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Understanding the aspects of business risk management- ISO 31000 certification

On December 23, 2011, in ISO standards, training, by admin
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What is ISO 31000?

Business standards are getting just as steep as the competition in the market. It is necessary for your company to have the most updated protocols to cut an edge over the many other businesses in your niche. However, it is necessary to understand the protocols involved and get the necessary certification to evolve according to the field’s necessity as well as the market’s demand. Risk management is a very important protocol for most companies and there are some niches especially need to validate this aspect of their business structure. The international accreditation for risk management of a company falls under the ISO 31000 family. It is important to understand the various aspects and advantages of getting this certification for your business. Here these points are explained in details.

The intention of setting up the ISO 31000 group of certifications was to set some guidelines and terms for different companies to organize their risk and manage the different elements related to this aspect. The terms of requirements have been mentioned in the ISO 31000:2009 sub part of the certification. The main reason for creating a standard for this aspect of business was to create a common standard on an international level, which could be used to understand the quality levels of various companies’ risk management. Most companies employ various techniques and take to myriad processes to limit the risk factor of their business production and execution. However, the variations in these processes make it harder for controlling the quality level and understand the necessary improvements to the risk management model of the company.

The ISO 31000 accreditation follows specific guidelines and terms that allow the auditing of different companies to be leveled out in a common quality standard. The audit checks for the associated aspects of the process of risk control and the use of the company’s assets in bringing the situation under control. The terms for assessment and the related techniques for better management in this regards are clearly defined in the certification.

The range of ISO 31000 and implementing the guidelines

The risk management protocol of any company starts with its basic management structure ad is highly influenced by aspects such as handling heavy machinery or any risk inducing service execution. These protocols primarily make use of the available company assets to manage the risky aspects of the system. The structure extends to complete change of management or involving new assets when the available ones do not fulfill all the criteria of the protocol’s structure.

The risk factor is not restricted to any one part of the business. The range of risk management covers the operations, productions, management, and execution of the services of the company. Assessing all these fields for their risk management protocols and introducing structural changes, is the first priority under the certification of ISO 31000. Among these aspects the operations and executions is probably the most important, mainly because they use the available assets that might be a liability for risk, in case of a breakdown or if there is a fault with the complete structure of the aspect.

The protocol works towards building up a more proactive plane to bring the risk factor of each aspect down to the most minimum level. In accordance with the preventive steps taken under the risk management, the range of ISO 31000 also covers the safety measures in case of any problem.

The range of the certification also covers the legal aspects of risk management structure. In case of a high-risk project, there is always a chance that should the suspected risk gives way to an accident, the company might be liable for legal actions. A very distinctive range of the risk management structure includes identifying the threats that constitute the risk for the system. The risk is not limited to employees but it includes the hardware, equipments, as well as the workplace of the company. The risk management structure, under the ISO 31000 family, includes protocols to not only eliminate risk factors but also contribute towards increasing the efficiency of the company’s operations and service execution significantly. The protocol also includes energy efficient measures that work towards eliminating any risk that the production might cause to the environment.

Advantages of Implementing ISO 31000

The advantage of an international certification for risk management under the ISO 31000 group is that your company gets an internationally acknowledged credibility. The tender proposals that include this particular certification imply that the company recognizes its safety interests and takes specific steps to manage the risks involved. This clearly states that the company is liable to treat its services without any risks of delays caused due to unwarranted accidents.

The ISO 31000 protocol assesses the risk factors of involved companies to bring their quality standards in this field, to the optimum. The certification program and the related audit, evaluates every aspect of the company to ensure that the safety of the business is not compromised at any level. This indirectly works towards protecting the company’s financial interest too.

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Dow Chemical Makes Safety Second Nature

On October 31, 2011, in Companies, Environmental, Safety & Health, by admin
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Many companies in this industry are presently focusing in developing and improving the safety and environment, health and safety (EH&S) aspect in their business. Without doubt, Dow Chemical has ensured this and proven that they can train and apply safety in their daily work until it becomes a good working habit. Continue reading the following article to learn about Dow Chemical progress in EH&S.

Companies that want to elevate their EH&S performance should focus on two sides of safety: the soft side and the hard side. The soft side is all about making EH&S a part of your culture and your DNA. The hard side is the engine that drives that culture, such as companywide operating disciplines, processes and tools.

Both are critical, but the soft side is more difficult to achieve because it involves human behavior. It takes time to nurture a safety mindset and make it a way of life rather than a box to check or something to do as time allows. Eventually, the effort pays off as safety behaviors become automatic, like putting on a seatbelt, and that’s when you start to see dramatic improvements.

You can buy most of the processes and tools to implement and measure safety programs from organizations like the National Safety Council and the American Chemistry Council and from various consulting companies. However, you can’t buy a safety culture; it must happen from the inside out.

Dow Safety program
Figure 1. Dow’s performance significantly exceeds chemical industry average.

Dow has created a safety culture — testifying to our success, we currently hold the Robert W. Campbell Award of the National Safety Council, which recognizes achievement in integrating EH&S into business success. We do things differently than other companies in the process industries — but our approach certainly is transferable.

Five Tips

In my experience, when companies fail in their safety performance, it’s because they didn’t focus enough on the behaviors — when that link is broken, problems occur. For this reason, I’d like to share five tips to help you create an enduring safety culture, one in which safety becomes second nature.

1. Make safety the top priority – Have the philosophical discussion. Every company should ask itself what it’s doing to create the right behaviors to keep people and the environment safe. Early in its history, Dow chose to create a culture predicated on caring for human health, the environment, our communities and the world — and making that a top priority in terms of time, attention and money. From there, our goals and operating disciplines fell into place and have continued to advance with knowledge and technology. It’s one reason why working at Dow is 19 times safer than working in a grocery store and 23 times safer than working in a hospital.

DowchemicalInjury

Figure 2. Trend line shows company is on track to meet ambitious 2015 goal.

Putting safety first is critical but conversations can’t be only about the numbers; they must put concern for the individual and the enterprise’s future first. When you do that, you’re building a culture in which tolerance for harm and injury is very low and safety expectations are very high. Employees at all levels will start demanding the processes and tools, and get inspired to make a difference. When that happens, safety becomes a part of your DNA. Improved behaviors will fuel innovative thinking and more sustainable improvements in total EH&S performance — just as they have for Dow (see Figures 1 and 2).

2. Set the tone from the top – Leadership, from the board of directors down, plays a key role in cultural change, and must be visible and vigilant in its commitment. Safety must involve everyone.

Please click here to read the rest of this interesting article

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