| In this era of declining business expenditure there is an | | | | recognized. |
| obvious reduction in the willingness of businesses to | | | | With ISO9001 having the potential to combine |
| take on new ventures, such as the implementation of | | | | environmental with quality issues in its scope, the 14K |
| ISO management systems. What is plain for all to see | | | | standard is of little value - as a standard. But it isn't |
| is a renewed motivation to embrace policies and | | | | being used as a standard for management purposes, |
| strategies that have customer appeal. For us, new | | | | but for registration and publicity. Arguably the only real |
| business has arrived from the requirement for | | | | beneficiaries of ISO14001 are the registrars. But is this |
| organizations to be attentive to environmental issues, | | | | situation peculiar to the environmental standard? I think |
| and ISO14001 has become a focus of discussion. | | | | not. |
| From a study of both of these standards there is quite | | | | The ISO9001 standard has as its title - Quality |
| bit that is the same in the documented requirements, | | | | management systems. Followers of the stated rules |
| and integrated management systems have become | | | | are told to believe the end result to be constantly |
| the end result of this similarity. It would follow that an | | | | improving quality. Quality of what? Certainly not the |
| organization can legitimately claim to be operating an | | | | product, there is no claim for that to happen. Any |
| environmentally friendly (and ISO14K compliant) | | | | improvement that happens is an improvement to the |
| business without having formally adopted the 14K | | | | system. What constitutes an actual improvement |
| standard through third party assessment and | | | | seems not to have been seriously considered by |
| registration. | | | | either the ISO standards authority, the registrars, or |
| The ISO9001 document allows for the organization to | | | | those who pay for the assessment and registration |
| take cognizance of requirements not arising from the | | | | process. |
| customer, or statutory legislation, but adopted through | | | | The real problem lies in the nomenclature and the |
| choice by the organization. So apart from the | | | | consequential expectation of all stakeholders. Quality |
| registration, and the public recognition(?) that is | | | | management isn't just about following systems, but |
| expected to follow, the ISO14K standard has little to | | | | understanding and managing work objectives and |
| offer an organization with a sensibly implemented | | | | procedures. ISO9001 is not about quality management, |
| ISO9001 management system and a determination to | | | | it may be quality control, even quality assurance, but it |
| develop it sensibly. Herein lies the actual problem with | | | | is not quality management. |
| the ISO standards as usually implemented and publicly | | | | |