Making the choice to implement an ISO type management system (14001, 9001, OHSAS 18001) is an important step management takes toward sustainability.  Mature and ready organizations understand that a proactive approach to managing risk is almost always the best approach for the business.  Managers also understand that any investment made in a management system needs to provide a attractive return on invest just like any other investment the organization might make.  Organizations need to avoid making mistakes while implementing a management system that can dramatically limit the ability of the system to pay off.  Here are a few common mistakes that organizations often make.

Inadequate competence

For many organizations beginning the implementation process can feel like walking into a dark room and trying to find the light switch or, marching into battle with little or no information about the enemies strengths or weakness.  The result can be disastrous with the implementation process taking much longer than expected and then being saddled with a weak and ineffective system that is not respected by the organization.

Supplementing your organizations competence with outside training or other professional advice early in the implementation process will help ensure that the management system is efficiently implemented and the result is an effective system. 

Operating the System in Silo

Organizations new to management systems sometimes unknowingly establish the system in a “silo”.  As a result the system is operated almost in isolation from other business processes.  This is most common in organizations where the primary objective of implementing a system was to pass an audit and not to enable to organization to continually improve it performance. 

Other Mistakes

• Over documentation
• Weak internal audit Process
• Unnecessarily complicated support procedures (One size fits all Corrective action procedure).
• Infrequent management review
• Poorly defined performance measurements.