1. Feature of Company S
Company S is a small business with about twenty people. It designs small
equipment and sets in customersf production lines. The equipment is
made of parts manufactured outside. So it has no factory and main business
activities are done in a small building.
Its environmental load is as small as an ordinary home does.
2. ISO history of Company S
ISO history of Company S cannot be told without strong interest in
ISO by its founder.
(1) Midsummer in 2001: ISO9001:1994 registration
In 2000, the dictatorial company president of Company S, founder of
the company, who once worked in a big company, then retired and became
independent, founding the company, had made his mind to challenge
to get ISO9001 registration.
Fortunately there was a manager who had been hired from a big company
and the president assigned him to the management representative.
About one year later the company got ISO9001:1994 registration and
the president was very happy.
(2) Autumn in 2002: ISO9001:2000 transition
With the same management representative the company smoothly transited
to ISO9001:2000.
(3) Autumn in 2004; ISO14001:1996 registration
At the end of 2003, the president determined to challenge to get ISO14001:1996
registration integrating with ISO9001. Along with quality the environmental
management representative was assigned by the president.
Unfortunately the president had become ill and hospitalized. In autumn
in 2004, the company got ISO14001:1996 registration, but just before
then he died. His funeral was great reflecting his wide acquaintances.
(4) Spring in 2005: the collapse of ISO management
At the end of 2004, the first management representative retired due
to the retirement-age system and became a part-time employee.
The new president and management representative are subordinates trained
by the late president for a long time and both had very little interest
in ISO management system. They have been a lone hand for long time
in their businesses.
One year passed and no quality objectives environmental targets were
established and left as it was. The management system collapsed from
the top management.
(5) Autumn in 2005; ISO14001:2004 transition
As a part-time employee, the first management representative had noticed
the collapse and suggested for the new president to change the present
management representative to younger one and thus the third management
representative who was a family of the founder was assigned.
Dating back, with the new management representative new quality objectives
environmental targets was established.
But again a trouble occurred. The family of the founder sold the
company stocks to another company and completely retired from the
company activities.
For the transition assessment for ISO14001, the new fourth management
representative had to correspond. The result of the assessment was
as follows.
a) Assessorfs comment
Environmental aspects such as reduction of waste papers, trash and
use of electricity are not enough. Reviews of environmental aspects
are necessary.
b) My comment
The assessor confused environmental aspects (mentioned in a) of 4.3.1
clause) with substantial environmental aspects (mentioned in b) of
4.3.1 clause).
His intent might be objectives and targets such as reduction of waste
papers, trash and use of electricity were not enough.
But the comment was violating the intent of ISO14001: 2004 mentioned
in Introduction as that the International Standard does not establish
absolute requirements for environmental performance.
But new inexperienced management representative seems to accept the
assessorfs irrational requests.
I think the death of the founder, lack of interest in management
system by the new top management, new inexperienced management representative
and feature of the company that it has very low environmental load
will favorably lead to self-declaration of conformance with ISO14001:2004.
By the way the history of ISO management of the company has actually
ended with the death of the founder and retirement of the first management
representative.
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