For many companies, getting ISO Certification is something that falls into the too hard basket. For this reason, many earthmoving operators out there have to just let the opportunities to pitch for government or Tier 1 jobs simply pass by. It’s my firm belief that it doesn’t have to be that way.
Putting all the misconceptions you may have about ISO Certification to one side, the process can be likened to installing an autopilot program on your business which will help keep everything oncourse – even if the brainstrust of the business have to step away for any sort of reason.
Many people think that getting ISO certification will change the way their earthmoving business will operate and affect the way the way that they offer their services. When speaking with companies, I always make it clear that the fact that they’re in business shows that they have a proven formula for making money. Why the hell would you want to mess that up?
| What is Triple Certification? “Triple Certification” is the common badges given to companies who have been audited against the following standards; AS/NZ 4801 / ISO 45001:2018 (Safety), ISO 9001:2018 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environment). What does ISO stand for? International Organisation for Standardisation Who are they and what do they do? Founded on 23rd February 1947, the organisation “promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards”. |
In simple terms, this whole process comes down to digitising existing business processes and providing a framework that ensures your valuable IP remains secure. For example, if any one of your key employees left the business, have the processes they follow been documented to ensure that business operations would not be adversely affected? Also, does your business shut down when a manager or key employee goes on holiday?
The other question to ask yourself is how much “paper” in your business could be replaced by “digital” systems. Those who’ve read my previous articles on Australian Earthmoving or heard me speak know that I’m a vocal advocate for using mobile technology to streamline administrative processes. The first cab off the rank when I help any company is to find out what sorts of forms their team are filling out using paper. I then run a back-of-the-envelope calculation to compare how much time their team collectively spends on processing the paperwork and then put it against the time they’d spend if they captured and processed the data electronically.
The reason why I segued to digital, is because there are still two schools of thought when it comes to gaining ISO certification. As a certification standard, ISO 9001 has been around since 1987 and the most traditional method of piecing it altogether has been to print everything up in binders and paper folders.
Although multiple copies of your policies and procedures, maintenance records and safety forms canbe printed up to gain the certification, I’ve always argued that the future is digital and if it’s more convenient to going paperless with your ISO Certification – why not?
| In case your business is not certified and has been held back, below is a list of the risks associated with keeping the status quo. MAIN IMPACTS OF DOING NOTHING Inability to pitch for big projects (i.e. Tier 1 projects and Government work) Loss of competitive edge Difficulties scaling your business Inefficiency with lost and incomplete paperwork No formal procedures and policies |
From a safety and risk management perspective, there are major benefits that come with dropping a safety management system (SMS) in the pockets of your team members. A key cornerstone of the ISO certification process is letting team members submit “Non Conformances” (NC) and follow processes to complete “Corrective Preventive Action Requests” (CPARs) whenever they identify potential issues to document and update systems to stop recurrence. In your experience, how many CPARs could have been raised which would have helped avoid injuries or improve worksite conditions?
I’ve seen businesses make huge leaps once they’ve made the decision to go digital in the process of getting their Triple Certification “badges”. In one case, a business situated in country Victoria was able to gain a 5 year, $50million contract after expediting the process to become certified. Besides from being able to provide their certification within their tender response, they were able to differentiate their bid by giving access to lead partners direct and real-time access to their policies, procedures and safety management system.
The digital future is here and a common trend we see amongst the companies that breakout is their willingness to adopt new technology. We are seeing a trend of companies pushing to get their Triple Certification badges and I would argue that many of the earthmoving companies should only do it by going digital if they want to travel down this route.
This article was written by Courtney Smith. Read more at https://www.kynection.com.au/solutions/triple-certification/
