Management Tools to Navigate the Global Economy
"A sustainable organization is an organization that can use integrative thinking to address all of the issues related to sustainable economic, environmental and social development to achieve sustainable competitive advantage."
— Canadian SR Expert
"Sustainability for an organization includes the economic, social and environmental aspects. You want to have all three in place and depending on your business you may emphasize one aspect over the other ones." — Immediate Past Chair ISO/TC 176
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"A good management system can be the foundation for sustainable reductions in energy usage."
— Chair ISO/PC 232 (Energy Management)
"Companies that want to achieve sustainable success should start with a solid management system, whether it be focused on quality, environment or information security."
— Chair IAF Technical Committee
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"In Latin America, and throughout the world, companies need to take advantage of the many tools available to them to sustain and manage growth while reducing harmful impacts and being a good neighbor."
— President INLAC
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"The sensible route to sustainable success is by implementing robust systems to manage the totality of the enterprise, including all regulatory, moral and customer commitments."
— UK Architect of ISO 14001
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"The only companies that will succeed in the long term are those who take a proactive approach to managing their corporate strategies and societal obligations in a balanced way."
— Global Conformity Assessment Strategist
"Sustainable success results in any organization whose governance is focused on efficient and environmentally cognizant utilization of resources, never taking their eye off reasonable profit margins."
— Immediate Past President ANAB
Are you an agent for change in your company? Do you see yourself as the go-to person when your organization is threatened by natural or manmade disasters, rising workplace accidents, unacceptable product defect levels, missed or late deliveries, envi... Read more...



| Green Tech |
| Ugh... Another Meeting; 10 Pitfalls to Avoid and How to Overcome Them |
By Kimberly Douglas Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part article. It’s Friday afternoon, and your team is filing into the conference room, mumbling and grumbling as they take their seats for yet another meeting. An hour passes and the meeting comes to a much-anticipated end, leaving everyone involved wondering why the meeting was held in the first place. After all, the usual suspects dominated the discussion, and the same ideas that came up in last week’s meeting were once again batted around. No one seemed to write anything down, and no one agreed to put anything discussed into action. If this kind of ineffective meeting sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s a problem that plagues many organizations — but it’s also one that can be remedied. |
| Clear for Takeoff; April to Mark Start of Certification Drive for Space, Defense and Aviation Companies |
An estimated 10,000 AS9100 certificate holders may begin upgrading their certifications to the latest edition of the space, defense and aviation quality requirements starting on April 30, 2010. Revision “C” of the standard was published in 2009 as AS9100 in the Americas, JISQ9100 in Asia-Pacific and EN9100 in Europe. A companion checklist intended for third-party auditors still had not been released as of early October, which resulted in a delay in the start of certification. The absence of the checklist had effectively put thousands of certificate holders — many of whom are contractually bound to achieve and maintain certification to the standard by major aerospace and defense customers — in a kind of certification holding pattern, which has now been effectively lifted. |
| Smart Retailers Make it “Green” Holiday |
By Suzanne Long As if the poor economy wasn’t enough to contend with, retailers also face growing consumer concerns about climate issues and how best to protect the environment this holiday season. While most retailers want to exhibit a green agenda and many have taken steps to embrace environmentally sensitive policies, some managers still lack a rigorous strategy to achieve and maintain such goals. Even companies that pride themselves on constant improvement, execution, and careful measurement suddenly grow soft when it comes to environmental issues. As a result, efforts made by retailers to lessen their carbon footprints tend to be based on whatever green “fad” is popular at the time, resulting in questionable positive impact. |
| NEWS FLASH: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Totals Post Global Increase |
While the total number of third-party ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certificates has declined in some countries, the overall global totals continue to increase, according to new data made public by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). At least 982,832 certificates to ISO 9001:2000 and 2008 had been issued in 176 countries and economies as of the end of 2008, according to The ISO Survey — 2008. The 2008 total represents an increase of 31,346, or just 3 percent over the 2007 total of 951,486 in 175 countries and economies. The Survey reported a total of 188,815 third-party certificates to ISO 14001:2004 in 155 |
| Can Future Certification Charge Up Your Energy Savings? |
![]() By Paul ScicchitanoWhile certification is considered to be a cost of doing business these days, companies that invest in becoming certified to the future global energy management standard may also save big money in the process, according to experts. The future ISO 50001 is expected to form the basis of a new third-party certification program that may rival or exceed demand for widely used certification programs like OHSAS 18001 on occupational health and safety, ISO 14001 on environmental management and even the ISO 9001 standard for quality management which boasts close to one million certified organizations around the world — more than any other such standard. It’s simple economics, explains Edwin Piñero, a former US Presidential appointee, who chairs the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO’s) drafting committee for the future standard that is intended to help organizations manage their energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gases through a systematic approach. Piñero will lead a January 25 video Webinar for Sustainable Success Alert on the coming standard: Getting Plugged Into the Future ISO 50001 (click here to register). |
| New Global Self-Help Standard Promises ‘Sustained Success’ |
The path to sustainable success may be closer than you think. Attempting to overcome years of disappointing sales from its ISO 9004 guidance standard, the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has turned the more than 25-year-old document into an international how-to guide for achieving "sustained success" through established quality principles. Published on November 1, the third edition is now called Managing for the sustained success of an organization — the quality management approach. The roughly 50-page document represents the collective wisdom of 40 experts from some 35 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, France United Kingdom, Germany, India, Sweden and Japan. "It’s very different from the 2000 edition," acknowledges Charles Corrie of Subcommittee 2 of ISO Technical Committee 176, which is responsible for both the new ISO 9004 document and ISO 9001. "The purpose of the document is to help users move beyond ISO 9001 in improving the efficiency of their quality system and the benefit it brings to their business." |
| Bragging Rights; Hard to Top Davies in World of International Standards |
| In the world of international standards, John Davies has earned bragging rights that will be hard to match. A retired British Army officer, Davies went on to accomplish nothing less than presiding over an international subcommittee that would draft the world’s best-selling voluntary standard of all time — not just once but all four editions published since 1987. In an exclusive video interview with Sustainable Success Alert prior to his retirement in November, Davies reflected back on the ISO 9000 phenomenon that catapulted a little-known tool for quality managers into a global prerequisite for doing business. “It’s been phenomenal,” says Davies, who also chaired the work on BS 5750, a British standard that is widely considered to be the archetype for ISO 9001. |
| Aviation Industry Facing Most Substantial Regulatory Changes in 45 Years |
By Dr. Michael J. Dreikorn
Though the most significant changes affect 14 CFR part 21, the final rule also amends parts 1, 43 and 45. Details, along with well developed briefing materials, can be found at the FAA’s website (faa.gov). Related advisory materials and internal orders have also been updated and posted. FAA has done a great job in providing a comprehensive communication package for industry. Two Phases of Compliance |
| Don’t Forget the Common Sense in Quality |
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of articles by Clyde Brewer, who reflects back on his more than 50-year career in quality. Government created the role of inspectors and mandated that contractors obtain independent approval of the work of others. While this was the start of a great discipline, it also led to some very unfortunate lessons over the years: Most importantly, when we forget common sense, even the most well-intentioned quality initiative can have negative consequences. |
| Is Your Leadership Strong Enough? Three Pillars of Strength for Leaders |
In the current economic climate, where businesses are merging, downsizing, and outsourcing at mind-boggling rates, it’s hard to maintain your leadership equilibrium. To keep from getting knocked off your feet, you need to have something stable to hold onto — something that will keep you on steady ground when all around you is shaking and/or crumbling. |


