Boiral classified more than 75% of interviewees’ responses on the crucial success factors of certification into five categories as shown in figure 2:
Implementation success factors
Showing managerial conviction and support
Clearly explaining the reason for certification
Mobilising employees and knowledge
Adapting the standard to the organization
Integrating the organization goals
Figure 2: Olivier Boiral Analysis - Success Factors
5.1 Showing managerial conviction and support
At ELG Utica Alloys, managerial support was there from day one, as Sarah explains
“I always had support from the directors. They left me to get on with the job, but if there were any challenges in the organisation, they’d back me up.”
Declan and Graham also had the backing of their respective MDs from the start.
Some organizations try to get involvement by encouraging “management by walking about” (MBWA). However, Dr W Edwards Deming, known as the father of quality, wrote in 1982: “MBWA is hardly ever effective. The reason is that someone in management, walking around, has little idea about what questions to ask, and usually does not pause long enough at any spot to get the right answer.” One way to overcome this is to give managers a specific set of questions to ask, or items to check as they “walk about.” This approach worked for Graham:
“I needed to drag managers onto the factory floor, and into our lab, to break down barriers and to demonstrate their commitment. So I implemented management walk rounds using templates.”
Managing the walk abouts with software means that managers can be “nudged” by automatic reminders, and any findings from their workplace visits can be shared and reviewed, with actions raised and closed out.
5.2 Clearly explaining the reason for certification
When Boiral analysed interviews with employees (rather than managers) he noticed that some employees “were confused about the type of ISO standard implemented in their own organisation and whether it was related to quality, environment, health and safety or excellence.” Taking the time to explain the purpose and benefits of the accreditation has benefits for employee engagement.
Graham admits that “Communication was something we had to work at. The management walk rounds helped. We then pulled employees into H&S meetings. We now have TV screens across site with rolling messages and updates on all subjects.”
One of Boiral’s respondents summarises “It has to be presented as an improvement process and not as a punishment.”
“You have to sell the idea that ISO will improve their work and that they will benefit from it. It has to be presented as an improvement process and not as a punishment.”
Boiral, 2011
5.3 Mobilising employees and knowledge
Sarah was pleased with the enthusiastic buy-in from most of the staff involved.
“The staff were brilliant! They could see the commitment and involvement from managers and supervisors and knew that things were going to change.
We needed their knowledge of how things were done to do suitable and sufficient risk assessments, and to produce operating procedures.
We give the people who know how to do the job the online tools to carry out the risk assessments easily, but I stay in charge of approving each one through the software.”
For Declan, one of the key tools to mobilise the employees was the hazard spotting app that everyone now has on their phones. “Although we’d set targets previously for hazard reporting, the paper forms people completed were difficult to manage, and not very informative. With the app,
everyone can get involved in identifying and fixing hazards, and we have the data to identify trends and to make visible improvements to safety.”
Graham’s process started with health and safety awareness training, and as with Declan and Sarah, prioritised employee involvement in the accreditation process. Boiral’s research backs up this approach “The most important things are to provide employees with more training and to involve them in the ISO system implementation”
5.4 Adapting the standard to the organisation, not the contrary
Boiral points out that adapting the standard to the organisation (rather than trying to revolutionise existing practices) is “a way to reduce the risks of the ISO system becoming bureaucratised and disconnected from internal practices.” His advice is to “take the time to investigate existing procedures that can be reused.”
Sarah found that having all the procedures and policies in one place made this easier
“When I started, I couldn’t access the policies from one site and another site only a few miles away. Now I can access the UK policies even when I’m at a site in South Africa!”
Declan agrees that application of the standard should fit the needs of the organisation, and is already looking at how to include more of the “interested parties” referred to in ISO 45001.
“We’ve seen the benefits of improved hazard reporting amongst our own employees, and we’re looking next at how this can be extended to contractors.”
“Adaptation and flexibility represented 14% of statements on crucial success factors.. a way to reduce the risks of the ISO system becoming bureaucratised and disconnected from internal practices.”
Boiral, 2011
5.5 Integrating the organisation’s fundamental goals
For all our contributors, preventing harm to employees and anyone else affected by their work is one of their fundamental goals. Graham gives an example of how building an accredited OHS management system, supported by a software solution to overcome the administrative overload, has contributed to that goal.
“Manual handling risk has been reduced, we now have better segregation between pedestrians and traffic.”
Declan explains how ISO 45001 has been good match for another priority in McAleer & Rushe.
“ISO 45001 places more emphasis on worker participation, and that’s always been part of the way we do things here.”
