from small businesses to large, multi-site organisations.

She particularly enjoys working on Integrated Management Systems, as they help clients save time and money by streamlining multiple standards into one cohesive system.

It reduces duplication, improves efficiency, and encourages collaboration across teams—breaking down silos and building synergy.

[15:50] Upcoming webinar: If you'd like to learn more about the benefits of integrated management systems, feel free to register for our upcoming webinar here.

[17:30] What Standards does Anju specilaise in and why? Starting with:

· ISO 9001 Quality Management: A core foundation that many businesses start with when diving into the world of ISO Standards. This is an essential one for any ISO consultant and is often the first Implementation experience for many who go on to become ISO consultants.

· ISO 14001 Environmental Management: This Standard provides a solid base for any business looking to start taking sustainability seriously.

· ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management: Anju helped one of her previous employers implement this Standards' predecessor, and has since implemented and supported ISO 45001 for a number of Blackmores clients.

· ISO 27001 Information Security Management: An increasingly popular Standard as we see more and more business rely on technology to keep their services running smoothly.

· ISO 55001 Asset Management: A popular Standard within the facilities and public transportation sectors. This Standard aims to create a framework to help organisations manage the life-cycle of their assets.

ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management: ISO 20121 focuses on governing principles of sustainable development, which are:

· Stewardship

· Inclusion

· Integrity

· Transparency

ISO 20121 was revised in 2024. The revised standard explicitly requires considering climate change and its impact on the event and stakeholders. The new version also expands beyond environmental concerns to encompass human and child rights, social impact (including mental health and diversity), and digital responsibility and how organisations should start considering these areas at the early stages of planning an event through post event activities.

Recently, Anju has been busy in putting together the toolkit for transition to ISO 20121:2024 and preparing her clients with the implementation of the revised and new requirements.

[21:10] What is the biggest challenge Anju had faced during a project and how did she overcome it?: Anju offers one experience in particular:

She was working with a company that was implementing its first ISO Standard. The project not only involved creating and implementing standardised policies and procedures but also working on the overall change management within the business.

The teams were used to working in silos for many years and were not very forthcoming with the idea of establishing and implementing standardised ways of working.

This was due to various reasons, such as lack of awareness, operational activities taking precedence over risk and process-based approach. As a result, project leads struggled in getting support from the project sponsor and the extended project team in terms of time and effort.

They had to put the project on halt for few months and only proceeded with the project after getting the full commitment from the sponsor and other project team members.

During this time, ISO related roles and responsibilities were built into the job descriptions of the various stakeholders, these were agreed as part of the internal review processes and required time and effort for the different stakeholders within the business was agreed with the Management Team.

At the end, this project helped the company to embed the standardised processes within the business, rather than it being just a tick in the box exercise to achieve certification.

[25:35] What is Anju's proudest achievement? Anju's proudest achievement in relation to work, is when she's able to see a marked difference in the confidence level of her clients, from the start of the ISO implementation project, which is the gap analysis stage, to confidently facing the certification audit and demonstrating to the external assessors that the implementation of the ISO project was not just a tick in the box exercise for them.

One achievement in particular stands out in recent months as she supported a client in successfully transitioning to the revised ISO 20121 standard.

If you'd like any assistance with implementing ISO standards, get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help!

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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One of the biggest challenges for those looking to achieve Net Zero is tackling scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions that typically reside in your supply chain.

These can account for up to 70% of your total emissions and can be quite the undertaking to gather the necessary data to be able to complete your calculations needed for carbon verification.

In the final episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, back onto the podcast to explain how to tackle scope 3 emissions, how it works in practice and how carbon accounting software can streamline the process.

You'll learn

· What are scope 3 emissions?

· What are the drivers for those tackling scope 3 emissions?

· Where to start with scope 3 emissions

· How does supply chain engagement work in practice?

· What are the benefits for suppliers involved?

· How can carbon accounting software help with scope 3 emissions?

Resources

· Gravity

· Carbonology

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring.

In this final part, Mel and Jay dive into scope 3 emissions, the challenges associated with gathering them and how carbon accounting software can help streamline this process.

[02:30] Catch-up on the first part – If you missed the first two parts of the series, catch-up with them here:

· Part 1: From Platform To Proof – What Is The Business Driver For Carbon Accounting And Reporting?

· Part 2: From Platform To Proof – How Carbon Accounting Software and Verification Combine for Carbon Compliance

[03:50] What are scope 3 emissions?: The term 'scope 3' comes from a document and initiative called the GHG Protocol, which sets out the core methodology by which companies should measure account for their greenhouse gas emissions. It details 3 different scopes, scope 1 is your direct emissions (i.e. fuel for vehicle use ect), Scope 2 is grid emissions associated with purchased electricity or other forms of energy (i.e. energy for offices).

Scope 3 is a very broad term and addresses the emissions created by your value / supply chain. This could include things like transportation of resources you require from a third-party.

These emissions can count to upwards of 70% of a companies total emissions, depending on the nature of the business that can even go as high as 90%!

[06:50] What are the drivers for those tackling scope 3 emissions? Jay summaries 3 of the main drivers:

Biggest emission source: For those looking to truly hit Net Zero, they can't simply ignore their largest emission source. It poses the biggest risk to the company, so it's in their best interest to reduce them where possible. Of course, this isn't easy as it may involve swapping suppliers or working with existing ones to make their practices more sustainable. It's not as straight forward as addressing your scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Regulation requirement: Scope 3 is increasingly being included within mandatory regulations, whereas in previous years, it may have been a voluntary part of those requirements. For example, the new regulations coming into effect for California in 2026 will see around 10,000 companies needing to report on their scope 3 emissions.

In the EU, regulations such as CSRD also require reporting on these emissions. Though these haven't been made mandatory as of yet, we can see that changing in future.

Stakeholder requirement changes: Customers and other stakeholders are asking for more evidence of meaningful sustainability action. Supply chain initiatives now are gearing more towards sustainable procurement, which coincides with the rise of CSR related activities. This drive to evaluate your supply chain is being pushed from all directions.

[09:55] Where to start with scope 3 emissions: Likely stating the obvious, but ensure you have addressed your scope 1 and 2 emissions first.

When looking to your scope 3 emissions, you'll first need to determine which of the 15 emission categories is going to be important for your business to get a handle on. The nature of your business will determine which of the categories are a priority, so if you're a digital service based business, then the raw materials category likely won't be very appliable to you so you'd only need to provide a very high-level summary of any related emissions.

For those categories that are a priority, you should identify how in-depth you would need to get with the data analytics, and create a strategy for each of those categories. If you're struggling to start, there are some industry average statistics out there to help you with those initial calculations.

It's key to set up a defined measurement cycle, that will need the ability to get more granular as you progress. This is so you can actively track your reduction efforts.

Of course, the level of this will be determined by the resource you and your suppliers have to help facilitate the process. It's definitely worth investing in your supplier relationships to make this process run smoothly year on year.

Some business that have say 100+ suppliers will often send out a survey to obtain this data, but the quality of the information returned (if any) can be lacking. So, a more direct approach will likely reap the results you're after.

Mel highlights an instance where an organisation had an engagement programme, where they selected 100 of their suppliers and provided training and guidance on understanding and reporting on their emissions. The suppliers could then see how beneficial the process was not just for that organisations, but for their own company as well. It's more than just gathering data, it's about effecting your sphere of influence for meaningful change.

[14:15] How does supply chain engagement work in practice? As mentioned, one of the ways many organisations have opted to gather data have been through supplier surveys, however, you need to supplement this with other supplier initiatives to get the best results.

Gravity took a more empathetic approach, by looking at this process from the suppliers perspective. They highlighted that this should just be an extractive exercise, the supplier should also be getting something out of this.

One such way to do so would be to give them training and / or tools in order to measure their emissions so they can give you the data you need, and also have that data to share with their other customers. You can work with them to identify potential emission reductions and energy saving schemes that could save them money down the line.

There are also a number of AI tools that can comb the web and look for any public carbon disclosures or ESG reports that suppliers may have already made. So this saves on the initial outreach and results in less burden for both parties.

[17:10] What are the benefits for suppliers involved? By adding further requirements to your supplier relationship, it offers the opportunity to evaluate and develop your supplier engagement strategy.

The suppliers can benefit both from your experience with carbon reporting, in addition to gaining access to the same tools you use to manage this.

By helping them get a jump start on their carbon disclosures, they can benefits from being ahead of the curve if certain regulations haven't effected them yet. We're seeing these sustainability regulations trickle down to new sectors and smaller companies, so them having the data ready puts them at a great advantage.

