ISO standards were once considered by many a ‘nice to have.’ In recent years however, they have become a major requisite to winning business. And whilst many clients may require just one standard such as ISO 9001 for Quality or ISO 27001 for Information Security, others require a combination of standards including ISO 14001 Environment and or ISO 45001 Health and Safety. It's for this reason alone that many organisations work toward and achieve ISO certification. However, having the single aim of achieving certification somewhat misses the point, which is and always should be, to improve the relevant management system (processes and procedures) for the given discipline.
Reassuringly, the vast majority of our clients go down the route of wanting operational benefits as well as achieving certification, why wouldn’t you? These benefits can range from reductions in quality issues, wastage, customer complaints etc., through to improvements in operational efficiency and staff competency as a result of clearly documented policies and processes. So asking why bother is rather like asking why bother looking for new clients, or why bother looking to improve how we as an organisation operate. You wouldn't ask either.
- Guy
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