H W Martin Waste Ltd (HWM) has been operating to international standards for many years, with its systems for quality and environmental management certificated to ISO9001 and ISO14001, respectively. As part of HWM’s ambition to continuously improve it has now gained certification to the new and enhanced ISO standards.
The new ISO standards have a greater focus on risk management, reflecting the changing face of modern industry and commerce where risk-based thinking is becoming increasingly prominent. Common to both the quality and environmental management system standards is a greater focus on leadership and leadership engagement. The ISO technical committee has also structured ISO9001 so that it is harmonised with ISO14001 as well as ISO45001 (health and safety management); this makes it easier for organisations to create a single “integrated management system”, or IMS, which covers two or more of the different standards under one umbrella system.
The key additional elements of ISO9001 include a structured approach to organisational risk and opportunity, it more effectively addresses supply chain management, and it has been made more user-friendly for service and knowledge-based organisations.
The new ISO14001 includes an increase in placing environmental management within the organisation’s strategic planning process. It also adds a requirement for organisations to undertake proactive initiatives to protect the environment from harm and degradation in terms of, for example, sustainable resource use and mitigating the effects of climate change.
The new standards were ratified in 2015 and organisations wishing to maintain certification to the standards (ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015) have until September 2018 before certification to the previous versions of the standards becomes invalid. HWM is proud to announce that it has successfully gained official certification to the new standards – for both quality and environmental management.
Speaking of the achievement, Mark Faulconbridge, Operations Director at HWM, said, “It is important that we work to these high standards and it is also important that we get this recognition so that our clients are confident in our service delivery. Achieving certification to these enhanced standards is the result of a fantastic effort from all involved.”