They can also potentially optimise their own processes and save money from the experience by using their data to identify where further reductions can be made. Those supplier reductions then benefit your organisation as your scope 3 emissions improve, it's a win win situation.

[20:35] How can carbon accounting software help with scope 3 emissions? Using Gravity as an example, they've built a lot of tools that can take raw inventory and gather a lot of data concerning purchasing, logistics ect. This is all collated into one area where it can be analysed and used for calculations.

They also have an AI agent that can comb the web for specific information that your suppliers may have publicly disclosed. An AI agent can also reach out directly to suppliers for further information which will be collated within your centralised system, checked for accuracy and put into a format that's ready for reporting.

This is all done with a full audit trail for transparency.

If you'd like to learn more about Gravity and how their energy and carbon accounting software can help you, check out their website. If you'd like to ask Jay any questions directly, feel free to send him an email.

If you'd like any assistance with Carbon Verification, get in touch with the Carbonology team, they'd be happy to help!

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:

Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

As the sustainability crisis grows more pressing each passing year, companies are increasingly being required to comply with various sustainability regulations and legislation, most of which include the need to monitor and verify your carbon emissions.

Calculating these carbon emissions can be tricky, especially if you have a lot of sites or international locations that require conversions. This is where dedicated carbon accounting software can save you a lot of headache!

In the second episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, back onto the podcast to discuss how carbon accounting software can be utilised on your carbon verification journey, and explore the additional benefits provided by this technology.

You'll learn

· What is the role of carbon accounting platforms and how does carbon accounting software help to overcome the challenges that organisations are facing today?

· How does carbon accounting software work?

· What additional benefits are there from using carbon accounting software?

· Why is carbon verification becoming increasingly important?

· How can carbon accounting software encourage a culture shift?

Resources

· Gravity

· Carbonology

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring.

In this second episode Mel and Jay explore how carbon accounting software and verification work together for carbon compliance, in addition to the other benefits companies can gain from utilising carbon software.

[02:30] Catch-up on the first part – If you missed our first episode in the series, go back and listen to that before continuing. It gives a more in-depth introduction to Jay, Gravity and carbon accounting software in general.

[04:05] What is the role of carbon accounting platforms and how does carbon accounting software help to overcome the challenges that organisations are facing today?: Jay has had many conversations with those that have had challenges historically with gathering the data needed for carbon calculation and verification. As we see more regulations and legislation, this challenge is passed down to those just starting on their journey.

Carbon accounting software can help ease the burden involved with these tasks. This can come in the form of making it easy to aggregate the data and doing the necessary calculations while maintaining a trail of where all that information comes from.

There's also an audit trail available for the calculations done, which can be monitored and dug down further into. There's scope in many dedicated carbon accounting platforms for you to be able to dig deeper into your data if needed.

Lastly, this level of transparency in the data is often a requirement of going through full carbon verification in alignment with best practice standards (such as ISO 14064).

Ultimately, carbon accounting software can make the verification process go a lot more smoothly.

[09:05] How does carbon accounting software work? Jay breaks this down to help define the purpose of carbon accounting software, and the additional benefits it can bring, including:

A centralised place for carbon data: Often times, businesses need to pull data from a wide variety of places, and collating that data is always a challenge. Dedicated software allows for easier collection and storage of data from all of the necessary sources, such as utilities, logistics and finance.

Carbon accounting software will often allow for integrations that allow for existing systems to feed data into the software without any extra burden. With the addition of AI tools, they can even allow for automatic document processing that can interpret the meaning of utility bills, fuel invoices, waste receipts ect to save on manual data entry.

Carbon calculation: Another headache associated with carbon reporting is the calculation utilising all that data you've painstakingly collected. There're often additional layers such as conversion or emission factors that need to be considered when making these calculations. Carbon Accounting Software can do all of this for you, saving you the trouble and potential of making mistakes. This in addition to the transparency offered as the software will provide an audit trail to show how it arrived at the final numbers.

Carbon Reporting: This isn't a feature in all carbon related software, but it can be another time saver if you find one that does. The raw calculations data will only get you so far, and that alone may not be enough to meet the requirements of whichever framework you need to comply with.

Carbon software can assist with putting those calculations into a usable reporting format. This report and data can then be analysed and used for meaningful action, in addition to complying with a number of different frameworks.

Carbon reduction: Some carbon accounting software will also have the additional bonus of being able to help you source potential solutions and vendors to help reduce your carbon emissions. This more proactive stance on taking your findings and making improvements is voluntary in a lot of schemes currently, but we are seeing a rise in a mandatory requirements to show evidence of carbon reduction, so it's better to get your head around this sooner rather than later.

[15:20] Why is carbon verification becoming increasingly important? Sustainability is no longer isolated to one person or department in an organisation, there's an increasing overlap of sustainability with other functions such as financial reporting. It also coincides with those working towards ESG compliance, as the data collection, calculations and reporting infrastructure for sustainability information can have a very big practical effect.

The need for transparency regarding sustainability is also becoming a bigger concern for customers and stakeholders, so naturally, companies are taking it more seriously as more questions are being asked of them in that regard. Having the data and paper trails (or software trails if you prefer) to back up their claims is vital.

[19:20] How can carbon accounting software encourage a culture shift? Carbon accounting software is the glue that pulls all the elements of carbon compliance together. It's often the case that the person responsible for the software in a company is crucial for the full verifications process as well.

Though the gathering of data is a team process, and if embedded correctly, then it can act as a catalyst for a cultural shift towards sustainability.

Not everyone has to have knowledge of all the inner workings of carbon collection, calculation and reporting, but by being involved in the process they can feel a sense of accomplishment when milestones are reached.

By spreading the burden companies can also afford to spend a lot more time working on this than they would have otherwise. Carbon accounting software can help this along by ensuring the data gets where it needs to go, and to make the process simpler for all those involved.

The use of both a team-based approach in tandem with dedicated software can also help in regard to risk mitigation by removing single points of failure. Carbon reporting and verification is an annual task, so when people come and go from the business, it's key that you have the necessary skills, people and tools to help facilitate that process through those organisational changes.

If you'd like to learn more about Gravity and how their energy and carbon accounting software can help you, check out their website. If you'd like to ask Jay any questions directly, feel free to send him an email.

If you'd like any assistance with Carbon Verification, get in touch with the Carbonology team, they'd be happy to help!

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:

Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

One of the biggest hurdles for businesses when embarking on their journey to net zero is the calculation required for carbon verification. Depending on the nature and size of a business, it can be quite the undertaking!

Those looking to tackle this challenge have various options available to them, including the use of dedicated carbon accounting software, which we'll explore in our latest mini-series: From Platform to Proof.

In the first episode of this series, we introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, to explore the key drivers behind carbon accounting and reporting and how you can maximise value from going through the process.

You'll learn

· Who is Jay Ruckelshaus?

· Who are Gravity?

· Why do businesses measure their carbon footprint?

· Why is the language of business value becoming more important for sustainability professionals?

· What are the key drivers for carbon accounting?

· How has GHG emissions reporting helped to drive business value?

· What should businesses be thinking about to maximise business value?

· How can businesses keep up with ever changing sustainability legislation?

· The importance of data quality

· How can carbon accounting software help?

Resources

· Gravity

· Carbonology

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring.

In this first episode, they explore the key drivers behind carbon accounting and reporting, and how businesses can maximise the value from the process.

[03:10] Who is Jay Ruckelshaus? Jay's involvement in sustainability was almost an inevitability, coming from a family of environmental lawyers.

Energy, climate and sustainability were topics that often came up at the dinner table, and so it remained a subject near and dear to his heart.

Initially, Jay thought he would remain in the academic world, studying polarisation and exploring how energy intensive industries think about sustainability. He found his enthusiasm spiked when working directly with companies and individuals on these topics.

As a result, he broke out of the academic world to join forces with a few technology leaders to develop a solution to help businesses measure and reduce their emissions.

[04:45] Who are Gravity?: Jay founded Gravity 4 years ago (2021). It provides a carbon and energy management platform, which assists businesses with compliance to the alphabet soup of sustainability legislation currently in effect, such as CSRD and TCFD.

This platform also uses the data collected to help businesses find and invest in projects to help reduce their emissions, which ultimately saves on energy, costs and utilities.

Their aim was to make it easier for businesses to report their emissions, by streamlining the collection process, and using the data to pre-qualify potential vendors that would fit the businesses needs when it comes to the reduction phase.

