BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
Energy management: the next stage
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Energy management, BS EN 16001, GHG, Carbon Footprint, Environment, ISO 14001
Switch off a light, turn off computers, change suppliers - it's all well and good to strive for improved energy management, but it will only be as successful as the people behind its implementation. John Coutts shines a light on the subject.
Energy management is now ranked as either "important" or "very important" by four out of five businesses, according to a recent BSI survey. And its significance is expected to increase over the next two years, with energy a board-level issue for a growing number of firms.
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Windows, Kitemark®
By any reckoning, the "Barlow Shed" in London's St Pancras International was an extraordinary feat of Victorian engineering when the station was first opened in 1868. The vaulted roof making up the bulk of the "Shed" measured 689 feet long by 100 feet high, and its 243-foot span made it the largest enclosed space in the world for years.
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Innovation, Nanotechnology, Biometrics, Knowledge management, Risk management, BS 31100, Carbon Footprint, PAS 2050, Regen medicine, Kitemark®
The World Wide Web. The iPhone. Electric cars. Turning ideas - both big and small - into successful real world products and services has brought huge economic and social rewards. John Coutts reports on the ongoing importance of innovation.
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Construction, Eurocodes, BS 8902, ISO 15686, LCC, Life Cycle Costing, Sustainability
In the still-turbulent wake of the recession, what new challenges is the construction sector going to face and how do standards fit in? Wilma Tulloch reports.
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Waste management, PAS 402
The things we throw away in the UK today may resurface one day soon, if recent government statistics are to be believed. Landfill space is running out and managing waste isn't something we can afford to sweep under the rug in the long term. Ben Schiller investigates.
At Unisys, information security is key
05 Oct 2009
Topics: Tags: Information security, ISO/IEC 27001, Quality management, ISO 9001
Unisys, one of the world's leading providers of IT outsourcing services, has achieved certification at its Milton Keynes client centre to ISO/IEC 27001:2005 for Information security management systems (ISMS) from BSI UK.
Bell: calling on environmental management
23 Sep 2009
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, Canada
Bell, Canada's largest communications company, has been certified to ISO 14001 for its environmental management system.
11 Sep 2009
Topics: Energy management, EN 16001, Carbon footprint, Carbon market, GHG, SME, CFV, Emissions trading
Concerns about carbon emissions, along with the push towards a low carbon economy and a heightened awareness of the risks posed by volatile fuel prices, mean that organizations are under pressure to optimize energy use as never before.
11 Sep 2009
Topics: BS 8901, Olympics, Sustainability, Supply chain, SME, CSR
BS 8901 was launched with the Olympic Games in mind, but it's proving successful among smaller organizers too.
11 Sep 2009
Topics: Training, China, Six Sigma
In a recession, how should organizations approach training? Do they cut the budget and wait it out? Or do they put training at the heart of a survival strategy to prepare for future success? Hector Nairn finds out more.
11 Sep 2009
Topics: Thatcham, Kitemark®, Healthcare, Canada, Doors, CE mark
When BSI's testing facilities set up shop on Maylands Avenue in Hemel Hempstead back in 1959, the Kitemark® was already half a century old. Today, the imposing four-storey building - renamed Kitemark House in 2006 - is the home of the Kitemark, where much of the testing for Kitemark certification takes place.
11 Sep 2009
Topics: BS 31100, Risk management
Why are many UK businesses, large and small, still reluctant to spend time identifying and reducing the risks that threaten them? Are they missing out on potential opportunities?
Three times the standard for Fuji Xerox recycling efforts in China
01 Sep 2009
Topics: Quality management, ISO 9001, Environment, ISO 14001, Health & safety, OHSAS 18001, China
Fuji Xerox's integrated recycling centre in China has achieved simultaneous certification from BSI for ISO 9001 Quality management, ISO 14001 Environmental management and OHSAS 18001 Occupational health and safety. Even more impressive, it achieved certification to these three standards within a year of the facility opening.
Al Semman Farm in the UAE achieves HACCP certification
18 Jun 2009
Topics: Food safety, HACCP, UAE
Al Semman Farm, one of the two quail producers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and member of UAE-based Liberty Investment Company, has achieved HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) certification.
Accenture goes global with certification to ISO 14001
10 Jun 2009
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, USA, Canada, South Africa, Europe, South America, Asia
Accenture, the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, has achieved certification to ISO 14001, reflecting its ongoing commitment to environmental issues as well as the quality of its environment management system (EMS).
A revolution in international food safety standards?
02 Jun 2009
Topics: Food safety, PAS 220, ISO 22000, BRC
Safety in the food supply chain is of paramount importance. And yet there hasn't been a single, universally accepted, end-to-end food safety standards-based solution in place: until now. Oliver Cann finds out more.
02 Jun 2009
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, Health & safety, OHSAS 18001, Entropy Software
For GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world's best-known pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, compliance issues add complexities that most industries never have to face. Having the right tools in place to collate and manage the data and to help keep things looking healthy is critical.
02 Jun 2009
Topics: BS 25999, Business continuity
Businesses everywhere are being battered in the recessionary storm and their resilience to unexpected interruptions may be faltering as a result. Hector Nairn reviews the case for business continuity management (BCM) during the downturn.
02 Jun 2009
Topics: Information mgt, Information security, ISO/IEC 27001, Data protection, BS 10012
Headline writers have had a field day with the growing number of security breaches in both the public and private sectors involving personal information. John Lamb asks: what's being done to protect our data?
02 Jun 2009
Topics: Construction, Sustainability
In June 2008, the Strategy for Sustainable Construction was launched in the UK. This was a joint industry and government initiative that was "intended to promote leadership and behavioural change, as well as delivering benefits to both the construction industry and the wider economy", according to the UK government.
KJO Hospital and BSI Egypt achieve a world first
29 May 2009
Topics: Integrated mgt, PAS 99, Quality management, ISO 9001, Environment, ISO 14001, Health & safety, OHSAS 18001, Egypt
Al-Khafji Joint Operations Hospital (KSA), along with its ISO certification partners, BSI Egypt, have together realized a major milestone, becoming the second medical facility and the first hospital in the world to be registered to PAS 99 Integrated Management System Specification.
As part of its evolving governance, risk and compliance strategy, BSI has acquired the Supply Chain Security Division of First Advantage Corporation.
Anglian Building Products (ABP), the business-to-business division of Anglian Windows Ltd, has achieved certification to ISO 14001 Environmental management systems following an audit by BSI.
A little bit extra for Kitemark® bodyshops and garages
It's all well and good for an automotive bodyshop to earn the Thatcham BSI Kitemark® for Vehicle Body Repair, but it won't have as much impact if potential clients don't know about it. As a consequence, BSI decided to offer an Extras marketing toolkit to bodyshops and garages that have earned the Kitemark.
Until now, there has been no strict guidance in the UK relating to how audiovisual (AV) installations are carried out. This includes everything from computers and projectors to interactive whiteboards, plasma screens and loud speakers. For AV installation companies, processes can vary significantly.
BSI is planning an informal free lunchtime roundtable in central London on 10 December 2009 to explore how small businesses and their trade bodies can work more effectively with standards. Places are limited so to register your interest or request more information, please email bsi.survey@bsigroup.com or call +44 (0)20 8996 7750.
Question: Can standards really help minimize the need for regulation?
Regulation and legislation keep business on a level playing field and help mitigate against risk, as was acknowledged by The Hampton Review in 2005.
Have a standards-related question for BSI or a comment on the website? We'll find the right person to answer.
