The Business Banner that Signals Success

2004-10-14

What can offer credible evidence of a world-class company and is flexible enough to apply to First Nations communities as well as hog farms?  The answer is ISO's widely recognized management systems standards, in particular the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series.  The importance, versatility and diversity of the application of these standards is quickly evident by looking at Canadian organizations that are benefiting from management systems registration.

The Making of Management Systems Success

After the revolution of 1789, the French Academy of Science was charged with designing a decimal-based system of measurement that could be used throughout the world. The resulting metric system made sense because there were direct relationships between units of length, weight and capacity. It remains the predominant system of measurement and is the worldwide standard for scientific measurement.

Two centuries later, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) faced an equally daunting challenge: how to measure something much less tangible than length or volume –– the effectiveness of a company's quality management system.  The goal was to develop a system that would show the world that a company fulfills customers' quality requirements and applicable legislative requirements, while aiming to enhance customer satisfaction and continually improve in pursuit of these objectives.  The idea was to develop an adaptable system that would apply to many different types of organizations.

It was a tall order. But in 1987, the organization introduced a series of quality management system standards called ISO 9000. A decade later they developed a series based on the same principles to measure a company's environmental management systems, the ISO 14000 family of standards.

Canada has played an important role in the development of both the ISO 9000 and IS0 14000 series and continues to be a key contributor to the maintenance and review of the standards, including the transition to ISO 9001:2000 in 2003 and the upcoming revision of the ISO 14000 series in 2005. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) holds the secretariat for both the quality management and environmental management technical committees at ISO on behalf of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).

Today, huge banners proclaiming registration can be seen on company buildings throughout the world.  Some 610,000 organizations in 160 countries are registered to ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. ISO 9001 has become an international reference for quality management requirements in business-to business dealings, and ISO 14001 is well on its way to achieving as much, if not more, in enabling organizations to meet their environmental responsibilities.

Here in Canada, the SCC accredits registration bodies that register an organization's management systems. These international SCC-accredited registration bodies have demonstrated that they meet stringent recognized international requirements. In addition, they have shown that they possess the competence, impartiality and performance capability to evaluate the conformity of an organization's quality or environmental management systems, to international standards.

"Accreditation of management systems registrations bodies by the Standards Council reflects an organization's dedication to the promotion of best practices and ensures it works to the highest standards possible," says Pat Paladino, Director of Conformity Assessment at the SCC.

Quality management system standards do not offer specific quality indicators or describe ways of achieving them, since these may be different for every organization. Instead, they provide generic frameworks and general principles that can be applied to an organization of any size, in any industry.

ISO 9001:2000 helps an organization institutionalize the "quality" philosophy by supporting it with policies, procedures, records, technologies, resources and structures.  This ensures that everyone is clear about who is responsible for doing what, when, how, why and where. It increases efficiency by ensuring that people are doing things correctly the first time.  And as one company that implemented the systems to help with a difficult period of downsizing said: "They (management system standards) help preserve our corporate memory".

It is no longer possible to talk about a "typical" registrant, as ISO 9000 series registrations are being pursued by all levels of government, not-for-profit organizations, schools and colleges and industries ranging from high technology firms to fire fighting equipment manufacturers.

National Steel Car of Hamilton, Ontario fits the traditional image of a large factory bearing the familiar ISO 9000 banner. But the list of registered organizations also includes: the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the City of Fredericton, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the Royal Canadian Mint and the Membertou First Nation near Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The ISO 14000 family of standards is primarily concerned with environmental management.  This encompasses everything an organization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities. The aim of the standards is to help organizations continually improve environmental performance.

The profiles of ISO 14000 environmental management systems registrants are also surprising.  A diamond mine in Snap Lake, NWT, a ski resort in British Columbia, and  a Southern Ontario hospital, as well as forestry companies and hog producing operations provide a sampling of the types of organizations that have achieved ISO 14000 registration. How's that for diversity?

The following are stories about a few of the many Canadian companies that have already benefited from registration to management systems standards:

•  Capturing employee knowledge
•  Meeting stringent NAFTA requirements
•  Enhancing international credibility
•  Big business for a small  native community
•  Achieving environmental assessment commitments
•  Seeking efficiency, productivity and success

-30-

This article first appeared in Volume 31 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2004.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

Back