Jay initially started with emissions heavy industries such as construction, manufacturing logistics, utilities, metals, mining, energy ect. These are industries where data collection can be very challenging, so it provided a very solid base for their software so that it could tackle these challenges first and provide a way for them to work with various e-commerce, software companies and financial institutions, all within one system.

[09:05] Why do businesses measure their carbon footprint? Historically, back in the 70's, 80's and 90's, sustainability was often wrapped up in the wider corporate social responsibility movement.

We've seen a lot of change in the last decade, where we used to have strictly voluntary schemes such as CSR, that are now transitioning into a requirement. Whether that be by stakeholders or legislation.

We've also seen a greater interest in ESG metrics, which require solid figures to back up your claims. This trend follows from the introduction of mandatory legislation from the European Union's CSRD, which is trickling into California law as around 10,000 companies of a certain size that operate in California must now disclose their carbon emissions.

[11:40] Why is the language of business value becoming more important for sustainability professionals? It wasn't too long ago that sustainability professionals were lumped in with groups that managed general social responsibility.

We're seeing more dedicated and senior roles in relation to sustainability, such as 'Chief Sustainability Officer'. These roles now integrate with most every branch of an organisation, from the financial reporting to the general strategy for the business. It becomes a central part of the business.

Its role can reap many benefits for businesses that embed it effectively, including cost cutting, energy reduction, creation or use of innovative products, opening doors to new markets and investment opportunities.

[14:15] What are the key business drivers for carbon accounting? There are many benefits for carbon accounting, such as: -

Saving energy: Energy prices are volatile, and often on the rise. Carbon accounting allows you to have a full view on what you're consuming and where you can reduce or look to more efficient options.

Building in sustainability from the top down: With increasing scrutiny from stakeholder and consumers regarding sustainability, it's in leaderships interest to ensure that sustainability is embedded in your business strategy. This alignment sets you up well for the future, In addition to creating an avenue to reap other benefits from meaningful sustainability action.

New opportunities: Embarking on your sustainability journey will open many new doors. Whether this be for innovative new technology, new partners and suppliers that better align with your values, or access to new investment opportunities.

[18:05] How has GHG emissions reporting helped to drive business value? Businesses that get their emissions verified against ISO 14064 can benefit from improved insurance rates and access to green finance.

It's also a necessary step towards energy and cost savings. You can't reduce what you can't measure. Doing this correctly will require time and resources, thankfully we're at a time where there are a lot of tools to help businesses with data collection for reporting purposes. The key is to understand where you currently stand, and where you can make improvements. From there you can look at vendors to assist and what financing is available to help facilitate the required changes.

Jay states an example of where Gravity managed to save a US based aluminum foundry over $400,000 in energy costs from their initial assessment. This was achieved through identifying energy hotspots and finding vendors and initiatives to help reduce the energy use and costs.

[21:15] What should businesses be thinking about to maximise business value?: The biggest challenge for carbon accounting is typically gathering the data. There are a lot of things to consider, facility energy usage, travel, home workers ect.

To make this easier, you should ideally have a centralised location to report and track your emissions data. You also need to ensure that this is as accurate as possible.

In order to make sure this doesn't turn into an annual tick-box exercise, you need to embed proactive processes for monitoring and measuring this data. This way, when you have anomalies in energy usage, you can identify these quickly and put plans in place to address it.

[24:25] How can businesses keep up with ever changing sustainability legislation? In recent years, the goal posts for specific sustainability regulation and legislation has changed a lot.

This is in part due to convergence that is happening between the frameworks, countries and Governments adopting the best bits out of other requirements to make theirs more robust. So, while a lot of the information they're asking for is largely the same, it can still be very confusing to navigate.

Jay advises that businesses focus on getting a core system for reporting, monitoring and measuring energy usage and carbon emissions in place. Depending on the requirements that you need to adhere to, you can slice and dice that data up however it's needed, but setting up a unified approach that's embedded throughout your business to get the data needed is they key.

[28:40] The Importance of data quality: Your first attempt at this process will likely be rough and ready. Gathering the basics of what's available such as utility bills and general energy usage. Presenting this estimation can make for a great business case to put in place measures to get more granular data.

The more granular the data, the more insightful it can be, offering you more opportunities to save money and implement reduction initiatives.

This data will reveal trends, form benchmarks and present opportunities for meaningful action that benefits both the business and the environment, all while satisfying your legal and regulatory requirements.

[30:50] How can carbon accounting software help?: Data collection is hard, getting the data where you need it to be can be nightmare, especially when multiple departments are involved. Having a centralised location makes this task a lot easier.

Calculating this data into something usable is also tricky, and would likely require a skillset that you won't have readily available. This may also involve knowledge of conversion factors if you have multiple international locations. Having a system that can manage all of this, while using methodologies that are in alignment with best practice standards is crucial.

Lastly, technology such as carbon accounting software, can really help with creating a proactive approach to the measurement and reporting process. It can reveal anomalies and trends to be acted on, as it can help source vendors and projects to help with emission reductions.

If you'd like to learn more about Gravity and how their energy and carbon accounting software can help you, check out their website.

If you'd like any assistance with Carbon Verification, get in touch with the Carbonology team, they'd be happy to help!

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:

Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Becoming an ISO consultant isn't a career path many aspire to, rather it's one often stumbled on after being tasked with either implementing or maintaining a Standard for a business.

We're continuing with our latest mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification.

In this episode we introduce Minoo Agarwal, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to learn about her journey of following in her father's footsteps towards ISO Standards Management, and what drives her to help clients on their ISO journey.

You'll learn

· What is Minoo's role at Blackmores?

· What does Minoo enjoy outside of consultancy?

· What path did Minoo take to become an ISO Consultant?

· What is the biggest challenge she's faced when implementing ISO Standards?

· What is Minoo's biggest achievement?

Resources

· Isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Minoo Agarwal, a QHSE Consultant here at Blackmores, to discuss her journey towards becoming an ISO consultant who specialises in ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001.

[03:50] What is Minoo's role at Blackmores? Minno's official job title is QHSE Consultant. She is the ISO14001:2015 standard champion and a Mental Health First Aider for Blackmores.

Ultimately, Minoo supports clients with embedding Management System into the heart of their companies. Her work with them typically consists of:

· Conducting internal audits

· Management review

· Consultancy days or document review days

Essentially doing whatever it takes to getting the management system to be at a suitable level to pass external audits.

[05:05] What does Minoo enjoy doing outside of consultancy?: Minoo's free time is mostly taken up by her dear son, Aarav.

He's very young at the moment; and so Minoo makes sure that any of her input into his life is to ensure that he is successful in whatever career he chooses. In addition, Aarav has a very busy social life! So, she's makes sure her gets plenty of time to play with his friends.

Minoo is also a bit of a foodie, enjoying eating out when possible. She also enjoys reading books by authors such as Jay Shetty and the Sad Guru.

[07:10] What was Minoo's path towards becoming an ISO Consultant?: Minoo, like many of our consultants, didn't know that she would become a consultant.

The opportunity was presented by Mel Blackmore via LinkedIn in 2019, on April 1st of all dates!

Minoo's passion for this field arose from her father, Mr Hardial Agarwal, who is very well known in the industry. He worked as a consultant for Crayola for many years, travelling abroad to meet with various suppliers and international branches of the company. His work always held an air of mystery to Minoo as a child, and she become more curious about his role in later years, even attending CQI meetings with her father to learn more.

She started her career in 2006 as a Quality, Environmental, Health & Safety Administrator and since then really never looked back, progressing from role to role from roles like Quality Associate, to a Business Quality Control Officer, to a QESH Auditor, to HSQE Compliance Manager and then as a Head of Quality.

Each role gave her a different experience of life. As a result, she has worked in many industries ranging from electronics to logistics to pharma and even automotive and IT.

She feels very fortunate to gain experience and knowledge from a range of industries from her previous roles, and now more so from Blackmores where this knowledge develops further.

[12:35] What is Minoo's favourite aspect of being a Consultant? – Minoo genuinely loves her role as a consultant at Blackmores, it was hard to narrow down a specific aspect.

That being said, Minoo loves to hear when a client of hers has passed their surveillance and re-certification audits, especially if it was with no findings. It's a return on their combined effort as a team to get recognition of that fact from a certification body.

She also enjoys the teamwork involved, often being seen as a real member of the client's team. As a consultant, a bid part of your role is building strong working relationships, which makes the whole process run a lot more smoothly.

