First and foremost, certification to management system standards should benefit your company. Your company is going to make a considerable commitment of resources to achieving compliance with one of the certification standards. It is vital that you receive high-quality service that is characterized by a professionally conducted certification audit that will assure several benefits. Some of those potential benefits are:
Companies implementing the ISO 9001 standards cite these benefits:
ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized standard for environmental management systems. Conformance to the standard can help your company remain competitive in the marketplace. For many companies, both their competitors are seeking registration and their customers are beginning to demand conformance to ISO 14001 guidelines (as with the ISO 9001 standard, the continuous improvement requirements of the standards lead to registered companies eventually needing to require that their suppliers also comply with the ISO 14001 standards). In addition, by establishing and maintaining an Environmental Management System that meets the standards established by ISO 14001, companies will be implementing a strong and effective environmental management program.
Some of the benefits of implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) in accordance with the 1SO 14000 standards, include: identifying areas for reduction in energy and other resource consumption, reducing environmental liability and risk, helping to maintain consistent compliance with legislative & regulatory requirements, benefiting form regulatory incentives that reward companies showing environmental leadership through certified compliance with an internationally recognized EMS standard, preventing pollution and reducing waste, responding to pressure from customers and shareholders, improving community goodwill, profiting in the market for "green" products, respond to insurance company pressure for proof of good management before pollution-incident coverage is issued, and demonstrating commitment to high-quality.
OHSAS 18001 was built along the same lines as ISO management systems that emphasize effectiveness, efficiency and continual improvement from a management system. OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) details fundamental requirements based on the highly successful "plan-do-check-act" method.
Umbrella Protection: OHSAS 18001 implementation immediately provides your organization with preventative measures to protect workers. While many OHSMSs cover specific activities such as accident prevention, health and safety plan maintenance or emergency responses well in their documentation, OHSAS 18001 demands a much broader approach to all three crucial OHS management areas. This "umbrella protection" is extremely difficult to find in OHSMSs that have not been developed by a committee of industry experts.
Recognition & Image: Being registered to a standard is always impressive to customers. An increasing number of industry manufacturers are also beginning to require that their suppliers be certified to standards. Although no OHSMS is currently required, there are legal requirements to meet and lives to protect. While OHSAS 18001 compliance alone does not mean an organization is also in legal compliance, it provides a framework for managing legal responsibilities.
Companies implementing the HACCP standards cite these benefits:
