FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) include questions and answers related to management
systems that someone like you may have. So I tried to imagine what your questions could be and I provided the
answers. If you have questions that are not listed below or if you are not satisfied with my answers, please let me
know via . Your help will be much appreciated to improve the FAQ section of my
website.
What is a management system?
A Management System ....
is a plan indicating: "this is where we want to be and
the way we will get there".
That can be orally or in written form on paper or
electronically.
To make your management system effective to reach desired
objectives you need three things:
The Process to
make and execute your plan, Content
and Structure
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Of course there several definitions to be found, one being more "scientific" than the
other and the more scientific, the more complex and the more difficult to understand and communicate.
A contact of mine in Australia said: "When
I first started to work in this industry I asked the question "what is a management system" to so many people, from
auditors to my operations manager and everyone had different ideas and definitions, so at the end I only had a
vague idea of the concept. I think from now on, when I get asked the question by my friends or family, I'll simply
use your definition, it is much simpler and it makes sense! Thanks for that."
And basically, that is what a management system is: management saying and
documenting what the objective is and how to get there. The process will involve people needed to make it a success
and the structure will stimulate implementation as well as periodic assessment and evaluation to make sure that the
right things are being done and results obtained.
Why a management
system?
Like it
or not but you will always have some kind of a management system in your organization. It may not be written
down though which will make it more difficult to communicate to stakeholders, even
if your company or organization is small. It may not be very
good and it may not produce much or any results. But there are at least some activities there that can
form the foundation of a management system that will produce results.
So the
question may be "why should we have a management system that works?" The answer is very obvious to me: "why not
have a management system that produces results that you want?" You are doing certain things anyway that are
part of a management system, so why not doing them in a way that they work better? And involve people who know
what to do, when and how?
You may
also want/need a management system because your customers require you to obtain a certain certificate. That is
not the type and quality of a management system as I see it. If you are just looking for a certificate, you
will be able to find a consultant who will help you to set up a management system to meet minimal certification
requirements. And that consultant may also help you to make use a certification institute that will issue a
certificate meeting those minimum requirements. That will provide you with a certificate but that may not
produce the results you could have and which your customer may expect.
Does the Management
System have to be in writing?
No, not
necessarily.
But if your organization
is a little larger than (very) small it may be difficult to communicate the contents - who shall do what,
when and how - to others.
And it may also be
difficult to close to impossible to communicate to external parties if it is not put on
paper.
And if you want a
certificate based on your management system it is a requirement to have it on
paper.
Does a Management System make the working of your organization rigid?
Could be, depends how complex you make it and sometimes that is even needed depending on the type of
industry you are in. If you cannot afford
unwanted events, no matter what, then your management system may
have to be rather detailed and, if you want to call it that:
rigid.
For the average industry if you start small and let your system grow based
on results you may just end up with the management system that fits your organization: not to large and not too
small, just right for you.
If you develop the management system using the
17-step process detailed in my book, it is very likely
that you end up with a system that
is supported all the way down in the organization. The detail will depend
of the qualifications of the people. That would fit in nicely with a
concept such as empowerment.
When
is a management system a MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?
A
management system includes management activity areas or "elements" which you may also want to call "chapters".
The management activity areas - such as purchasing, design, training, management of change - include management
activities which indicate WHAT shall be done, WHEN and by WHOM. The management system would be backed up by
more detailed procedures, work instructions, etc. describing HOW the work needs to be
done.
A
management system is a MANAGEMENT SYSTEM if:
What to expect of your management
system?
Short
answer: everything you expect from it. If only certificate, then your management system should deliver that. If
you want your management system to comply with legislation, then that should be the results of your management
system. If you want more than a certificate or compliance with legislation then it all depends on what you want
and you should make your management system to deliver. My book shows you
the way.
What form or shape should a management system
have?
It does
not really matter as long as it is clear on what shall be done, when and by whom. And if it has the structure
to make sure that necessary activities are carried out and desired results obtained.
Many
organizations build their management system parallel to the certification requirements. That is OK for getting
a certificate and could be enough if you want other results on top of that. In that case your management system
got to have the management activity areas necessary to obtain the results wanted and needs the structure to
also get those.
If you
build your management system different from the layout of the certification reference, then it may help - for
certification purposes - to make a matrix showing where the certification issues can be found in your
management system.
What
should be in a management
system?
The content of your management system will be
determined by what you expect it to do. If you want an ISO 9001 certificate, refer to ISO 9001, if you want an
OHSAS 18000 certificate, refer to OHSAS 18000, and so on. If you want your management system for other reasons,
include the management activity areas and management activities that you think will bring about the desired
results.
