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COMPLIANCE
BLOG ARTICLES
Principles, Practices, & Insights


Not All Risks Matter
There is never enough time, knowledge, or resources to contend with all the risks that a company faces. Therefore, they must choose which...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Regulatory Compliance Not Enough
In a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal they stated that the general duty clause in the Occupational Health and Safety Act,...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


Is your Scorecard Balanced?
Every plan, business, or endeavour happens in the presence of uncertainty. That is why your value chain needs to operate between the...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Why is focusing on non-conformance missing the point?
Focusing on non-conformance is the first level of compliance. This involves meeting the prescriptive part of a regulation or industry...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Emergent Uncertainty
As systems improve we expect that the certainty of meeting objectives increases. Instead, what often happens is that systems become more...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Time to Upgrade your Navigational System
A compass helps you to stay on course as you head towards your destination provided the world is flat. However, a compass can never...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Risk-based Thinking – Quieting our Lizard Brain
Identifying risks and reacting to problems when they occur uses our "Lizard Brain" which is fast and needed for a fight and flight...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


Digital Transformation - Exploiting the Power of Digital Technology
Over the last several decades companies have invested in paper-on-glass solutions as part of their digital progression. However, what...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


What Is Your MOC Maturity Index?
MOC Maturity Index Change can be (and often is) a significant source of new risk. As a result, many companies have implemented the basics...
Raimund Laqua
1 min read


To Succeed You Must Aim - The Higher You Aim The Better The Outcome
"We must make decisions, here and now, even though the best means and the best goals can never be discerned with certainty. An aim, an...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


You May Be Using The Wrong Compliance Software And Here's Why
Management systems are efficient at what they do, that is, doing the same thing the same way over and over again. What they tend not to...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


Be Certain About Change
A critical process used in safety, quality, environment, and regulatory programs is the process that manages change. The reason for this...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


How effective is your compliance program at buying down risk?
Compliance is fundamentally about reducing stakeholder risk: risk to quality, risk to safety, risk to the environment, and ultimately...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


Bow Ties are Cool and Effective
There might be some who read my posts who are also Doctor Who fans and get the reference to bow ties being cool. However, even if you...
Raimund Laqua
3 min read


The Human Side of Compliance
The purpose given for companies is often stated as making profit. However, companies can exist for a greater purpose. They can exist to...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


The Qualitative Nature of Quality
The purpose of a quality program is fundamentally to improve the quality of something. However, with today's focus on quality systems and...
Raimund Laqua
3 min read


Managing Risks caused by Cost Reductions
Cost reduction programs while sometimes necessary all too often end up removing value and expose companies to unnecessary risk. Deferring...
Raimund Laqua
2 min read


Compliance Chain Analysis
Harvard Business School's Michael E. Porter introduced the concept of a value chain in his book, " Competitive Advantage: Creating and...
Raimund Laqua
4 min read


What Will People Be Doing 20 Years from Now?
It is common nowadays to come across articles that claim that robots and AI will take over people's jobs. Some might even argue that this...
Raimund Laqua
4 min read


Problem with Risk Scores
Risk scores are commonly used to support risk-based decisions and are usually derived from a semi-quantitative analysis of the underlying...
Raimund Laqua
4 min read


Risk-Based CAPA?
Many companies are in the midst of adopting changes introduced by ISO 9001:2015. One of the most significant of these, is incorporating...
Raimund Laqua
3 min read


5 Ways Risk Management Has Changed
Recent revisions to compliance standards and regulations have introduced changes to the way we think about and manage risk. You can look...
Raimund Laqua
4 min read


Operational Risk: Where do risks come from?
Risk-based thinking is at the center of recent changes to compliance standards, guidelines, and regulations. One of the areas where...
Raimund Laqua
3 min read


RISK: Losing Your Social License
All too often companies find that they are only one accident, one explosion, one fatality, or one recall away from not only losing their...
Raimund Laqua
3 min read
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