Progressive design management is the art of combining professional decision-making processes with strategies that facilitate innovation and refined production of products, services, communications and environments in a way that helps enhance the quality of life.
The concept of Annex SL relates to a set of standards developed to help introduce consistency to the range of design management systems whilst enabling them to be quality assured. Before this, brands had to juggle a range of disparate management systems, which was often an enormous waste of time and resources. Introducing a combined environmental management system and a robust quality management system is an efficient way of ensuring software solutions underpin business processes.
So, how does it all work?
Both ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 have several processes in common, including the following:
When it comes to understanding quality management and environmental management systems, it is helpful to consider the operational features they both share. These may range from fundamental procedures such as the distribution of policies and procedures and managing documents and records to procedures that can be tailored to the needs of individual businesses such as the control of nonconformities, corrective/preventative action, internal audits and continuous quality improvement.
For those businesses which have ISO 9001 in place, more specific techniques for EMS can be developed. If neither ISO 14001 nor ISO 9001 are in place, the two can be developed and integrated simultaneously to incorporate all documents that follow similar practical procedures.
What are the pros of combining both systems?
Merging ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 will inherently strengthen the robustness of your business processes in terms of functional design and quality outputs. It will also result in more efficient use of staff time both at both design and implementation stages.
Streamlined business performance
The primary objective of both ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 is to optimise business processes both in terms of qualitative and productivity outputs; In addition, professional reputations are enhanced with the stamp of ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification on your business' website. Potential new leads seek a hallmark that confers confidence in a business that demonstrates a commitment to service quality, continuous improvement and the principle of minimising negative environmental impact. The principle of combining the two also cuts down on paperwork and eliminates the need to copy administrative processes associated with each standard separately.
These are the benefits you could expect from the synthesis of two intuitive systems. Your business will be more professional and self-assured and it is likely that management and staff alike will be inspired to take responsibility and get involved in taking on the integrated management system once they see the benefits that come with it.
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Getting ISO certified in your industry is becoming more and more critical as the competitive landscape tightens. Maintaining an advantage over your competitors is crucial to not only surviving but to prosper in these economic times.