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WHAT IS
ISO 9000?
Most of the international standards begin with the letters "ISO",
the acronym for the "International Organization for
Standardization." This worldwide federation of 110 national
standards bodies works to promote the growth of manufacturing, trade
and communication among business operations worldwide, through the
development of generic quality standards.
The most widely recognized standard is ISO 9000, a basic quality
management system that can be used in industries of any size,
anywhere in the world. Registration to ISO 9001 (or other
quality/management standard) provides objective proof that a
business has implemented an effective quality management system, and
that it satisfies all of the requirements of the applicable
standard. An external, impartial expert called a registrar or CB
(Certification Body) conducts an on-site audit to determine whether
or not a company is in conformance to the standard. If they are
found to be in conformance, they will be issued a certificate
showing their address, scope of operations and the seals of the
accreditation bodies that give the registrar its legitimacy.
The latest revision of the ISO 9000 standard was released in
December 2000. ISO 9000:2000 constitutes a major revision of the
earlier 1994 standard. The ISO 9002 and 9003 documents will be
discontinued after December 2003, with ISO 9001 becoming the only
auditable standard. But beyond changes in the ISO 9000 "family
structure," ISO 9001:2000 has been rewritten to better apply to all
types of companies, not just large manufacturing concerns. Also, the
new structure of the standard was designed to be more compatible
with ISO 14001, the environmental management standard.
When the standard was released, a 3-year transition
period was set for companies to upgrade from the 1994 standard. The
deadline for making that transition was December 15, 2003.
WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE CAREİ?
Responsible Careİ is the logical next step: an amalgamation of ISO
14001 and OHSAS 18001.
The Responsible Careİ initiative was launched in 1988 by the
American Chemistry Council (ACC), and remains largely within the
province of the chemical industry. Responsible Careİ basically
consists of three major elements:
1. All of the requirements of ISO 14001, the environmental standard;
2. All of the requirements of OHSAS 18001, the occupational health &
safety specification; and
3. Public outreach.
While technically classified as a "voluntary" program, certification
to Responsible Careİ is required for any chemical company that wants
to be a member of ACC. And although the program has been around for
about 14 years, the initiative to train and certify independent,
3rd-party auditors is only just now getting underway. Under this
updated program, Responsible Careİ will be an auditable
specification known as "RC-14001." |