She also takes a bit of joy in being able to be a bit bossy, though all the guidance is with the best intentions.

[15:40] What Standards does Minoo specilaise in and why? Starting with:

· ISO 9001 Quality Management: A core foundation that many businesses start with when diving into the world of ISO Standards. This is an essential one for any ISO consultant and is often the first Implementation experience for many who go on to become ISO consultants.

· ISO 14001 Environmental Management: Minoo is our Standards champion for this Standard. This involves keeping on-top of any changes to the Standard and creating internal training material for the team.

· ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management: A few of Minoo's previous roles involved health and safety compliance, so she learned a lot about ISO 45001 and general risk management along the way.

· ISO 27001 Information Security Management: This one was a necessity to learn when joining Blackmores. Many of our clients have integrated management systems with multiple ISO certifications, most of which include ISO 27001.

Minoo also has some experience with MHRA regulations and TS 16949.

[18:20] What is the biggest challenge Minoo had faced during a project and how did she overcome it?: Minoo stresses that it's fundamental to fully understand the requirements of the client from the very onset of the project, if that is understood then there will be no challenges during a project.

She provides two incidents in particular that stood out:

Scope creep: There was an incident when there was a misunderstanding of the work agreed, and the client had anticipated much more than what was agreed. As a result, Minoo had to complete the work in her own time to meet their expectations.

Personal bias: There have been incidents not related to projects but external audits when external assessors start to audit the client by providing what they believe their interpretations is of the standard is the only way that it can be implemented. Forgetting the fact that Standards are built to be flexible in the way they are implemented. They can get very fussy about the exact way documentation should be laid out and worded, which is obviously not a specific stipulation within a Standard.

Minoo has overcome this by confronting the assessor at the time and asking them to explain where in the standard it say that – basically keeping them in check.

[21:30] What is Minoo's proudest achievement? On the work side, Minoo is always proud to hear when a client has passed their Surveillance and Recertification Audits with no or few findings.

On the personal side, it's her son who she lovingly dubs as her masterpiece. She's already instilling the values of health and safety into him, and he's always looking out for others. She couldn't be prouder to watch him grow up into his own person.

If you'd like any assistance with implementing ISO standards, get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help!

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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The process of verifying your carbon emissions requires a lot of data gathering, number crunching and in some cases conversion if you're international. It's certainly no small task!

However, it's worth the effort. With it completed you will have a much better idea of your current impact and be able to make better informed decisions on how to reduce it. When starting out on your verification journey you'll need to start with calculating your scope 1 & 2 emissions, these are the direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that your business is responsible for.

That alone can be quite a mammoth task, especially if you have a lot of locations worldwide, such is the case as today's guest: Culligan.

In this episode, Mel is joined by Martin Murden, ESG Manager at Culligan International, to discuss why Culligan started their verification journey, the key insights uncovered, and the challenges involved with calculating emissions for a large international organisation.

You'll learn

· Who is Martin Murden?

· Who are Culligan International?

· Why are Culligan seeking third-party verification for scope 1 & 2?

· Key insights uncovered as a result of verification

· What changes have they made to their data collection processes?

· How did internal teams find the experience?

· How have Culligan utilised verified data?

· What is the biggest misconception about the verification process?

Resources

· Culligan International

· Carbonology

· Culligan 2024 ESG Report

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – Mel Blackmore is joined by Martin Murden, ESG Manager at Culligan, to discuss their carbon verification journey and explore the challenges associated with calculating scope 1 & 2 emissions for a large international organisation.

[03:25] Who is Martin Murden? Martin is an ESG Manager at Culligan, his role focuses more on the environmental aspect of ESG compliance.

His main role involves looking after Culligan's carbon emissions, carbon reduction plan, evaluating use of resources and exploring initiatives to reduce their current impact.

One fun fact that not many people know about Martin, one of his ancestors was involved in the creation of Turkish delight!

[06:25] Who are Culligan International? Culligan International are a global leader in water services. Their solutions provide cleaner, safer, better tasting water.

While not a household name here in the UK, chances are if you're refilling a bottle from a cooler, it's likely derived from one of Culligan's brands.

They own over 100 businesses in over 40 countries, with more than 600 sites ranging from warehouses and offices to production and water bottling plants. They also manage 7000 vehicles which help with delivering, installing and maintaining their equipment.

With over 15,000 people working at Culligan, it's clear to say that it's a large organisation with a lot of moving parts.

They keep sustainability at the heart of their business, working to discourage the use of single use plastic, and looking at other ways to reduce their impact via their supply chain.

[08:45] Why did Culligan seek third-party carbon verification? – There were a few reasons, including: -

Regulatory requirements: Being a global business, there are a number of mandatory reporting requirements coming down the pipeline in certain countries they operate in, such as Australia and Mexico, Canada, California.

Accuracy: Part of these requirements is assuring the transparency and accuracy of the data. Third-party assurance is essential to meet mandatory reporting requirements, in addition to being an added level of assurance for stakeholders.

From an internal point of view, it also gives the ESG team more confidence in the gathered data, allowing them to form a more robust baseline for their decarbonisation strategy.

[10:15] Culligan's decarbonisation strategy – In 2024, Culligan published a number of commitments, one of those was to reduce its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 40% by 2035.

They built a decarbonisation plan based on information that they had available internally. This consisted of looking at vehicle fleet use and facilities use, how large they are and what kind of energy sources they use.

They also spoke to individual business units to understand where it may be possible to switch to renewable energy sources, how initial energy use could be reduced and making use of lower carbon vehicles.

They were confident in their ability to reduce their impact, but they needed that third-party assurance that their initial baseline was as accurate as possible.

[11:35] Is this the first time Culligan has gone through a formal verification process? – While they have measured their carbon emissions since 2022, they have never formally gone through the full verification process before.

[11:55] How did they prepare for the formal verification process? – The first step was selecting a reputable carbon verification body to verify their calculations. They opted to go ahead with Carbonology, spending a lot of time with their assigned auditor to:

· Understand what the requirements were

· Ascertain what the priorities were

· Understand what evidence was required

They also needed to clearly communicate internally so that all their stakeholders and data owners were aware of what was required from them and when they needed to provide it by.

Martin has found that over the past 3 years of collating data required for carbon emission calculations, they have greatly improved their level of accuracy and accountability.

With the goal of carbon verification providing a much-needed focus, they've been able to identify potential gaps in their evidence received from local data owners.

[14:10] How did Culligan find the experience of working with Carbonology?:- They were pleasantly surprised! ISO Standard audits can be daunting at the best of times as you're not really sure what to expect, however, Carbobology were great at guiding the process so it all ran smoothly.

This included a process of daily review meetings and establishing a daily agenda and priorities. Martin found himself looking forward to those meetings as they opened up the opportunity to discuss how to improve the accuracy of data in addition to the collection methods.

[16:05] What were the key insights Culligan found when going through the carbon verification process? – They certainly had a few surprises along the way, mostly positive, including: -

Exposing inaccuracies: There were cases of inaccuracies in their original data, where data owners accidentally added an extra 0, or accidentally selected gigawatt hours instead of kilowatt hours when uploading submissions. Going through this process allowed them to tidy up their data.

Identifying high energy usage: Using this updated accurate data, they could then identify what sites had a higher-than-average rate of energy consumption.

Holistic approach: The data provided a fuller picture of where their emissions were over or understated. They could then interrogate any irregularities and look at where improvements could be made, in addition to updating their data collection methods where necessary.

[18:35] What changes have Culligan made to their data collection and reporting process as a result of verification? – They're now looking at other options for collecting data.

Ideally, they'd like to connect their data to a centralised sources, rather than having to approach each business individually. With over 100 businesses owned, you can appreciate that this is quite a time consuming task!

There are other opportunities such as getting API links in place directly with their back office systems and utility providers, so that manual intervention isn't required.

Technology related to carbon data collection is advancing each year, there are a number of platforms that can make this process more efficient. For example, Culligan are looking into OCR software that can read PDF supplier invoices so that this no longer has to be a manual activity.

Looking forward, they would like to capture evidence needed for the audit process at the point of data entry, rather than having to ask data owners a second time to provide copies of invoices they'd already populated in a different database.

[20:55] Were there any unexpected challenges or collaboration as a result of the carbon verification process? – Martin was expecting some pushback, however he was pleasantly surprised with the amount of buy-in they had from local business units. It seemed they really understood the benefits to the business on their level and for Culligan as a whole.

As they'd been collating data for a few years now, a process was already in place meaning there was minimal work to do on their end.

