The significance of management system certifications for companies in the gas and water industry illustrated by the example of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001

As an industry certification organisation, DVGW CERT GmbH focuses on the management system certification of companies in the gas and water industry.

Whether it concerns quality management systems according to ISO 9001 or environmental management systems pursuant to ISO 14001 or occupational health and safety management systems according to BS OHSAS 18001, the focus is always on compliance with the acknowledged state of the art (DVGW Standards and Codes of Practice and other applicable normative or legal regulations) when auditing companies. Apart from that, the introduction of management systems provides companies with other benefits as well:

• The organisation of the company is described, thereby making it transparent for both internal and external circles.
• Clear structures with clear-cut tasks and responsibilities are created.
• The organisation voluntarily subjects itself to regulations it created based on the standards of ISO 9001 and/or ISO 14001 and/or BS OHSAS 18001.
• The organisation has installed and applies an annual instrument for assessing the efficiency of its own processes.
• The ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001 standards are coordinated with each other and can be combined well in a management system.
• Certifications by accredited certification bodies increase the value of a company's management system.

How does one find the standard that is suitable for a company to establish a management system?

ISO 9001, 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001 are three internationally recognised standards that can be applied to all possible forms of companies. The customer takes centre stage in all three standards. The term "customer" refers not just to external customers (potential buyers or clients). Instead, there are also internal "suppliers" and "customers" as part of process interfaces. Only if the entire chain from the first enquiry for products/services to delivery/service provision is correctly and seamlessly organised will the end customer also be satisfied.

ISO 9001 (quality management systems):

ISO 9001 (quality management systems) can be viewed as a basic standard. It strongly focuses  on service quality and the clear structuring of processes within the company and at the interfaces to suppliers and customers. Basically, ISO 9001 is meaningful for and can be applied by all companies. Most companies initially opt for the introduction and certification of quality management systems according to ISO 9001.

While this standard does contain requirements in terms of environmental and occupational health and safety management, it does not address these in great depth. However, since this makes ISO 9001 comprehensive, it is appropriate for all kinds of companies. A company with an established and effective quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001 can expand this management system with reasonable expenses to ISO 14001 and/or BS OHSAS 18001. All three standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001) are well matched to each other and similarly structured. ISO 9001 will soon be revised and published as the new ISO 9001:2008. As part of the revision, compatibility with ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001 was further improved.

The effective introduction of a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001 increases awareness of the quality of a company's work, resulting in the development of a "quality culture."

ISO 14001 (environmental management systems):

ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) is primarily of interest to companies whose products or services can impact the environment (nature, water, soil, air). This includes e.g. construction firms, supply companies, waste disposal enterprises, etc. As a result, ISO 14001 focuses more strongly on the impacts the activities of a company have or can have on the environment. The company must determine its processes, assess them in terms of environmental relevance (environmental impact) and initiate the corresponding measures that prevent e.g. negative effects on the environment. Furthermore, measures must be taken to replace potentially hazardous substances that accrue as part of production or are used in service provision with substances with less hazardous potential. Ultimately, processes must also be analysed in such a manner as to reduce their potential environmental impact. For example, it will be checked in appropriate places whether the process is necessary at all. Assessment of compliance with environmental laws and requirements also takes centre stage. It is important that the employees of a company are aware of the potential effects of their job activities in terms of environmental impact and how they can contribute to largely excluding any hazards. The effective introduction of an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 increases awareness of the environmental impact of a company's work, resulting in the development of a "culture of environmental protection".

BS OHSAS 18001:

BS OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety management systems) is particularly of interest to companies providing products or services that could represent an increased health hazard for the people working at said companies. As part of risk assessments in the workplace, all processes must be evaluated in terms of potential health risks, and suitable measures must be taken to reduce these risks to a reasonable and controllable level. Here the focus is on the occupational health and safety of each employee. It is important that the employees of a company are aware of the potential impacts of their work with regard to occupational health and safety and how they can contribute to excluding any risks as much as possible. BS OHSAS 18001 does not pose any demands beyond the legal requirements, but the introduction of such a system provides an effective tool for being able to recognise and implement all legal and institutional requirements that concern the company. Especially the requirements in the field of occupational health and safety have been significantly increased over the past few years. The effective introduction of such a system can create a corporate "occupational health and safety culture" that significantly enhances understanding and awareness of occupational health and safety within the company.

Integrated management systems:

More and more companies introduce so-called integrated management systems or expand their existing management systems. Integrated management systems consist of a combination of two or more management system standards, e.g.:

• ISO 9001 / ISO 14001, or
• ISO 9001 / BS OHSAS 18001, or
• ISO 9001/ ISO 14001 / BS OHSAS 18001, and more infrequently also
• ISO 14001 / BS OHSAS 18001.

This approach makes use of the synergies of the aforementioned management system standards. The company demonstrates to the customers and contracting parties that it takes all reasonable measures to ensure quality/environmental protection/occupational health and safety while simultaneously safeguarding economic efficiency. It is up to the company to opt for an integrated management system. While market-oriented aspects are frequently mentioned as a basis for such a decision, the advantage of integrated systems primarily lies in the optimisation of a company's own processes, which may subsequently have a positive economic impact.

Certification by an independent third party (accredited certification company)

If these systems have been certified by an "independent third party" (e.g. an accredited certification company), it also demonstrates that the company has proven its long-term and effective compliance with regulations to an independent testing company during random inspections. It is important that the certification company has been accredited by a recognised accreditation organisation (an organisation which has signed on to the multi-lateral agreement (MLA) or has been accredited by the government). This ensures that the certification company is subject to internationally recognised regulations. Otherwise, international acceptance of the certification would be in jeopardy or not ensured.

Especially today, more and more clients rely on such certifications, since they can no longer spend the time in selecting their suppliers. In this respect, a certification creates a great deal of advance trust, since the client can depend on DVGW CERT GmbH for industry-appropriate and adequate testing of the companies as part of the certification procedure.

As a specialist certifier for the energy and water industry, DVGW CERT GmbH follows a strongly technical approach, which is carried through in all its certification procedures. For this reason, the synergies described in the table below can only be realised when the certification procedures listed are carried out by DVGW CERT GmbH.

Special benefit for supply and waste disposal companies:

Regarding the aforementioned management system standards, compliance with G 1000, W 1000, M 1000 and S 1000 can also be tested as part of the certification procedure for supply and waste disposal companies and also confirmed in the ISO certificate. This represents a minor additional effort, since the relevant Codes of Practice and the acknowledged technical state of the art represent part of the management system certifications at DVGW CERT GmbH anyway and the requirements in terms of the aforementioned Codes of Practice will be tested. This way, the company to be certified saves the cost for separate auditing according to the ISO standard and the additional Code of Practice and receives confirmation that the requirements are met in the form of a document.

Contacts:
Ingrid Schütz (phone: +49 (0)228-9188-815, schuetz(at)dvgw-cert.com), Dirk Plücker (phone: +49 (0)228-9188-830, pluecker(at)dvgw-cert.com)