Compliance Programs and Systems
- Raimund Laqua
- Jul 11, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Feb 2, 2024
What do quality, safety, security, sustainability, environmental, regulatory and ethics programs have in common?
All these programs have the same purpose. They exist to make certain that organizational values are realized by introducing change to culture, behaviours, systems, and processes within a business.
Programs are the means by which operational governance steers. They also bridge the gap between organizational values and operational objectives.
Management systems are reactive by design to stay between the lines.
Management programs are proactive by design to stay ahead of risk.
Without effective programs you will never achieve compliance success.
Programs are the feed-forward processes of operational compliance an example of double-loop learning.
A thermostat (system loop) may help keep your room at a specified temperature. However, it will never tell you if the room is warm enough (program loop). The system loop regulates towards a specific target. The program loop adjusts the target to regulate towards better outcomes.
This is one of the reasons why organizations need programs to regulate systems. Without programs the underlying systems will optimize towards the set target by removing variation in its inputs, wip, and outputs. They will never on their own adapt to higher standards.
Download our Lean Operational Compliance Model:
(Version 4) – Operational Compliance is a state of operability when all essential compliance functions, behaviours, and interactions exist and perform at levels necessary to realize compliance outcomes. This operational compliance model will help you achieve and sustain operational readiness so that you always stay between the lines and ahead of risk.
This model now includes the 5 immutable principles of program success:
