Rule # 2 - Take Ownership of All Your Obligations
Being proactive with your compliance begins with taking ownership of all your obligations and this includes defining program outcomes and objectives.
You may argue or debate what compliance program outcomes and objectives could or should be. What you cannot be is uncertain as to what they are.
If your program goal is zero incidents then you know what your commitment needs to be. If your goal is to achieve a higher standard of quality then you also know what you need to do to achieve that.
The outcomes you choose will direct where you are aiming, the strategies to get you there, and the capabilities you need to make progress towards them.
Research shows that companies who adopted ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) standard for the purpose of certification achieved just that – certification. These companies rarely saw an improvement in their quality.
However, companies that wanted to improve their quality and chose to implement ISO 9001 as a means to get there, not only achieved certification, but they also improved their quality. They got both.
The difference with these two companies was where they aimed.
Where are your quality, safety, environmental, or regulatory compliance programs aiming at this year?