More Than a License to Operate: Certification Facilitates Business Improvement

ABS Quality Evaluations

The process of achieving certification delivers insights that enable continuous improvements for better performance, increased efficiency, enhanced safety and greater sustainability. Some organizations view certification and assurance services as a necessary evil, but companies that take this myopic view are missing the bigger picture and in the process are missing out on the value the certification and assurance process can deliver to the bottom line.

Improving Risk Management

One of the ways companies achieve success through the auditing and certification processes is by reducing risk. The findings of an audit by an independent third-party allow the company to understand where there are criticalities that they otherwise would not see. In fact, many problems do not belong to one process but lie between multiple processes—an audit breaks down the boundaries.

According to Cy Sharp, Global Certification Manager at ABS Quality Evaluations (ABS QE), while everything in the standard is critical, some things are “more critical”, and risk-based processes are at the top of the list. Sharp believes improving processes can reduce risk to worker’s health and safety, improve sustainability and ensure that the quality of products and services meets expectations:

"Every company is doing management review as part of the process required to maintain certification, but many companies are not as effective as they could be because they’re missing the chance to dive in and make that management system more risk-based and robust to help them grow as a company."

ABS QE helps by encouraging companies to become as prescriptive as possible within their management system so they can get consistent outputs. One of the ways this happens is by identifying weaknesses, which Sharp defines as “opportunities to capture improvements.” These opportunities often become evident through a nonconformance.

"While there are different flavors of nonconformances, it is those that speak to the effectiveness of a process that stand out from the rest because we are calling out the fact that a process is not as effective as it should be”, Sharp explains. “This puts a company to task and tells them, ‘You have a process, you’re doing the process, but you’re doing it incorrectly,’ or ‘You’re missing the point behind what the process was designed to achieve’. Recognizing where an established process falls short is the first step in initiating refinements that ensure the process remains effective”, he says.

ABS Quality Evaluations: Your Certification Partner

The right certification partner can simplify compliance through integrated management systems to minimize risk, improve operational efficiency and maximize the value of assets. ABS Quality Evaluations (ABS QE) experts apply specialized skills and knowledge within their areas of expertise, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and more, to help you enhance your skillset and develop your own tools for improved operations. We help you break down walls and work as a functional team to reach the ultimate business goal of doing things safely, correctly and in an environmentally sound way.