Many of their local businesses have found it a real benefit to have this information available, as many clients and prospective clients are asking about their sustainability credentials.

Also, having credible third-party verification validating their claims gives them a step up from competitors, in addition to providing those clients assurance that Culligan followed due diligence.

[23:05] What additional value has third-party verification provided? –The main benefits were strengthening stakeholder trust and improved reporting confidence internally.

The initial reactions that Culligan had from colleagues once they'd shared the news that they'd passed the accreditation was an extremely positive one. Shortly after they were inundated with requests from their global business units for copies of the ISO certificate provided by Carbonology, so that they could share it with their clients and customers.

It's also provided some much-needed confidence to the ESG team in terms of combatting claims of greenwashing. With verification against the internally recognised standard ISO 14064, they know they won't have anyone challenging the validity of their carbon emission figures.

[25:00] How else will the verified data be utilised across Culligan? – Sustainability is a key focus for Culligan, this information provides a starting point for meaning reduction in their impact, in addition to satisfying stakeholder requirements and requests for the data. It short, it benefits everyone.

Culligan have recently published their 3rd annual ESG report, and the verification is referred to regularly throughout that report, in addition to their external communications throughout the year.

This step has shown that they're not simply jumping on the Net Zero bandwagon, they want to really understand their impact so that they can make meaningful change. In the short-term, they're looking to tackle their scope 3 emissions within the next 12 months, and hopefully get third-party verification for those as well.

[27:15] What are Culligan's medium and long terms goals for sustainability? – Scope 3 is the next thing they want to tackle, however, that will not be a small undertaking. They used predominantly purchased goods and services data to estimate their upstream emissions, so they need to hone in on those and ensure that they retain the same level of accuracy and consistency as the process used to calculate the scope 1 and 2 emissions.

The ESG journey is not linear, and will constantly adapt and flex as they move forward. Their main goal is simply to reduce emissions, through a reduction in resources used and the promotion of sustainability efforts such as reducing the use of single use plastic.

[29:05] What is the biggest misconception about the verification process? – For Martin, this is the fear of the unknown. For a large organisation like Culligan, this was daunting at first. Having to communicate to all their different stakeholders what the requirements are and what data and evidence was needed.

For the verification process, it was a worry if they were in for a long and painful process. In actuality, it was 8 days worth of preparation followed by 8 days of reviewing, which was much more painless than anticipated!

It's all about establishing effective processes to manage this task on an annual basis. It will soon become business as usual, so the burden will reduce year on year. It can be challenging to start with, which is where third-party expertise can help fill the gaps in your knowledge.

[31:35] Martin's book recommendations – The Coming Storm: Why water will write the 21st century by Liam Fox

[26:35] Martin's favorite quotes – 'We don't need 100 perfect activists, but millions of imperfect ones' – Clover Hogan founder of Force of Nature.

'Preserve wildlife. Pickle a squirrel.' – Philosophy from a London bathroom stall.

If you'd like to learn more about Culligan, check out their Website and Linkedin.

If you'd like any assistance with Carbon Verification, feel free to get in touch with Carbonology, they'd be happy to help.

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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Asset Management can be explained as a systematic process of planning, operating, maintaining, upgrading and replacing assets cost-effectively with minimum risk and at the expected levels of service over the assets' life cycle.

One sector where effective asset management can make a huge difference is public transportation, with organisations having to keep track of an exhaustive list of costly vehicles and infrastructure.

Long time listeners may recall a previous episode where we interviewed the train operator, Greater Anglia, after they successfully achieved ISO 55001, the best practice standard for asset management.

Now 3 years on, they've been recently recertified and have learned a lot since their initial certification.

In this episode, Andrew Barnes, Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia, joins Ian Battersby to discuss how they currently manage their ISO 55001 certification, what they've learned in the past 3 years since certification and the benefits of effective asset management.

You'll learn

· Who is Andrew Barnes?

· Who are Greater Anglia?

· How do Greater Anglia manage their ISO 55001 certification?

· What lessons have been learned since their initial certification?

· What are the main benefits of ISO 55001?

· Andrew's top tip for ISO Implementation

Resources

· Isologyhub

· Greater Anglia

· ISO Support Plan

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – Ian Battersby is joined by Andrew Barnes, Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia, to discuss their experience with being certified to ISO 55001 for the past 3 years, explaining the lessons learned and benefits gained.

[03:25] Who is Andrew Barnes? Andy is currently the Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia. A fun fact that not many people know about him is that he was part of the Lord Mayor's Show in the 80's, though he had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction that ended with him getting a stern talking to!

Andy has been working in the railways since 1985, starting as an apprentice with British Rail.

[05:15] Who are Greater Anglia? Greater Anglia are a train operator who took over from National Express, East Anglia back in 2012.

They serve the Anglia region from Liverpool Street Station, and are unusual among railway companies in that they are under a full repairing and insuring lease. This differs from most who have station access conditions, where the responsibility for maintenance and repair is split between Network Rail and the train operator.

They currently operate 134 stations, with 2 more under construction which are Burley Park (due to open in October 2025) and Cambridge South (opening in early 2026).

In addition to the stations, they also own 7 depots for train stabling and maintenance. So in short, a lot of assets to keep track of!

[07:40] Extra asset requirements – They are also now challenged on cleanliness at train stations. This involves mystery shoppers visiting stations and marking them against certain criteria to give a score, which Greater Anglia tend to score quite highly.

They also have to inspect all of their assets on a conditioned surveying scheme, the scores of which need to be communicated to Network Rail.

[09:00] Andy's role as Head of Asset Management – Andy is relatively new to this role, becoming the Head of Asset Management in April 2025. He has a team of asset inspectors that conduct the condition surveys internally.

He's also responsible for the Engineer Insurance Team, part of their role is to determine the technical aspects of large schemes that require focused designs.

[10:05] How do Greater Anglia manage their ISO certifications? – In addition to ISO 55001, Greater Anglia also hold ISO 9001 and a number of standards specific to engineering.

They have benefitted from 3rd party support in the form of utilising Blackmores consultancy to help gain certification and aid with on-going support for internal audits.

Their processes and procedures are all managed by their Project Management Team, who conduct regular reviews against ISO requirements to ensure they stay relevant and in alignment with best practice.

They also have a strategic asset management plan, risk register and continuous improvement plans in place to address various elements of both asset management and general quality management.

Like with most ISO Standards, there's a lot of crossover in the requirements, so elements of each certification can easily be integrated and used to bolster an existing management system.

[11:15] The benefit of a maturing management system – Andy is quite keen on learning from their maturing management system. Through effective implementation, you can look back and see what's working well and where improvements can be made.

Having a certain level of management system maturity enables you to make more informed continual improvement decisions.

[13:20] A structured approach – Prior to ISO 55001 certification, they were still doing everything that was required of them to maintain assets simply because that was the right thing to do.

What they lacked was the structured processes and procedures to support that hard work. It wasn't as planned and more of a reactionary approach to asset management.

Andy appreciates the clearly defined lines, processes and ability to learn from their mistakes as a result of ISO 55001 implementation. It simply helped provide a more consistent and collaborative base for effective asset management.

[14:25] Other benefits from ISO 55001 certification:-

Improved efficiency: New and improved processes helped to manage both their time and internal resource. They eliminated unnecessary meetings, and consolidated key discussion points for their regular meet-ups to ensure important updates were prioritised.

Risk Mitigation: They now have a structured approach to learning from past mistakes. This is managed via a Lessons Learned Database, which collates the answers to specific questions that get asked after project completion. They make sure to include contractor input so all parties involved feel the benefits. Recently, they've also been granted access to Network Rail's Lesson's Learned database, so they will benefit from an even wider knowledge base for future projects.

Consistent approach: Their current management system ensures that everyone is following the same policies, processes and procedures. People know what their responsibilities are, who to communicate what to and how they can help contribute to improvement efforts.

Continual Improvement culture shift: The management system doesn't require everyone to know everything from the get-go. It encourages a culture of learning with the goal of continual improvement, so people aren't afraid of suggesting actions for innovation.

[19:45] Lessons learned: Not just from mistakes – Ultimately, from an asset management point of view, Greater Anglia want to maintain or renew an asset as functional and preserve it for as long as possible. They need to intervene as quickly and as efficiently as possible to minimise the impact to people using it.

Minimising the time on site with things like modular construction and hauling large equipment are things we've done due to lessons learned from other projects. These were positive changes that we've taken on not due to mistakes but simply from trying different things.

