What do Management Systems have to do with regeneration, what can they offer those who are working tirelessly to improve areas, turning deprivation into beacons of hope?
We at QMI Scotland Limited have been committed to regeneration and see our results in the companies we have worked with. Management systems allow companies, no matter where they are placed geographically to improve their sustainability and their return on investment which therefore ensures their ability to employ their workforce in the long term.
Whilst it may that in Scotland we need more entrepreneurs, the skills that are required to bring new industries to life, are slightly different from those that are needed to ensure that it remains viable in the longer term. Management Systems, such as ISO 9001, (Quality) ISO 14001 (Environmental) and ISO 18001,(Health and Safety) bring in structure to an organisation, assign responsibility and ensure that everyone in the organisation are aware of the objectives of the organisation and that everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Furthermore, management systems ensure that there is full organisational learning from mistakes made. We are all human and there are days when things don't go to plan, when good intentions turn into disasters, however, most organisations can recover from one such incident, its much more difficult when it happens again and again. Management systems operated correctly stop such recurrence and in many cases prevent the first event.
All aspects of management systems contribute to the whole and therefore it is not possible to say which is the most valuable part of the system, whether it is the leadership, the customer focus, the involvement of people, taking the process approach to the business, the continual improvement of both the product and the system, or the factual approach to decision making, or working with suppliers to build mutually beneficial relationships, however we do know it works.
It has worked in all types of industry, from traditional spring manufacturers, (Industrial Springs Ltd) to space industries, (Clyde Space Ltd), from service providers, (M & S Fire Protection) to management consultants, (Mabbett & Associates). All of these have seen demonstrable improvements to their business after setting up their management system, with QMI Scotland's assistance.
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