Management Systems: Glossary

Accreditation
Creditable third-party certification bodies elect to be accredited by UKAS and can then display the ‘tick & crown’ alongside their own logo. This accreditation requires conformance with ISO 17021 which covers, amongst other requirements; auditor competence, consistency, impartiality and confidentiality.
If you have a certificate from a body that is not accredited by UKAS but is accredited by another accreditation body (e.g. from outside the UK), then you may wish to check to see if they are a signatory to the IAF multi-lateral agreement (go to www.iaf.nu). If they are then the certificate you have is deemed equivalent to one issued by a UKAS accredited body.

BSI (www.bsi-global.com)
The British Standards Institution (BSI) delivers best practice solutions through the development and publication of British Standards and standards-related information products and services that can help organisations to successfully implement and manage business critical decisions and achieve excellence.
As the world's first national standards body they have a globally recognised reputation for independence, integrity and innovation in the production of British Standards and standards-related information products that promote and share best practice.
They have a portfolio of over 27,000 British Standards, books and information products.

BS 8555 (Project Acorn)
BS 8555 is a six-phase approach to environmental management. The phases are:
• Phase 1 - Commitment and establishing the baseline
• Phase 2 - Identifying and ensuring compliance with legal and other requirements
• Phase 3 - Developing objectives, targets and programmes
• Phase 4 - Implementation and operation of EMS
• Phase 5 - Checking, audit and review
• Phase 6 - Acknowledgement of the EMS
Organisations can complete, and have progress acknowledged for, as many phases as they wish but completion of Phase 6 means that the organisation will be in a position to apply for ISO 14001 and/or EMAS registration.

Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk)
Business Link, part of BERR, is the UK Government’s support service for business of all sizes, for all phases of growth. It offers support and advice, particularly start-ups, and access to grants and funding. It is the official national advice service that provides access to a wide network of business support and information services.
Business Link, via the Small Business Service (SBS), operate a register of listed consultants, requirements for inclusion are as follows:
• Registered on the CQI Management Consultants Register (MCR) to satisfy the SBS competency requirements
• Demonstrated specialist knowledge (normally through membership of an appropriate professional body that assesses members and monitors their continuing professional development (CPD))
• Demonstrated suitable SME experience supported by appropriate references to prove ability to work effectively with clients in the small business sector. Defined as a minimum of three references from client organisations of which two must be SMEs.
• Sign up to the SBS code of professional practice
• Have appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance (minimum of £250,000) or the equivalent as appropriate for the type of work carried out

Certification
(see Registration)

CQI (www.thecqi.org)
The Chartered Quality Institute is the chartered body for quality management professionals. Established in 1919 and formerly the Institute of Quality Assurance, they gained a Royal Charter in 2006 and became the CQI shortly afterwards.
The CQI exists to help make business better. They promote the quality management approach, based on planning, measurement and improvement, to deliver satisfaction, profitability, innovation and more.
The members are competent quality professionals and in support of this the CQI provides the following services:
• promoting the benefits of the quality management approach to industry
• maintaining the Body of Quality Knowledge
• disseminating quality knowledge and resources 
• providing qualifications and training
• assessing and recognising quality competence

EMAS
The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) goes beyond ISO 14001 and requires publication of an externally verified environmental statement detailing:
• Description of organisation, activities, products & services
• Environmental policy
• Significant environmental aspects, impacts, objectives, targets and improvement programmes
• Data and information on environmental performance including comparison with previous years and performance against relevant legal requirements
• Name of verifier and date of verification

Envirowise (www.envirowise.gov.uk)
Envirowise offers free, independent environmental support to your business helping you to become more resource efficient and save money.
Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save more than £1 billion by reducing waste early on in their business processes.
They also offer advice on managing unavoidable waste and working with suppliers to maximise gains from beginning to end.
They provide an advice line, free publications, online tools and events.

IAF (www.iaf.nu)
The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the world association of accreditation bodies and other bodies interested in management system conformity assessment. Its primary function is to develop a single worldwide program of conformity assessment which reduces risk for business and its customers by assuring them that accredited certificates may be relied upon. Accreditation assures users of the competence and impartiality of the body accredited. IAF members accredit certification or registration bodies that issue certificates attesting that an organisation's management system complies with a specified standard (called conformity assessment).

IEMA (www.iema.net)
The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) is a not-for-profit membership organisation established to promote best practice standards in environmental management, auditing and assessment.
The Institute offers ongoing support to environmental professionals and aims to promote sustainability through improved environmental practice and performance. With over 14,000 individual and corporate members based in 87 countries, the IEMA is now a leading international membership-based organisation dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development, and to the professional development of individuals involved in the environmental profession, whether they are in the public, private or non-governmental sectors.
The IEMA is the Competent Body in the United Kingdom for EMAS the European Union's Eco Management and Audit Scheme and also offers the Acorn Scheme (BS 8555), an officially recognised EMS standard recommended by the government. Acorn offers accredited recognition for organisations evaluating and improving their environmental performance through the phased implementation of an environmental management system (EMS).