A lesson learned doesn't have to result from a mistake. It's about learning from both risks and opportunities.

[21:20] Top ISO Implementation tips from Andy –

Do your homework: Have a good understanding of your Management System and take your time to weave it into your day-to-day activities.

A helping hand: Make use of an ISO champion, whether that's someone internal with ISO knowledge or a 3rd party dedicated ISO consultancy (such as Blackmores) to help you break down an ISO Standard into something you can understand and apply to your way of working.

Recording evidence: Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk! Once a process or procedure is documented, follow it, and record evidence of this. Same goes for any actions for improvement that are raised, don't just let it sit there, action it.

[23:45] Andy's take away from ISO 55001 management – Andy is surprised by how attuned their business is to the Standard. The Standard speak may seem obtuse or vague, but its adaptability is it's greatest strength. You have the flexibility to apply it in a way that works for your business.

[25:15] Andy's book recommendations – 1984 by George Orwell and Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall by Spike Milligan.

[26:35] Andy's favorite quote – 'By Failing to prepare, you're preparing to fail' – Benjamin Franklin

If you'd like to learn more about Greater Anglia, check out their Website and Linkedin.

If you'd like any assistance with ISO 55001 Asset Management, feel free to get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help.

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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ISO certification is more than just earning a certificate, and it requires continuous maintenance to both retain certification and drive effective improvements.

Over the course of your 3-year certification cycle, you will need to ensure your Management System is regularly updated and reviewed so that it remains relevant to the way you're currently working. That in addition to annual tasks such as internal auditing and management review, it can be a lot to keep on top of.

Which is why some turn to external ISO Support.

In this episode, Steph Churchman explains what ISO Support is, the challenges of managing ISO internally and the benefits of external support.

You'll learn

· What is ISO Support?

· What tasks can you outsource

· Challenges of managing ISO internally

· What are the benefits of ISO Support?

Resources

· Isologyhub

· ISO Support Plan

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – Steph explains what is meant by ISO Support, explains the challenges with managing ISO internally and the benefits of engaging in external support.

[02:20] What is ISO Support? ISO certification involves a 3-year cycle, where you will be subjected to an annual Surveillance audit by your certification body. On year 3, you will need to undertake a recertification audit, which will determine if you can keep your ISO certification.

During that cycle, you will be required to complete annual tasks such as internal auditing, documentation updates and management review to ensure that your management system is effective in driving continual improvement.

ISO Support is a service provided by an external party to help facilitate the management of these annual tasks, usually undertaken by a dedicated ISO consultancy.

[03:40] What tasks can be outsourced? To learn about what tasks can be outsourced, check out a previous episode.

[03:55] ISO Management Challenge #1: Internal auditors not being comfortable about auditing their peers - It may be the case that certain individuals do no get on, however if someone manages a key process or area of the business, they still need to be audited.

There's also the chance for auditors to be misunderstood, or have trouble getting the answers they need from auditees. Auditing requires the ability to effectively communicate and make yourself understood. It's quite common for auditees to ask for further clarification on questions asked, so you need to be able to work with them so that they understand what you're really asking.

[04:45] ISO Management Challenge #2: Internal auditors not being particularly objective or impartial when auditing leadership – It can be hard to be impartial towards leadership, even if it is ultimately in their best interest! These dynamics can be habitual, but by not pointing out genuine issues or opportunities for improvement, you dimmish the purpose of the exercise.

This also involves any leadership being receptive to feedback given. If this hasn't been taken well in the past, it's understandable for individuals to be hesitant doing so again, even if it's a necessary part of the process.

[05:35] ISO Management Challenge #3: Fed up with paying for training for a high turnover of internal auditors - Internal Auditing will require a qualification, which will cost money. It's not a tremendous amount for these courses, but it would be an extra thing to budget for, and then there's factoring the time to complete the course which takes away from that individuals other responsibilities.

It can also be frustrating when your only Internal Auditor moves on and so you have to train another. Depending on the business, this could happen quite frequently and so ends up being a repetitive expense.

You will also need to ensure any current auditors are competent to audit against any new ISO Standards that you may add along the way.

[06:35] ISO Management Challenge #4: Managers not having time to update processes - Your Management system is likely owned by either just 1 individual or by a small team within the business. Those involved will already have their plates full with day-to-day operations, and anything ISO related is just another task to add onto that pile. In the eyes of many, they may seem unimportant in comparison, and will continually get shuffled down the priority list until it's time for a Surveillance Audit.

There will also be a certain amount of documentation to review and update on a regular basis. Even those with mature systems can experience trouble with duplicated processes, or confusion with old versions, and finding the time to sit and refresh all of that is often hard to accomplish.

[07:30] ISO Management Challenge #5: Managers not aware of their legal, regulatory or ISO Standards requirements - As ISO Standards lay out best practice, they do require businesses to be aware of and adhere to relevant legislation and regulations. Managers will likely not be an expert in ISO Standards or legislation, so it can be easy for things to get missed if they've not had sufficient training beforehand.

It will take time for relevant individuals within a business to be trained, or complete CPD to be fully competent to ensure full ISO and legal compliance.

[08:25] ISO Management Challenge #6: Not updating key information i.e. Risk Register, BCP's, environmental/energy metrics - Monitoring and measuring is a big part of ISO Management. You need to document certain metrics if you want to track them effectively.

You will also need to update key documentation, as nothing stays the same forever. Major business changes may prompt updates to key policies and procedures. You may have opportunities to improve that fall out of audits that require certain documentation to be updated. Or correcting things where non-conformities have been raised.

These updates are necessary to keep the momentum of a management system going. It needs to grow with you, which it will fail to do if everything documented is only applicable to how your business operated a few years ago.

[09:15] ISO Management Challenge #7: Not reviewing key information i.e. Objectives, Environmental/H & S/Data Security trends - Objectives is another key metric that should be reviewed on a regular basis. To not only establish if you are making progress with them, but also to possibly adjust if the original plans were too lofty. They should still be a challenge to obtain, but we're all only human and sometimes our first estimates about what's achievable might be a tad too ambitious.

There is also a need to review audit results to see if there's any trends in areas such as info sec, sustainability and risk. This could be opportunities for improvement or some reoccurring issues that need to be addressed.

All of this monitoring is going to require dedicated time from relevant personal, including feeding back results and following through with further actions.

[10:55] ISO Support Benefit #1: Expertise and Specialisation - Dedicated ISO consultants will keep you up-to-date with the latest standard revisions, interpretations, and best practices. This includes their experience with helping businesses to plan and conduct annual maintenance.

They are there as a guiding hand and can be a great sounding board for you if you have questions surrounding ideas or actions that you're unsure about.

Their help ensures your system is maintained effectively and most importantly, compliantly.

[11:40] ISO Support Benefit #2: Cost Savings - While there's a fee for outsourcing, it's often more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team or dedicating significant internal resources.

As mentioned earlier, you would need qualified internal auditors at the very least, this will require training costs. You also need to consider the time taken out of individual's typical working schedule to be able to conduct annual ISO maintenance, this will take away from their day-to-day tasks.

We took this into consideration when creating our ISO Support Plan option, which is a 3-year contract that allows you to stay at a fixed rate for those 3-years. It's a set it and forget it approach to ISO Support, which is flexible on both the number of days required annually in addition to the tasks you'd like support with.

[12:35] ISO Support Benefit #3: Reduced Workload for Internal Staff - It's often the case that Individuals, especially in SMEs, often wear many hats. Adding ISO maintenance onto that will impact on their day-to-day activities. Outsourcing frees up their time and resources, allowing them to focus on core business activities rather than the complexities of ISO maintenance.

A lot of people don't take training into consideration for people who get handed the task of maintaining a management system.

It's a lot of unnecessary stress when they've likely already got enough on their plate. Outsourcing will take a lot of that burden away, and give them a chance to lean on consultant guidance and be able to learn how to manage the tasks without fear of jeopardising the company's certification.

[13:30] ISO Support Benefit #4: Impartiality and Objectivity - An external consultant can offer an unbiased perspective on your management system's performance, identifying areas for improvement that might be overlooked by internal staff due to familiarity, bias or ingrained practices.

A fresh pair of eyes can provide a lot of valuable insight, in addition to their lessons learned from other clients. It also helps to have another unbiased voice on your side if you have suggestions for improvement that need presenting to leadership.

It should also be noted that impartial audits are a requirement of ISO Standards, this is so you're not marking your own homework all the time. It's another level of assurance that you are doing what you say you're doing.

