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Integrating ISO 9001 and ISO 14001

ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade 1 Response »

May 152010

More and more organisations are beginning to introduce ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management Systems) into their business and are never quite sure if they should integrate the requirements with their already existing ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. In our experience this is a suitable option for most organisations and is relatively easy to carry out.

Due to a number of the clauses being almost identical but essentially following the same process it makes sense to combine these procedures to streamline the system and make it more manageable for users.

For example, both standards require control of Non-conformance’s, Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions and although the standards are different the process for controlling these will be the same. You can have a non-conformance against a product or process requirement within ISO 9001 but then a non-conformance against an environmental incident such as a spillage in ISO 14001. Although the non-conformance is different, the process for identifying the root cause and introducing correction and corrective actions will be the same. In both cases you need to establish how the non-conformance occurred and how you are going to correct the root cause to ensure that the same issue does not reoccur.

The management review can follow the same process. Both standards require you to perform a management review, they may have different input and output requirements but there is no need to hold tow meetings as the process of going through the inputs and reviewing data will be the same. As long as your system captures the requirements of both standards auditors will be happy for you to combine the review process.

Internal Audits is another process that can be integrated fairly easily. Again, the process of performing the audits will be the same, you will just be looking at different specific areas at various points. You will however notice that the auditor will only need to audit some of the processes once; ensuring that the requirements of both standards are covered (training etc).

There are a number of consultants who are experienced with both standards and the process of integrating these. A list of possible consultants can be found on the IMS main website but others are available.

Difference Between Corrective and Preventive Actions

AS9100, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade 2 Responses »

May 132010

Introduction

There are two clauses within the ISO 9001 standard that appear to cause many people confusion as to their difference and how to approach each of them; 8.5.2-Corrective Actions & 8.5.3-Preventive Actions.

Within the standard the wording within each of the clauses is very similar which is probably where most of the confusion stems from.

8.5.2 Corrective Actions:

“The organization shall take action to eliminate the causes of nonconformities in order to prevent recurrence.”

8.5.3 Preventive Actions:

“The organization shall determine action to eliminate the causes of potential nonconformities in order to prevent their occurrence.”

Main Difference

You can clearly see from the excerpts taken from the ISO 9001 standard that Corrective Actions are taken as a result of non-conformances whilst Preventive Actions are taken against potential non-conformances to prevent them from ever occurring.

You should not be raising Preventive Actions after a non-conformance has occurred, you should only be raising Corrective Actions.

Corrective Actions

To address the Corrective Action clause you should be identifying the root cause of non-conformances that have already taken place and implementing immediate corrective actions to contain the situation and long term corrective actions to prevent their re-occurrence.

Detailed information on root cause analysis and techniques can be found within other guidance notes available on the IMS website.

Preventive Actions

This is usually where people take a step in the wrong direction, it is often seen that organisations are raising preventive actions as a result of a non-conformance and after they have identified corrective actions. Because they see the word “Preventive” within the clause they believe this means to prevent the non-conformance from re-occurring.

Types of Preventive Actions can include processes such as performing risk assessments against product, processes and health and safety activities. You are aiming to prevent a non-conformance from ever occurring by taking preventative measures.

Most organisations take Preventive Actions without knowing they are. Within the construction industry you will commonly see kick off and progress meetings throughout projects, these are preventive actions as the members present at the meeting will be discussing potential problems which may hold back the progress of the project.

Observations raising during internal audits could be classed as Preventive Actions as they can suggest improvements within the system to prevent non-conformances from occurring in the future.

Customer feedback is another method that can be used as Preventive Action evidence as customer suggestions may prevent any issues from being raised in future with regards to the service or product you provide.

Hopefully now the above information has helped clarify any missunderstandings over the difference between Corrective and Preventive Actions. you can download this guide by clicking here. If you need some further clarification please do not hesitate to contact one of our auditors.

5 Whys Technique

AS9100, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade No Responses »

May 082010

Many organisations struggle to identify the underlying problem with regards to non-conformance’s and find that what they have introduced to address any issues often doesn’t solve the problem and the same issues reoccur.

There are numerous techniques that can applied to identifying the root cause of non-conformance’s, probably the simplest of these being the 5 whys technique. Within IMS International we use this technique ourselves when non-conformance’s have been identified and have found this problem solving tool to be very effective.

The system is straightforward to implement, and once you get the hang of the process you can generally work through most issues within a matter of minutes.

By asking the question “Why” you can separate the symptoms from the causes of a problem. This is critical as symptoms often mask the causes of problems.

How to Use the 5 Whys
1. Assemble a team of people knowledgeable about the area of non-conformance. Include
as many personnel as possible.
2. Have the team members ask “Why” the Problem as described could occur, and write the
answer down underneath the Problem description.
3. If the answer provided from 2 (above) does not solve the Problem, you must repeat the question “why” until you do.
4. If the answer provided from 2 (above) seems likely to solve the Problem, make sure the
team agrees and attempt a resolution using the answer. You may find that there are
more than one root causes to the problem.

Example

Non-conformance:
The CNC Machine keeps failing.
• Why 1
Why did the equipment fail? Because the circuit board burnt out.
• Why 2
Why did the circuit board burn out? Because it overheated.
• Why 3
Why did it overheat? Because it wasn’t getting enough air.
• Why 4
Why was it not getting enough air? Because the filter wasn’t changed.
• Why 5 and Root Cause
Why was the filter not changed? Because there was no preventive maintenance schedule in
place informing the operator to do so.

Using the above example, you can change the circuit board and you can change the filter but it would not necessarily prevent the same thing happening again. Those two items would form the basis of immediate correction action but not effective long term corrective action. To ensure effective long term corrective actions you would introduce a preventive maintenance programme for the machine, at this point you should also review preventive maintenance plans with other machinery within the organisation as you could have the same issue elsewhere.

Although the technique is called 5 whys, you may ask the question more than 5 times so do not stop just because you get to the 5th why, continue until you are satisfied that you have identified the true root cause.

As you can see from the example, the 5 whys technique is very simple to use and if performed correctly it can be very effective in identifying and addressing root causes for non-conformance’s.

If you have any questions regarding the technique then please speak to one of our auditors, all of which are trained in the use of the technique and will follow the process when reviewing submitted corrective action plans by clients.

For further information you can download the IMS guidance note on the 5 Whys Technique .

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