IRCA (www.irca.org)
The International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) is the world's original and largest international certification body for auditors of management systems.
IRCA certifies more than 14,750 auditors in over 150 countries worldwide and provides auditors, business and industry with two main services:
1. Certification of auditors of management systems. These include:
• consultants assisting organisations to develop and implement management systems
• certification body/registrar auditors, auditing organisations against management system standards
• internal auditors, performing audits on suppliers or auditing their own organisations
2. Approval of training organisations and certification of their auditor training courses.
• IRCA has approved over 90 training organisations, who together provide training for over 50,000 students each year in over 100 countries.
IRCA offers certification programmes that recognise the competence of auditors who audit quality, environmental, occupational health and safety, software development, information security and food safety management systems.

ISO (www.iso.org)
ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 160 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organisation that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

ISO 10019
ISO 10019 provides guidance for the selection of quality management system consultants and the use of their services. It is intended to assist organisations when selecting a quality management system consultant. It gives guidance on the process for evaluating the competence of a quality management system consultant and provides confidence that the organisation's needs and expectations for the consultant's services will be met.

ISO 17021
ISO 17021 contains principles and requirements for the competence, consistency and impartiality of the audit and certification of management systems of all types (e.g. quality management systems or environmental management systems) and for bodies providing these activities. Certification of management systems is a third-party conformity assessment activity. Bodies performing this activity are therefore third-party conformity assessment bodies.

ISO 19011
ISO 19011 provides guidance on the principles of auditing, managing audit programmes, conducting quality and environmental management system audits, as well as guidance on the competence of quality and environmental management system auditors.
It is applicable to all organisations needing to conduct internal or external audits of quality and/or environmental management systems or to manage an audit programme.
The application of ISO 19011 to other types of audits is possible in principle provided that special consideration is paid to identifying the competence needed by the audit team members in such cases.

Netregs (www.netregs.gov.uk)
NetRegs is a partnership between the UK environmental regulators – the Environment Agency in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) in Northern Ireland.
They provide free environmental guidance for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the UK via their website that can be searched in two ways; by business type or the environmental topic of interest. The website is regularly updated and they offer a free monthly updating service (by e-mail).

OHSAS
Occupation Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) is the prefix for the management system standard for occupational health & safety management systems OHSAS 18001. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies to address a gap where no third-party certifiable international standard existed. It was developed in response to widespread demand for a recognised standard against which organisations could be certified and assessed. The content of the standard mirrors the environmental management standard ISO 14001 but it will not be given ISO status as, due to reluctance by certain nations, the responsible committee cannot achieve the required number of positive votes.

PAS 99
PAS 99 is a Publicly Available Specification of common requirements for management systems that can be used as a framework for an integrated management system. It is intended to encourage organisations with more than one management system to consider the opportunity to achieve a single holistic management system to enable them to more effectively run their operations. PAS 99 takes account of the six common requirements for management systems standards and follows the Plan, Do, Check, Act approach of all the major management systems requirements standards.
These six common requirements are:
1. Policy
2. Planning
3. Implementation & Operation
4. Performance Assessment
5. Improvement
6. Management Review
The adoption of this PAS should considerably simplify the process of assessment and allow organisations to reap huge internal benefits.

Registration
An organisation that meets the requirements of a particular management system standard and has been successfully assessed by a UKAS accredited certification body can claim to be ‘registered’ or ‘certified’. A common mistake is for an organisation to claim, for example, that they are ‘accredited to ISO 9001’. This is a meaningless statement. The chosen certification body should be accredited (by UKAS) and the organisation is registered or certified by this certification body.

SPC
Statistical Process Control, as its name implies, is based on checking the process, not the product. If materials and processes are OK then, in theory, it is not possible to produce defective product. SPC generates a ‘picture’ of a process.
SPC does not solve any problems – it identifies where and when there is a problem and identifies where an adjustment to the process, or corrective action, is required to eliminate the possible occurrence of defective product. It also identifies where adjustments are not required.
A control chart is a graphical comparison of process performance data compared to control limits based on previous performance of the process. Note that the chart is process-based not requirement-based i.e. the actual requirements of the output from the process are not taken into consideration. The prime use of a control chart is to detect special causes of variation in the process.
A control chart will show if something changes, even slightly and there are established ways that a control chart can indicate an out of control condition.

UKAS (www.ukas.com)
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess certification bodies that provide management system certification services against the internationally standard ISO 17021.
Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these certification bodies. Accredited certification bodies are permitted to use the ‘tick & crown’ logo.