In most cases you will include management activity
areas that are more or less generic to any objective that you may want to reach. Those include areas like:
hiring and selection of people, design of installations and work environment, design of products, training of
management, training of operating personnel, purchasing, management of change, etc.
What
structure should a management system have?
Any
structure that you think is suitable as long as the structure would support
implementation of activities and obtaining results. To facilitate execution of management activities that are
part of your system, it would certainly help if you build your management system along a process that will
facilitate implementation. The 17-step
process is a route to management system success.
Does a management system always mean
improvement?
Not necessarily so.
Management systems are often set up top obtain a certificate such as ISO 9000, 14000 or OHSAS 18000. In fact
I think that certification often forms a road-block to improvement.
Why do I say that? He
are some of my arguments:
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Management systems are
normally set up to obtain a certificate.
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A certificate normally
represents an indication for a minimum level of performance. Once a company has reach that level,
the certificate will be issued.
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But even the minimum
level may be less than what you expect because there may be quite a bit of interpretation as to
what is acceptable to get the certificate. That may very well depend on the qualifications of the
auditor and the policy of the certification institute and the level of what is “minimally
acceptable” may therefore vary quite a bit.
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Certification institutes
are normally competing for business in a commercial market so price is always an issue and the
lower price may mean lower auditing quality resulting in lower certification quality and a
certificate for less than minimal efforts.
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Combination of
potentially conflicting roles in one (certification) company or person: consulting, training and
auditing/certification. While formally the consulting will be separated from the
auditing/certification, the people involved may still be working for the same
company.
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Relations between
auditors who often operate as independents. “You scratch my back and I scratch yours”. One auditor
doing the consulting for company A while the other will do the certification audit. Next time, for
company B, it may be the other way around.
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Relations between
consultants and auditors/certification institutes. Often certification is on demand of a third
party so the thinking may be: it has to be quick, easy and should not cost much. So if those
are the margins for the consultant needing the income, the consultant will know what is minimally
acceptable to get the certificate from the certification institute that is also eager to get the
business.
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Use of an external
consultant may provide a “management system” that is certifiable but that system may not have been
set up with much or any involvement of company personnel who will have to do the work. So there is
no “emotional ownership” within the company, it is not “our system“ because “we have not been
involved in making it”. The “principle of participation” applies here as well as the “principle of
emotional ownership”.
-
Getting the certificate
may be understood by company management as “we are doing a good job”. That may provide a
false feeling of self-satisfaction and complacency.
Does it have to be that way? No, definitely not. There are certification institutes and auditors
that are different. The good consultant would ask the question: do you want a certificate or do you
want to get better in what you are doing? And there are people who can see beyond certification and
will use that what is required to get the certificate to make their company better, to get better
control over unwanted events allowing them to survive in a competitive
market.
What about "integrated management systems"?
What we mean by “integrated management systems” is nothing more than
putting things together that belong together. A job well done is a job without unwanted events, be it
safety, or quality or environmental or anything else.
We call it integrated because we are putting together management
systems that were separate for safety, quality and environment due to:
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historic reasons – the focus on these aspects did not develop at the
same time
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legislative reasons – safety legislation, legislation for health and
environment
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different certification schemes –
OHSAS 18000 for safety, ISO 9000 for Quality, ISO 14000 for the environment and you may be able to
add a couple more ISO or other schemes
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requirements from customers
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traditional measurement of safety in terms of lost time accident
rates
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territorial claims –“my area”, “my responsibility”
Separation of safety, quality, environment etc. may lead to
territorial claims and sub-optimization. A good example is the risk identification which is mandatory in the
contractor safety certification process (VCA/SCC) in which I have been involved when setting this up between
1989 and 1994. If you would look at the system today, you will see that the system itself is almost
exclusively focused on lost time injury accidents and the risk identification process as well. The core of
the certification scheme is “control of tasks with increased risks”. But when you look at the risk
identification process which should be the foundation on which to base the VCA/SCC system, you will find
that is directed at uncovering personal injury type of risk. This is at least regrettable as the process
could be used to also find other potential problems that may originate from the same tasks or job. And don’t
forget that this “job safety analysis” (JSA) has been around for decennia. What a lot of wasted
effort.
If we would have to do it all over again, maybe we would learn from history and
start thinking in terms of “unwanted events” rather than letting the outcome of the event decide whether this
is for the quality manager or the safety manager or somebody else.
Mind you, we may still get there and maybe one day we will be talking
about the “unwanted event frequency rate” or just “failure rate” referring to failure of the management
system to control the events that we do not want to see.
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