[14:20] ISO Support Benefit #5: Continuity and Risk Mitigation - Employee turnover can disrupt internal ISO maintenance.

Outsourcing provides continuity, as any external provider will be available for the duration of an agreed contract, there's no ambiguity on how long you have their support for. They will help you plan out what needs to be done, and facilitate this with the relevant individuals within your business.

[15:00] ISO Support Benefit #6: Improved Efficiency and Effectiveness - External specialists will have the experience to help streamline processes and tools for maintenance activities. Making the system and it's running more efficient, leaving you with more time to implement worthwhile changes that reap tangible results.

Having their guidance from the start means you'll be hitting the ground running. At Blackmores, we ensure that annual activities are planned out in advance so everyone can be prepared and work on a consistent schedule.

[15:40] ISO Support Benefit #7: Enhanced Compliance and Audit Readiness - Outsourced consultants are going to be more adept at ensuring the system remains fully compliant with ISO standards. As they can proactively identify and address non-conformities that could easily be missed by those with significantly less auditing experience.

There is a level of experience that is tricky to achieve if you do not regularly conduct internal audits. Consultants know what to look for, and will often have significant industry experience to know what stones to unturn to find issues and opportunities.

Afterall, that is the purpose of internal audits, to not only check that process, policies and procedures are being followed, but to seek out where you can be doing better, or fixing issues as your business changes and adapts.

[16:40] ISO Support Benefit #8: Focus on Core Business Activities - By offloading the burden of ISO maintenance, you can re-allocate your focus and resources to core business activities and strategic initiatives. ISO Consultants can take a lot of the mental burden of managing ISO systems away.

There will still be homework to do on your side, as ultimately, you know how your business works best, but a consultant will guide you through what needs to be done.

We know that many of you tasked with ISO compliance in your business have another primary role that requires a lot more of your attention. So make it easier on yourselves with the help of an expert, so you can get on and do what you need to do with minimal interruption.

[17:30] ISO Support Benefit #9: Potential for Scalability and Flexibility - Outsourced services can often be scaled up or down based on the business's needs, offering flexibility that an internal team might not be able to provide, especially during periods of growth, crisis or during large projects.

ISO Consultants can help either pick up the slack or give you more of the rope to handle annual ISO maintenance depending on what you need or want.

At Blackmores, we have an ISO Support Plan that can be tailored to your exact needs, including the options to complete tasks such as:-

· Conducting impartial internal audits

· Providing surveillance support

· Updating legal registers

· Documentation updates

· Conducting annual management reviews

With 3 levels of support available, we have no issue with you increasing or decreasing days required each year, or varying the tasks depending on where you need the most support.

If you'd like any assistance with ISO Support, feel free to get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help.

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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ISO Standards are often a must have due to stakeholder requirements, whether that's from your customers, investors or regulators.

The need for multiple ISO certifications is also becoming more common, which can become a tricky task to juggle if you're managing these as separate systems. The solution? An Integrated Management System.

In this episode, Steph Churchman explains what an integrated management system is, how the Annex SL format facilitates integration and the benefits and challenges involved with an IMS.

You'll learn

· What is an Integrated Management System?

· Why consider an IMS?

· What is the Annex SL format?

· What are the benefits of an IMS?

· What are the challenges of implementing an IMS?

Resources

· Isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – Steph explains what an Integrated Management System is, how the Annex SL format makes this possible and dives into the benefits and challenges associated with an IMS.

[02:20] What is an Integrated Management System? Often abbreviated to 'IMS', it simply refers to a management system based off certification to or alignment with multiple ISO Standards.

For example, a company may be certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 but will only have 1 Management system rather than 3 sperate systems.

[03:30] What is the Annex SL format? The Annex SL format was applied to most ISO Standards back in 2015. This format helped to create a consistent 10 clause structure which makes it simple to integrate multiple ISO Standards.

Before this was introduced, not all Standard clauses aligned, making it difficult to audit against and combine with other Standards, even if they had similar requirements.

[04:00] The Annex SL 10 Clause Structure explained:–

· The first 3 clauses are explanatory clauses. These give you more context for the purpose of the standards, as well as providing a helpful glossary of terms and definitions that you'll come across in the Standard. These clauses aren't audited against

· Clause 4 - Context of the Organisation: This is where you'll be establishing your scope, your interested parties and looking at where your risks and opportunities are. It's setting the foundation for your Management system.

· Clause 5 Leadership: This is where you'll need commitment from top management. They will need to be involved with tasks such as establishing key policies, assigning roles & responsibilities and communicating the Management System once you're ready to launch it.

· Clause 6 Planning: This is where you will look at the risks and opportunities raised during the context phase and plan what actions you'll take to address them. This is in addition to setting your business objectives.

· Clause 7 Support: This is where you will establish the resources you have available to create and facilitate the running of the Management system. This clause gives you guidance for considerations such as people, infrastructure, monitoring and measurement needs, competence of staff and key communication requirements.

· Clause 8 Operation: This clause is where the main differences can be found between ISO Standards. It provides guidance on considerations for key processes and procedures relating to the Standard focus. ISO 9001 for example contains a rather chunky clause 8 as it details requirements for products and services, including the development and provision of them. While ISO 27001's clause 8 focuses more on information security risk assessments and risk treatment plans.

· Clause 9 Performance Evaluation: This is where you establish the who, what and when involved in the monitoring, measurement and evaluation of your management system. This is also where Internal Auditing requirements are detailed.

· Clause 10 Continual Improvement: This is the driving force of all ISO Standards. In this last clause you'll find requirements for Management review and non-conformity and corrective action. That's simply about reviewing the effectiveness of the Management system and putting plans in place to correct any non-conformities raised, or act on any of those opportunities for improvement.

[08:00] IMS Benefit #1: Cost Saving – ISO Implementation can get costly, especially if you're investing in a consultancy to help you in addition to the certification body costs involved in the actual assessment.

You can save money by implementing multiple standards at the same time. At Blackmores, we're happy to help you implement multiple ISO's at the same time. This saves on the time spent if you were to do them separately, as we typically combine elements of the selected standards in project days such as during a Gap analysis, document creation and internal audits.

On the certification body side, you can save on assessment days by assessing against an integrated management system, rather than assessing against 2 separate management systems. Many will do their best to accommodate integrated assessment and surveillance audits.

[09:05] IMS Benefit #2: Reduced Duplication and Increased Efficiency - There are elements of a Management system that you can combine to not only save money but also reduce document and process duplication, which leads to a more efficient system.

We've seen companies trying to manage separate systems over the years, and often times they end up just causing confusion, or only being adhered to by specific departments within a business. This results in duplicated work as shared elements of compliance are being managed in two different ways, often with slightly different styles of documents.

Save yourself the trouble and headache by integrating all relevant management system documentation into 1 system. It makes it so much easier to update and keep on top of, and to enable it to act as a real tool for continual improvement rather than being thought of as a chore to upkeep.

[10:10] IMS Benefit #3: Improved Communication and Collaboration - An integrated system encourages communication between all elements of your business.

This holistic approach is often broken down into silos for select departments to focus on select objectives, which in turn encourages invested teamwork which will contribute to the business's success as a whole.

Internal Audits will also allow employees from every level to feedback to the system, highlighting key areas for improvement that could be rolled out. We see a lot of companies leveraging integrated management systems in various ways, often using them as a springboard to launch company wide initiatives that encourage further collaboration.

These are then tracked, monitored and reported on in a similar way to other company objectives, all guided by the processes put in place by the Management system.

[11:20] IMS Benefit #4: Enhanced Risk Management - Integrating multiple Standards will mean you have greater comprehension and risk assessment of multiple different aspects across your business, such as quality, environmental and Health & Safety.

Many start with ISO 9001, as that's a fantastic solid foundation for a Management system, it builds in all the core policies and procedures needed to run a business smoothly, but it doesn't touch on the specifics of environmental management or information security. For that, you'd need to integrate other standards to ensure you have robust measures to tackle those other elements.

[12:15] IMS Benefit #5: Streamlined Auditing Processes - Internal Audits act as a good measure of where things are going right and wrong, in addition to being a dummy run for your certification assessment if it's your first time going through the process.

Internal Audits are also an element which can be combined, this allows you to save time for the auditees, which reduces the amount of disruption they may cause overall. It also reduces the overall amount of audit reports for review, saving a duplication of effort on auditing similar elements across multiple standards.

[13:00] IMS Benefit #6: Better Decision-Making - By having a more unified view of all processes and performance across different management areas, leadership can make more informed decisions.

