is the online magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment - delivering ROI, saving costs, improving quality and mitigating risk. Features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems, standards, testing, healthcare and certification.
Software, speed and regulation: the changing face of the medical devices market
01 Sep 2010
Topics: Medical devices, Healthcare
In the month in which BSI Healthcare begins a new market authorization collaboration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, what issues and trends are evident in the medical devices market? What is the likely future of medical devices regulation in light of the European Commission?s ongoing review? And how is BSI Healthcare meeting the challenges of this changing landscape?
From 1 September 2010, BSI Healthcare is embarking on a unique collaboration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with four other medical device Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). The project was put in place by the Saudi regulatory authorities in recognition that the Kingdom needed to stop the import of unsafe and unregulated medical devices and put in place mechanisms to provide for more effective controls in future.
Social responsibility and sustainable development
23 Aug 2010
Topics: Social responsibility, ISO 26000, CSR, sustainable development
Later this year, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will publish its first social responsibility standard, ISO 26000. Why is this new standard necessary, what will it accomplish and how will it impact the way the average company will be doing business in the years to come?
Providing and protecting personal information: BS 10012
06 Aug 2010
Topics: Data protection, BS 10012, Information security, ISO/IEC 27001, Information mgt
Organizations face two big pressures when it comes to dealing with personal data: transparency and security. How can they ensure that the right information is accessible by the right people at the right time? New standard BS 10012 can help the public and private sectors alike to get their data houses in order.
The business case for sustainability
28 Jul 2010
Topics: Sustainability, Environment, ISO 14001, Energy management, EN 16001, BS EN 16001, Direct marketing, PAS 2020, Waste management, BS 8901, Social responsibility, CSR, ISO 26000, BS 8903, BS 8904, BS 8905, BS 8909
The downturn affected everything, not least sustainability. As a result, organizations are now revisiting what it means to be sustainable and embracing the business benefits.
Working towards a low-carbon economy
20 Jul 2010
Topics: Low-carbon, PAS 2060, Carbon footprint, Carbon neutral, climate change, Carbon market, ETS, Emissions trading, Energy management, BS EN 16001, EN 16001, Environment
Where does the world stand on a low-carbon revolution? The British government, for example, is legally bound to cut total greenhouse gas emissions by over a third before 2020. The US is investing billions to encourage "green" industries and infrastructure. But are legislation and investment going to be enough? What is the world doing right now to make our low-carbon future a reality?
IT and your company: where we go next
09 Jul 2010
Topics: Information security, ISO/IEC 27001
Companies around the world are striving to emerge from the economic crisis into growth. It could well be the moment to get on board with the new technology landscape, but investing in any IT strategy involves steering past the pitfalls. Business standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001 Information technology, can help you get the most out of your budget.
Energy management: carbon reduction, cost savings and BS EN 16001
02 Jul 2010
Topics: Energy management, BS EN 16001, EN 16001, GHG, Carbon footprint, Environment, ISO 14001, Kitemark®
New legislation is forcing many organizations in the UK to publicly disclose their carbon emissions for the first time. A compulsory cap and trade carbon emissions scheme culminates in the publication of an annual league table detailing the best and worst businesses at delivering energy savings. What is your business doing to sort out its energy management?
GMV becomes first consulting company in Spain to receive business continuity certification
24 Jun 2010
Topics: BS 25999, Business continuity, Spain
In its aim to provide clients with the best level of service and to guarantee continuity of operations, GMV - a leading technology consultancy - has been awarded certification to the business continuity management standard BS 25999. GMV becomes only the second company in Spain to receive the certification and the first in the consulting industry. This certification follows similar awards received for quality management (ISO 9001), IT service management (ISO/IEC 20000) and information security management (ISO/IEC 27001) for which it was also the first in its sector in 2004.
New standard developed to support collaborative business partnering
16 Jun 2010
Topics: Relationship mgt, PAS 11000, BS 11000
Building on the successful specification for supporting collaborative business partnering (PAS 11000), a new standard is being developed on the same subject. Originally developed by BSI and PSL (Partnership Sourcing Limited) along with government and procurement professionals, the specification has so far helped to establish, manage and improve strategic partnering both within and across the public and private sectors. The new standard, BS 11000, aims to expand this further, addressing wider business sectors and elements of partnering relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises.
New standard to make websites accessible for all
11 Jun 2010
Topics: Accessibility
A new standard that is being developed to help make websites accessible to all is soon to be published. The standard called BS 8878 Web accessibility - Code of Practice is going through its final stage of development whereby interested stakeholders are asksed to comment, in particular, website owners, web product managers, web procurement managers, usability and accessibility specialists, marketing professionals and disabled web users.
17 May 2010
Topics: Qatar, Middle East
BSI today announces the opening of an office in Qatar as part of the organization's strategic plan to further grow BSI's presence in the Middle East.
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: 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.
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.
Energy management: the next stage
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Energy management, BS EN 16001, 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.
At Unisys, information security is key
05 Oct 2009
Topics: 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: 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?
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: 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.
Rising waters: revising PAS 1188
For those living in areas that are prone to flooding, having the right protection resources available is essential. While images of emergency sandbags holding back rivers of water may fill the media, there is a much wider range of products available for flood protection.
Security is a challenge at the best of times for a retail bank. If you offer services via the internet, security becomes even more complicated. For Barclays UK Retail Online Banking, information security is at the core of their business, which is one of the main reasons the organization pursued and achieved certification to ISO/IEC 27001 Information security from BSI.
How do you put a price on a brand? An international standard in the making will provide a consistent, reliable approach to brand valuation.
Integra ICT Hits environmental high
Integra ICT, the Bedfordshire-based telecoms provider, has achieved certification to ISO 14001 Environmental management from BSI.
Monarch Airlines chooses BSI for its European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) verification
Monarch Airlines has selected BSI as its provider of verification services against the requirements of the EU ETS directive. This comes in response to the industry's requirement to monitor its CO2 emissions and demonstrate compliance with the directive by submitting a verified annual emissions report by 31 March every year from 2011 onwards.
Question: Is the contribution made by standards always positive?
Standards can make an enormous contribution to organizations, businesses and society - a number of recent studies have confirmed this as an indisputable fact. But is the contribution they make always positive? In my role as chairman of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), I have a close understanding of the world of standards. Most of UKAS' accreditation work is based on standards - from the certification of quality and environmental management systems to a huge range of product testing and beyond.
Have a standards-related question for BSI or a comment on the website? We'll find the right person to answer.
