Introduction
There are various similarities between the criteria for ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 14001: 2004. Both standards need regular internal auditing, with formal protocols as well as schedules. A single auditing schedule as well as a set of practices can be formulated. However, for both standards, extra procedures are required pertaining to the methods as well as personnel to be employed in environmental audits. Another similarity that exists between the two standards involves the non-compliant as well as corrective and deterrent action.
Main Body
For both standards, procedures to address the non-compliance as well as to start corrective and deterrent actions are required. It is noted that although there are different environmental non-conformance as well as relevant action being different from quality non-conformance, both procedures should be in a position to cater for both. ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 14001: 2004 need records systems and protocols to regulate records. A single record system should be formulated in order to address the requirements of both standards. Moreover, ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 14001: 2004 need regular management assessments.
However, the assessment that is required by ISO 14001:2004 is more detailed than the one needed for ISO 9001:2008. Both standards have similar operations controls. For ISO 14001: 2004 operational regulation is concerned with the regulation of operations and processes that are linked with great environmental elements. The methods (documentation, setting performance criteria, and procedures) for regulation are identical for both.
The strategy that is followed for process regulation in a quality management system could be employed in an environmental management system, although the exact activities and purpose of regulation differ. ISO 14001: 2004 running processes tend to overlap with various operations of ISO 9001:2008. For instance, some of the overlaps are product identification as well as purchasing. Both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: 2004 have similar structures and responsibilities.
Both standards call for the responsibilities to be specified as well as recorded for documentation. The standards recommend the development and adoption of a single set of job descriptions that address environmental as well as quality responsibilities. Finally, both systems demand the identification of the training requirements as well as demanding the competency of the personnel pertaining to the tasks assigned. Nonetheless, ISO 14001: 2004 has some key specifications regarding core environmental awareness training that required being addressed. ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2008 require the management systems to be documented.
ISO 14001: 2004 standard is more flexible than ISO 9001: 2004. However, the systems enable the development of a common set of documentation or manual that addresses all the requirements of both standards (Tricker, 2008).
Integrating the ISO: 2004 environmental management strategy with ISO: 9001:2008 quality management strategy helps in providing synergies that entail reducing the costs as well as enhancing the performance of the company in terms of increased efficiency and effectiveness.ISO 14001: 2004 has a design that is compatible with ISO 9001: 2004 management systems standards and requirements. Therefore, ISO 14001: 2004 standard can be seamlessly integrated via an integrated management system strategy that is highly advocated. The reason why the two standards are highly integrated is because of their many overlapping concepts.
Both have compulsory room for writing the scope of responsibilities, tasks as well as task assignees accompanied with their respective terms of reference which are aligned along with appropriate agenda on environment and quality. Both ISO standards necessitate the identification of training requirements and outlining of actionable procedures to address the appropriate needs. For ISO 9001: 2008, contract review that entails revisiting as well as revising customers’ terms of reference is mandatory. Moreover, both standards emphasize a standard manual to harmonize operation and reporting style.
There are several stages in the documentation system for ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2008 that are re-used, referenced as well as combined. The integration is facilitated based on the existing congruence in clauses 5.5.3 and 7.2.3 of the ISO 9001:2008 and 4.4.3 of the ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2008. Clauses 4.4.3 and 5.5.3 specify for the establishment of proper internal communication that enhances efficiency in the communication of the two.
In clause 7.23 of the ISO 9001: 2002, there is a requirement for documentation of protocols that should be used when communicating with the clients to enhance quality services. The same can be harmonized with ISO 14001 into a single procedure. Clause 4.2.1 calls for documentation that is made in form of the statement concerning policy, quality aims as well as procedural specifications requirements as a guiding manual similar specifications are contained in clause 4.2.2 of ISO 9001: 2008. Clause 4.4.5 of the ISO 14001:2004 and 4.4.3 of ISO 9001:2008 require the proponents to maintain a regulation of the working documents as well as provide an updated copy of appropriate stakeholders.
A company that adopts ISO 9001: 2008 will experience notable changes as a result of acquiring the ISO 9001: 2008 certification. The changes that will be noted by adopting the ISO 9001:2008 include improved quality and customer satisfaction. Implementation of ISO 9001:2008 is associated with the enhancement of the quality of products and services offered by companies. In addition, the adoption of the standard results in improved customer satisfaction. This results in the reduction in the costs associated with quality management. Moreover, the company will indicate a great decrease in appraisal costs as well as failure costs.
Appraisal costs are considered as the costs that are associated with testing, assessments as well as inspection. Conversely, the failure costs are those expenses that are linked to the scrap both inside and outside along with a warranty. The implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 will result in a slight increase in prevention costs. However, the increase will be insignificant compared to savings realized through reduced costs of quality management. Prevention costs are those expenses that are linked to quality planning, quality engineering, and control plan development.
A company that has implemented an ISO 9001: 2006 will improve greatly in the quality of its services that will result in the realization of savings. The savings come from reduced rework, inspections, customer complaints, as well as warranty. Studies indicate that about 75% of a company’s total quality expenses result from internal and external failures. For a manufacturing firm, failures of expenses are linked to the sorting and reworking of products.
For service industries, failure costs are brought by working with customers to resolve problems or revising documents as they were not filled correctly. However, implementing an ISO 9001: 2008 quality system will greatly help in cutting down the failure costs considerably. In addition, the company will equally reduce its appraisal costs that are associated with how much the organization conducts testing, inspection as well as validation of products/processes (Davidson, 2010).
Conclusion
Internal audit in ISO9001: 2008 is regarded as a tool that is required in determining the condition of an organization’s quality management system adopted. It is important for organizations to conduct internal audits regularly. The quality managers who are responsible for conducting internal audits should observe the following for effective auditing process: planning of internal audit that entails planning of audit program, specification of auditors’ roles, auditee area, scope, status and relevancy of processes as well as highlighting results of previous audits.
In addition, the quality manager should assess the ISO 9001: 2008 documentation of the company. It is essential for the quality manager to assess and review the quality of management system procedures as well as processes, mainly by visiting the audit area spot, plus interviewing appropriate personnel and looking at appropriate processes. The quality manager should assess and review organization information that pertains to failure trends, production reports as well as customer complaints.
Finally, the quality manager should report the audit results and recommend appropriate corrective action as well as verifying that corrective actions have been undertaken. In order to ensure the success of the internal audit, the quality manager should prepare a documented procedure for carrying out an internal audit that encompasses the following: audit criteria, frequency, methods as well as maintain important audit records and reports result of the audit (Shighal, 2009).
Reference List
Davidson, A. (2010). ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 14001: 2004. Cambridge: Cambridge.
University Press. Shighal, R. (2009).Internal Audit of Quality Management System. New York: Prentice Hall.
Tricker, R. (2008). ISO 9001: 2008 for Small Businesses. New York: Prentice Hall.