ISO Standards require a Management Review, which is where you can review audit findings and put plans in place to resolve any non-conformities and address any opportunities for improvement. Don't forget to highlight any achievements and lessons learned too! As these can be applied elsewhere in the business.

[14:00] IMS Benefit #7: Increased Stakeholder Confidence - ISO Standards are a mark of best practice, they are an internationally recognised seal of approval that proves your commitment to either quality, safety and sustainability.

This competitive advantage will also serve you when going for funding or to tender.

[14:40] IMS Benefit #8: Improved Organizational Performance and Culture - An integrated Management system ensures that everyone is unified in their way of working. It also fosters a culture of continual improvement, that encourages participation from all levels within the business.

Having a central integrated system makes things simple for everyone to understand. No one has to search out different processes for a separate quality and environmental management system, when they could all be combined and stored in 1 location.

An integrated management system approach also allows for you to collaborate across multiple different focus areas such as quality, safety and sustainability. Objectives for each can be siloed and focused on by select departments, but can still be contributed to from any part of the business.

Be open about the results in different areas of the business and encourage suggestions for improvement, this is how you'll foster a culture of continuous Improvement.

[16:05] IMS Challenge #1: Initial set-up and resourcing - Implementing ISO Standards aren't a small task. If you're implementing multiple ISO Standards from the start, you'll need to consider the people, time and expertise needed to complete the task.

This may include the assistance of a dedicated ISO consultancy, as they'll have the expertise to guide you through the process smoothly. At Blackmores, we can help you implement an IMS that is bespoke to the way you work. It may be tempting to go with an out of the box solution, but these would need tailoring to be at all effective and likely won't get you past certification with a UKAS accredited Certification Body.

Learn about the differences between a UKAS and Non-UKAS accredited Certification Body on one of our previous podcasts.

[17:30] IMS Challenge #2: Resistance to change - People will be used to working a certain way, often siloed into systems unique to their departments. Or if you've already held 1 ISO certification, integrating others will mean change to that existing system that others may not be open to at first. It will involve either new or updated policies and procedures that will take some time for everyone to adapt to.

The key here is communication. Not only to communicate the change, but allow people to voice any concerns they have about new ways of working. You may also need to issue additional training to help others adapt.

[18:20] IMS Challenge #3: Lack of top leadership commitment - If you want people to care about the management system, commitment to it needs to come from the top down. If the leadership doesn't care about it, why should anyone else?

Any good leadership should want a holistic approach for monitoring various elements of the business, if only to make more informed decisions. An integrated Management system can provide the base to facilitate this, and it's in leaderships best interest to keep ahead of any emerging challenges or opportunities that can be leveraged.

[19:10] IMS Challenge #4: Integration of IT systems and data - Integrating your management system may require the integration of IT systems and existing data. If you have separate management systems currently, they may be operating on different databases or formats that may be difficult to combine.

In some cases, an integrated management system is a good opportunity to refresh the way you work, it could be seen as a chance to look at other tech options out there that could be more cost effective or introduce new much needed functionality.

[19:50] IMS Challenge #5: Maintaining Scope and Avoiding Over-Complication - There is a risk that you may try to bite off a bit more than you can chew when integrating management systems.

We recommend starting with a smaller scope, as this acts as a good test that can be rolled out to the wider business if it's effective. Many may start with just one site and then seek to roll out the changes to the wider business over the course of a few years.

This is definitely an approach we encourage, as each location will have its own teething problems to work through, which is much more manageable when tackled in chunks at a time rather than all at once.

If you'd like any assistance with Integrated Management System Implementation, feel free to get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help.

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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The process approach is recommended by all Management System Standards, and effective implementation is key to drive continual improvement.

Processes outline the basic steps needed to complete a task or achieve a certain outcome, and serve to keep things running smoothly and consistently. For those new to ISO Standards, it can be quite daunting to understand what this means in practice.

In this episode Ian Battersby explains what a process is in the context of Management systems, how to map processes and the different ways you can visualise a process for communications.

You'll learn

· What is a Process?

· Why are processes needed in Management Systems?

· Why should you document your processes?

· How do you map a process?

· How can you display a process?

Resources

· Isologyhub

· ISO 9004

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – Ian explains the importance of processes in Management systems, how you can effectively map processes and how you can visualise them for further communication.

[03:00] Why are processes so important for Management Systems? As ISO 9004 (Quality management - Quality of an organization - Guidance to achieve sustained success) states:-

"Organisations deliver value through activities connected within a network of processes. Processes often cross boundaries of functions within the organisation. Consistent and predictable results are achieved more effectively and efficiently when the network of It processes functions as a coherent system."

It doesn't propose a type of process. All organisations are different. But what it does say is that they should be viewed as a system rather than in isolation.

It's a key principle of Quality Management and of business, allowing an organisation to manage and control the way it delivers its activities, with predictable results.

[05:30] What is a process? Put simply, a process is a set of activities which achieve a specific outcome. Or, to put it another way, it's a series of detailed steps describing how to do a job.

[05:40] We should you document your processes?:

· To show how to repeat tasks consistently, getting the same result every time

· It guides people in how to do their jobs

· To allow you to measure that outcomes are as expected

· To provide for a structured approach to improvement

· To help mobilise new contracts, products services of a similar type which supports business growth.

[08:15] How to map a process – There are many different ways you could do this, but a popular method is with process map or process flow.

A process map is a series of boxes on a page or screen. Each box represents an activity. The activities are then linked in a sequential order, using arrows.

As an example, let's say you have a process which repeats a task until you get the right outcome. The first box would be 'Start job', this then points to the next box called 'Perform task'. In turn this points to a third box, which is a question, 'Did it achieve the desired outcome?'.

This would lead to two options: yes and no. So. there are two arrows out this time. If no, we need to learn from it (another box). When we learn from it, we point back to 'Perform task'. If yes we end the job, which would be another box.

Using a diagram such as this, it makes it a lot easier to visualise and follow a process. Many processes will likely be more complicated than this example, but the principle remains the same.

[11:40] Keep things simple – Ian's had experiences of companies that insist on bloated process maps that contains hundreds of boxes and arrows that end up making the whole diagram very difficult to follow. This defeats the purpose of process mapping.

If you have a lot of complicated processes, it's better to break these down into manageable chunks.

[12:30] Process overview: If you're struggling to start, you may want to consider a process overview. This focuses on the main steps on how you run your organisation, so this could be marketing, sales, production and delivery services.

From there you can look at each area and focus on the more detailed activities which can be mapped and linked to each other.

The ones dealing with the process overview include subject matter experts, departmental heads, functional leads, Senior Management ect…

They will help shape the process mapping to ensure the overall delivery is in-line with the organisations' direction.

[14:00] A collaborative task: Process mapping shouldn't be done by one person. One person is hardly going to know how each and every aspect of your organisation works.

Don't just leave it to your Quality Manager. Leaving this task to someone who's not fully involved in the part of the organisation where the process originates will only end in disaster.

They will likely not be aware of small yet vital steps, such as key communication and authorisations.

So make sure you involve multiple parties, and key people involved in the areas you're mapping process for.

[17:05] Process mapping across departments: Think practically about how you deliver products or services. How people actually do their jobs. This is a very important aspect of processes.

Then visualise how each process works: draw it with pencil and paper; throw some Post It notes on a flipchart; put it on a whiteboard and take a photo; even write it out in a Word document. Make it clear.

Make it documented: This is essential. This unleashes the power to measure and improve. Documenting something allows you to compare the way things are done to what you expect and to establish whether the outcome is as you expect.

[12:30] How processes link with other areas of ISO Standards: Processes are very useful in helping people do their job, but they can also assist with:-

Assigning roles and responsibilities.

Each box (activity) can be measured for success, performance indicators can be established at individual activity level, or for a process overall. You can see if the process is successful in delivering its intended outcome. The results can then form part of your monitoring and measuring regime as required by Management System standards (clause 9 is all about evaluating performance).

You can use them as a basis for audit, which is all about assessing whether you get what you expect.

They are also useful in explaining how you deliver to external parties; or demanding how others should do things.

Standards also specify that process performance be included in Management Review (9001 9.3.2 c) 3)) – so it really is an unavoidable step towards ISO certification!

Lastly, it can also help with clause 10, which is all about improvement. What-if scenarios can be performed by moving activities, lines, adding new ones deleting and predicting the outcome of the overall process.

Whichever way you wish to document your processes, by documenting them you have the power to improve them

If you'd like any assistance with ISO Implementation, feel free to get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help.

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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