This was Nigel’s first trip to Manila and says he found all the delegates and people  working in the training facility, hotel and restaurants absolutely delightful and couldn’t do enough to help.

On getting back to the UK Nigel met up with Susan and they flew to Venice. The visit coincided with acqua alta, which provided an unexpected aspect to a meeting in St Mark’s Square.

Qualico continues to develop its training offerings, the latest project being a bespoke five day auditor training course for a major train operating company.

Keep up with our website for information and advice about next year’s revisions to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Contact us here.

Qualico’s Nigel Wickens is keeping abreast of developments to the principle international management system standard, ISO 9001 that will result in important changes in 2015. Nigel is finalising an update seminar and will also write an auditor transition course when the criteria are known.

Although some organisations are already offering update seminars, Nigel feels this is premature and that any time and money spent attending these events will be better spent once the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) is published. This is expected in July 2015. Once published in September 2015 there will be a three year transition period in which to conform to the new requirements and achieve certification. Certification to ISO 9001:2008 will cease to be valid three years after the publication date of the new version.

The new standard will place greater emphasis on the role and importance of auditing. More knowledge regarding risk and business processes will need to be added to traditional procedure based auditing. The need for audits to be used in driving improvement and ensuring compliance with standards and regulations will mean additional time and resources being assigned to meet requirements. In a world of rapidly increasing and changing legislation, the auditor will be in the vanguard of protecting the business.

We shall keep you up to date and notify you of Qualico’s events when they are available. Look out for our special guests! These blogs and our website will also hold a flow of useful information about developments in the revision to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, which will become an international standard with the number ISO 45001.

Our 2 minutes assessment is FREE and will provide an instant indicative report on the status of your management system arrangements and requirements.

You will be able to diagnose your need for assistance to implement or revise your system, perform audits and train auditors.

You will be presented with a series of questions to which you are asked to respond as honestly as you can. The whole thing takes under 2 minutes.

Qualico’s work in the rail industry is becoming well known and to enhance our recognition in this and other relevant sectors we have recently undertaken assessment by Achilles resulting in Qualico now being fully registered as a supplier on Link-up. This was a rigorous process and Qualico is delighted with the status and recognition Link-up presents.

As well as achieving recognition for Qualico and our work we have also been busy training auditors, performing audits and providing consultancy to assist companies obtain third party certification. We continue to assist in the delivery of auditor training for a major oil company. In recent months this has taken us to Borneo, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Qatar along with other slightly more regular locations. We have delivered our first automotive tailored internal auditor course for Goodyear in Luxembourg and performed a major health and safety audit for a major UK train operating company. This was thirty two auditor days across the audit phases of preparation, performance and reporting. On the consultancy front we assisted Drakewell Limited to register with BSI for ISO 27001:2013, Information Security Management Systems. Drakewell are one of the first organisations to register to the new standard.

In a departure from the standards we normally work with we have been involved in a new project to progress sustainability in the film industry. Delivered to new entrants into work at film studios, the course was based around the principles set out in BS8909:2011, Specification for a Sustainability Management System in Film.

Much of our time has been spent keeping a watch on what is happening to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 through the revision stages that lead up to new versions being published in 2015. We are currently preparing update workshops to be offered in-company to smaller groups and seminars for larger in-company groups and public events. Call for details.

Of course, not all our work is centred on a particular international standard. Our popular Integrated Management System Auditor Course provides auditor training that takes an holistic approach to risk and how to audit the controls over those risks in one audit. Using ISO 19011 as the basis for the audit process, this course provides the competence to give broader value back to the business and better utilise auditor time.

As experts in all management systems standards, Qualico provides expert help for implementation, as well as training services for developing an organisation’s own personnel for the control of integrated management systems.

The rise in organisations gaining ISO certification from the ISO Survey of Certification means that there will be even greater demand for auditor training for all management system standards.

We can perform internal audits to support system implementation.

Qualico can also be appointed to audit the supplier management systems in place in your organisation, as you work towards ISO certification.

If you’d like to find out more ISO standards or internal auditor training, please contact us here.

We noted recently that the revised edition of the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems has moved a step closer to completion, with an agreement being reached on the draft text for the next round of consultation.

The International Organisation for Standardization’s (ISO) working group responsible for revising the ISO: 14001 met in early October, and an agreement was established to circulate the draft text by the end of October 2013 to all national standards Bodies, for a three-month-long commenting and balloting period.

Commenting after the meeting, Martin Baxter, IEMA’s Executive Director – Policy, and one of the UK’s representatives on the working group, said:

“The latest ISO working group meeting bought significant progress on addressing risks and opportunities, including those relating to external environmental conditions that can impact on organisations. Requirements relating to control and influence across the value chain were also further developed.”

The EMS standard is being revised in line with a new, high-level structure for all management systems adopted by ISO, and a series of wide-ranging recommendations from ISO’s EMS Future Challenges report.

Key changes in the revised draft standard include:

• Understanding the organisation’s strategic context and engagement with interested parties.
• Greater focus on environmental performance improvement across the value chain.
• Evaluating organisational risks and opportunities in the context of external environmental conditions, such as adapting to climate change and resource availability.
• Strengthening requirements on the involvement of top management and integration of environmental management into core business processes and alignment with business strategy.
• Greater clarity on external communication, including emphasis on data quality and assurance.

The revised standard is currently scheduled for publication in the first half of 2015, and at Qualico we focus on the following services that can assist here:

• Gap analysis
• Consultancy services for implementation of the revised requirements
• Updated training for auditors
• Internal and supplier EMS audits

Qualico maintain awareness of the revision process, and provide information to clients as appropriate – find out more here.

If you’d like to find out more ISO auditor training or internal auditor training courses, please contact us here.